Gen Sommer lives in Moosehead Lake, a very rural town in northern Maine, not far from the Canadian border. The logging industry plays a major role in the local economy, and many of the residents love attending car races on the local frozen lakes. Everyone works hard, but they seem to enjoy the lives they have built in a world with a slow pace.

Things change for Gen, her step-mother, and younger twin brothers when her father disappears. Michael had gone out on one of the lakes to repair a dock on a snowy day, but there is no sign what has happened to him. Gem finds his truck, and his boat also turns up on the lake near where he was supposed to be going.

The whole community turns out in force to search for the missing father. Gen holds out hope that Michael will turn up, but as time passes, the search for a survivor turns into a recovery mission for his body. Even then, Gen refuses to give up hope.

A lot of her hope is tied to the fact that she and her father were really close. It is because of him that she got involved with racing cars ... and she is good. They also built strong bonds after her mother ran off when she was just a little kid. As she settles into her new life, she realizes how alone she really is, particularly as she quits school and learns more about her parents.

This is by no means a fast moving book. I would guess it is a lot like the slow pacing of the real communities in northern Maine that model the setting of this book. I was really tempted to give up on the book as I reached page 80, but I was glad I finished it. It is a deeply moving story of a girl who comes to terms with the harshest realities of life as she matures into a woman.

A college boy named Gabe, who she gets to know in the course of the book sums things up quite nicely on page 244: "Nobody is ever happy a hundred percent of the time. That's one of life's biggest disappointments, you know. Falling in love and realizing you can't always be happy. But if you're happy enough, then that's something. The emphasis is mine. I just this quote is so perfect, and people would be happier if they were able to accept it.

I was really moved by Gen's story. In part, I am sure that it is tied a little to my own family history, but I think a lot of people would find themselves interested in this one. Not sure about potential teen interest, though.