By Lisa Jenn Bigelow
The night before rock camp, a shy drummer's parents announce they're splitting up, and over two weeks of music and mess she realizes she's got a crush on a girl.
Thirteen-year-old Melly is barely holding it together. The day before she leaves for two weeks at Camp Rockaway, her parents tell her they're getting divorced. At least her best friend Olivia is going too. But when Olivia ditches her to chase a boy, Melly finds herself drawn to Adeline, a loose, easygoing guitarist, and the pull turns out to be a crush. Between forming a band, missing home, and figuring out what she's feeling, Melly has a very full two weeks.
This is a gentle, hopeful first-crush story where a girl liking a girl is just part of the summer, treated as naturally as the homesickness and the drum solos. Melly's a shy, likable narrator, and the divorce running underneath gives it real feeling without ever going dark. For a child who's felt a first flutter and wasn't sure what it meant, it's a warm, reassuring mirror.