Second Sleep by Diane Stanley (review)

It’s an ordinary August for twelve-year-old Max and his little sister, Rose, until it turns out his mother’s uncommon absence is in fact a mysterious departure, and no one knows where she is or why she’s gone. To take their mind off of the mystery they go with their grandmother, Mozelle, to stay in the family lake cabin for the last time as Mozelle prepares it for sale and demolition. At the cabin, Max finds a welcoming close community of lakeside kids, bonding especially with bold Lila; when he recognizes there’s something supernatural about the group’s existence, he believes they may hold the key to his mother’s disappearance. There’s a touch of Stead’s When You Reach Me (BCCB 9/09) to this story of crossing timestreams and contemporary mystery, and the details of the utopian kid colony at the lake are warm and inviting; the legacy of the cabin, which has seen generations grow and share and on which Max literally inscribes family history, will speak to kids with similar beloved places. The book stumbles on the current-day mystery, though, which is unbelievable both in its explanation and in the family’s oddly casual response to their missing member. Readers willing to overlook those difficulties may still enjoy the story of summer camaraderie that creates bonds across time.