Avery, 14, and Kayla, 16, know each other from childhood, but haven't been friends for years. So they are both surprised when Avery's father takes them to Spain for their summer vacation, while he is working in his company's Spanish branch.

Avery is pretty, gifted, and athletic and is unhappy that she won't get to go to soccer camp with her friends. Kayla is from a poor family, whose Dad is in a VA hospital while Mom supports the family. She is thrilled with the unexpected invitation.

There is a secret at the heart of this story, and it's a big one. Once the secret leaks out, things get even tougher for the girls. Avery goes from spoiled rich girl to traumatized spoiled rich girl. Really hard to like her. Kayla stops trying to be nice to her.

Is there a way for these girls to live with what they have learned? You'll have to read to find out. Not many books bring tears to my eyes, but this one did.

Haddix is a good writer, and her girls sound and act like teen girls. This book may be a sleeper but it is worth a read. ( )

This was okay. Not what I was expecting from Ms Haddix. A good story though. I appreciated the growth in the characters. Though I remained very partial to one and never did get to much like the other. It will be good if this book causes kids to look again at what they think is important. I'm not sure I would have gotten it at that age. ( )

I had the pleasure of reading an e-ARC of this title and it was quite a memorable experience. What starts off as a story of two girls who were once friends and are now miles apart, grows into a tale of secrets kept, and truths hidden in plain sight. It's a story of broken things, but not in the way you might initially think. It's not toys and trinkets, mobile phones and washers (though there is a "broken" one of those too); it's broken dreams, friendships, families, trusts, and ultimately...hearts. As we get to know Avery, she's easier to like...sorry (not sorry!), but she's a bit of a spoiled brat for most of the book, until the wind is unexpectedly knocked out of her sails (for which I am truly sorry)...though Kayla I liked from the start despite her "doormat" tendencies (something she learns how to step away from during this eye opening trip). They were two peas in a pod that outgrew one another in one way or the other, but the funny thing about roots is that they often run deep...and can be relied on when the going gets tough to act as our safety line, pulling us through to higher ground. There are definitely bridges to be mended between them, as well as a few other folks you'll discover along the way as the secrets start unraveling, but the end result is definitely worth the effort.


**copy received for review ( )

Once again Margaret Peterson Haddix hits a homerun when in Spain two young girls cope with the secrets that their parents have hidden. ( )

Fourteen-year-old Avery and 16-year-old Kayla are from different worlds. Avery's family is well-to-do, her father a successful businessman who grew up poor. She's athletic, pretty and popular, if spoiled. Kayla is the school misfit; her last name is Butts. Most of her good friends are the elderly residents of the nursing home where her mother works long shifts. Her father was paralyzed in an auto accident just before deploying to Afghanistan. Throughout their childhoods, Kayla and her mother would visit Avery's family for Christmas. Now Avery's dad has invited Kayla to travel to Spain with him and Avery for the summer. Avery would rather be at soccer camp with her best friends. Kayla has never left her small town and can't imagine being anywhere beyond. But the connection between the girls becomes painfully clear when they uncover a family secret. Now nothing can be the same for either of them again. The evolution of both girls as they struggle with the secret feels realistic in their anger and frustration. Sometimes I felt at times their agonies were a bit too prolonged. But how they end up in relation to each other is satisfying, and the book is also a nice bit of travelogue, a happy reminder of my own trip to Spain. ( )