A Summer of Silk Moths

People can't always tell everything. Sometimes they have to leave things out so that they can recover. Start over. So that people will still be able to love them. Seventeen-year-old Pete Shelton's life revolves around helping his friend Abe McMichael build Riverside, a nature preserve dedicated to the memory of Abe's brother, Paul. Then one summer a troubled runaway shows up--a girl named Nora who claims to be Paul's daughter. All her life, Nora has lived with secrets and lies, never knowing anything about her father. Although enemies at first, Pete and Nora slowly begin to piece together their shadowy pasts . . . and discover that their lives intertwine in a way they never imagined. A Summer of Silk Moths gives us the bewilderment and wonderment that real growth always brings, in a setting as fresh and tender as a new green leaf.--Kathe Koja, bestselling author of Buddha Boy A thoughtful, complex and moving story about loss and discovery of identity, love and the ability to change and the restorative powers of nature.--Kirkus Reviews An Honor Book for the 2010 Green Earth Book Awards in the category of Young Adult Fiction.

The strangest thing about moths is that they crash headlong into their own destruction.

Every summer Pete Shelton helps his friend Abe McMichaels build Riverside. This nature preserve is dedicated to the memory of Paul, Abe's long-dead brother who was a star in their small town. But one summer, everything changes.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a tall, red-haired girl named Nora shows up with just the clothes on her back. A troubled runaway, she convincingly claims to be Abe's niece--Paul's daughter. Bad blood between Nora's mother and the McMichaels has kept Nora away from Riverside all her life, never knowing anything about her father. Although enemies at first, Nora and Pete slowly become allies in piecing together their shadowy pasts, ultimately discovering that their lives intertwine in a way they never could have imagined.

Every summer Pete Shelton helps his friend Abe McMichaels build Riverside. This nature preserve is dedicated to the memory of Paul, Abe's long-dead brother, who was a star in their small town. But one summer, everything changes.