Book description
It's the summer of 1971, and fifteen-year-old Darlene travels with her
mother to cottage country. This year her wild cousin, Elizabeth, is
staying with them in the hopes that time away from Toronto will
straighten her out - but Elizabeth has other plans. It's her summer
mission to torment Darlene by manipulating her friends and seducing
every eligible male in her path. Meanwhile, Darlene is captivated by the
mysterious strangers who rent the cottage down the road, particularly
free-spirited Candy, who tells stories of traipsing across the United
States with rock stars. Darlene is also friends with a reclusive
journalist who will stop at nothing to pen the ultimate anti-war story.
She, too, secretly dreams of becoming a writer, but knows that her
father will never allow it. When the connections between the young
strangers and the war start to become clear, Darlene is presented with
more choices than she would like. “Novelist Brenda Chapman skillfully
manages the balance between Darlene's intimate adolescent concerns and
the confusing adult world that is infuriatingly out of reach. The teen's
tightrope walk between many competing demands seems entirely authentic.”
Brenda Chapman began her children's fiction career with
Running Scared
, the first in the Jennifer Bannon series. Hiding in Hawk's Creek
was shortlisted for the CLA Book of the Year for Children. Where
Trouble Leads
and Trail of Secrets
followed. Her first mystery for adults, In Winter's Grip
, was published in 2010. She lives in Ottawa.
