One Paris Summer

May 23, 2016
Swank, author of the Rose Gardener Mystery series for adults, explores the complicated family dynamics that result from divorce. Sixteen-year-old Sophie, an aspiring pianist, and her 17-year-old brother, Eric, are a long way from forgiving their father for abandoning them to work in Paris, as well as recently remarrying. To make amends, he invites the siblings to spend the summer with him, wife Eva, and Camille, Eva's daughter, who is just as angry as Sophie and Eric are about her new family. Even the beauty of Paris isn't enough to smooth over Sophie's deep feelings of hurt toward her father, while Camille's antagonism robs Sophie of enjoying the sights and making potential new friends. Writing from Sophie's point of view, Swank handles the teen's powerful and sometimes conflicting feelings with insight and sensitivity. When tensions ease, Sophie is eventually able to open up to Paris, her father, and Mathieu, a handsome boy who invites her to practice piano at his family's apartment, in this family drama about forgiveness and starting fresh. Ages 13âup.