It's going to be a blisteringly hot summer and fifteen-year-old Adam has managed to get the family house by the lake all to himself. But shortly before he is due to leave, he bumps into Mary-Lou, and he invites her to come with him. They had been great friends when they were much younger, but then her parents' marriage had collapsed. Mary-Lou jumped out of the tallest tree, and she was left confined to a wheelchair. No-one was ever sure if it was attempted suicide or a tragic accident, and she had never been in a mood to tell them. As Adam and Mary- Lou pick their way through this tangled and unpleasant heritage, they each encourage the other to take a more positive approach, and to look forward to the future

Author Biography

Stefan Casta was born in 1949, and has been a journalist and a naturalist, as well as having made some natural history films. He is a prize-winning children's novelist in his native Sweden. His break-through book, Spelar Dod (Play Dead) won the prestigious Astrid Lindgren prize 2002, as well as the August Prize and the Nils Holgersson Plaque 2000. Several of his books have been translated into German, although this is his first into English.