Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Salem Main Library | TEEN McCahan, E. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Willamina Public Library | YA McCahan, E. | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Fans of Nick Hornby, Huntley Fitzpatrick, and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl will love this smart, funny, poignant YA romance and coming-of-age story-from the boy's perspective
lake effect | n.
Theeffectofanylake,especiallytheGreatLakes,inmodifyingtheweatherinnearbyareas
It's the summer after his senior year, and driven, focused Briggs Henry is ready to leave behind his ex-girlfriend, his comically aggressive grandmother, and his parents' money troubles for Lake Michigan and its miles of sandy beaches. He's lined up a summer job working as a personal assistant and living in a gorgeous Victorian on the water-exactly the kind of house Briggs plans to buy his parents once he's a multi-millionaire. But when he arrives, his boss, the eccentric Mrs. Bosic, tells him to get dressed for her funeral. Uh . . . It's the first of many funerals they'll attend this summer-to hilarious and eye-opening effect. Add to this a new set of friends-cum-enemies-cum-friends-again, and Abigail, the mysterious girl next door on whom Briggs's charms repeatedly fail, and "the lake effect" is beginning to take on a whole new meaning.
Author Notes
Erin McCahan is a native Michigander who grew up on the beaches of Grand Haven and Macatawa. Now a resident of landlocked New Albany, Ohio, she and her husband return every summer to North Beach in South Haven, on the shores of Lake Michigan. Look for them under the red and white striped umbrella.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-A coming-of-age story about love, life, and creating one's own expectations. Briggs Henry is ambitious and goal-oriented and always meets his family's high standards. He graduated as one of the top students in his high school; he was president of his class and the captain of the baseball team. In the fall, Briggs will attend Michigan State University. The summer before he leaves for college, the teen takes a job as a live-in assistant for an eccentric elderly woman who lives in a large house on the shore of Lake Michigan. He slowly befriends a unique and captivating array of South Haven locals. Briggs's relationships with the various townspeople, including the beautiful and mysterious girl next door and his hilarious employer, have a profound effect. For the first time the protagonist is able to think about what life is really all about and what he, not his family, truly wants. Thought provoking-and at times hilarious-this book is filled with effective imagery that makes it a great summer read. Teens can almost hear the waves of Lake Michigan lapping against the shore in the background of the characters' dialogue. Some moderate drinking and discussion of sex make this novel more appropriate for mature readers. VERDICT Recommend this title to those who enjoyed Cara Chow's Bitter Melon, John Green's An Abundance of Katherines, and Ned Vizzini's It's Kind of a Funny Story.-Ellen Fitzgerald, Naperville Public Library, IL © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Eighteen-year-old Briggs Henry spends the summer after his high school graduation in South Haven, Mich., as live-in help for a strong-willed 84-year-old Serbian widow, Mrs. Bozic, in this elegant and touching coming-of-age story. Briggs is well aware of his family's high expectations for him ("We achieved. We catalogued our successes, and we never needed our hair cut") and has big plans for his own future: namely becoming a successful lawyer who never has to worry about money. His summer with Mrs. B-which includes funeral crashing, encounters with a secretive neighbor named Abigail, and revelations about his family-prompts Briggs to reexamine his goals and his definition of happiness. As chronicled by McCahan (Love and Other Foreign Words), Briggs's growth is realistically sobering, and many readers will identify with his increasing awareness of his own markers of success. Briggs's genuine relationship with Mrs. B and her words of wisdom from a life well lived are heartwarming, illustrating the ways that family can expand beyond blood. Ages 12-up. Agent: Faye Bender, the Book Group. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Ambitious Briggs Henry is spending the summer before college on Lake Michigan, working for an eccentric, elderly Serbian woman while living in her huge lakeside home. In between odd jobs and accompanying Mrs. B. to funerals, Briggs makes beach friends--including a sharp-witted girl with a chronic illness--and deals with his overbearing father. A warm and diverting coming-of-age story. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Future millionaire Briggs Henry has his course mapped (law degree and MBA) until an eventful summer as live-in caretaker and handyman for an elderly Serbian widow in a Lake Michigan resort town upends his plans and the bedrock assumptions they rest on. The white teen has learned to work hard and aim high, to adopt his dad's relentlessly upbeat demeanor, always remembering that "failure is not an option." (His hardworking mother mostly keeps her views to herself.) Only grim Grandma Ruth, his dad's mother, makes time to attend Briggs' baseball games (until the bottom of the third inning). Rooted in a stressful past, the family work ethic and mandatory optimism take a toll on Briggs. They've cost him his girlfriend and given him digestive troubles. Now, between chores for eccentric Mrs. B., his new employer, and escorting her to funerals, he succumbs to laid-back, resort-town life and to Abigail, an intriguing white neighbor who questions his goals and expectations of success. Life is unpredictable, she knows; events beyond our control can change everything. All we have is now. Relinquishing his grip on what lies ahead allows Briggs to appreciate this truthit's an ability he'll soon need. Observant, sarcastic, compelling, and very funny, narrator Briggs is entirely convincing andably abetted by an abundance of diverse charactersnever less than good company. This thoroughly enjoyable read is a seductive invitation to relax and let life happen. (Fiction. 12-17) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Thanks to his impressive array of Old People Smiles, high-school graduate Briggs lands a summer job as live-in companion to elderly Mrs. Vesna Bozic. But the perks of spending the summer on Lake Michigan's North Shore beach are tempered by Mrs. B.'s penchant for attending funerals. And, thanks to an early faux pas, the local teens view Briggs as a buffoon. An intriguing girl named Abigail seems particularly eager to keep her distance. Briggs takes things in stride, however, good-naturedly accepting the eccentricities of the elderly women in his life, particularly since this summer offers Briggs a break from his father's impossibly high expectations. At the same time, Abigail's health issues add a compassionate dimension to the predictable romantic arc. While some of the humor begins to feel a bit overworked (i.e. Mrs. B.'s Serbian accent and the succession of funerals), Briggs is an enjoyable summer companion. Readers looking for a coming-of-age story from the male point of view, such as Louis Sachar's The Cardturner (2010) or Chris Lynch's The Big Game of Everything (2008) may want to try this one.--Colson, Diane Copyright 2017 Booklist