The Rest of the Story

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah Dessen comes a big-hearted, sweeping novel about a girl who reconnects with a part of her family she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl—and falls in love, all over the course of a magical summer.

Emma Saylor doesn’t remember a lot about her mother, who died when Emma was twelve. But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the big lake that went on forever, with cold, clear water and mossy trees at the edges.

Now it’s just Emma and her dad, and life is good, if a little predictable…until Emma is unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her mother’s family that she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl.

When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there. Her mother grew up in working class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort. The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is also divided into two people. To her father, she is Emma. But to her new family, she is Saylor, the name her mother always called her.

Then there’s Roo, the boy who was her very best friend when she was little. Roo holds the key to her family’s history, and slowly, he helps her put the pieces together about her past. It’s hard not to get caught up in the magic of North Lake—and Saylor finds herself falling under Roo’s spell as well.

For Saylor, it’s like a whole new world is opening up to her. But when it’s time to go back home, which side of her—Emma or Saylor—will win out?

• Childhood Friends to Lovers: Roo was her best friend when they were little, and now he holds the key to her mother’s past. As they piece together her family history, Saylor finds herself falling for him all over again.
• A Coming of Age Story: At home, she’s Emma. At the lake, she’s Saylor. Torn between two worlds and two names, she must decide who she truly is before the summer ends.
• Reconnecting with Family: Sent to spend the summer with her estranged mother’s family, Emma—now Saylor—discovers a whole new side of herself and the working-class world her mother came from.
• Grief and Healing: Emma doesn’t remember much about the mother she lost. This summer at North Lake offers a chance to not only uncover her mother’s story but also to find peace with her own past.