She thought that her family was an open book, without secrets. Even as a child, Barbara Jean Ellington knew her grandmothers were lesbians, a truth they never concealed. During BJ's summer vacations at their home on Blue Lake, Nonna and Lena taught her to swim and play cards, provided a lively contrast to BJ's conservative parents, and comforted BJ when her first summer romance ended abruptly and without reason. Now, years later, BJ seeks refuge in her late grandmothers' house in the wake of her husband's affair. As she relives the languid summer days of her youth and prepares the house for sale, she struggles to come to terms not only with the looming threat of divorce, but also with the Pandora's Box of family revelations she uncovers in Nonna's hidden notebooks. In them, she discovers a fifty-year family history littered with secrets from the past--secrets that have present day consequences for herself, her marriage, and for Travis, the boy who broke her heart during that long-ago summer. With discerning prose and compelling characters, Summers at Blue Lake follows in the tradition of bestselling authors such as Anita Shreve, Elizabeth Berg, and Sue Miller. PRAISE: “In Althouse-Wood's engaging novel, she alternates between past and present; gives BJ a fresh, honest voice; and beautifully develops the relationship between the grandmothers." —Carolyn Kubisz, Booklist “An engaging character study that alternates between the past and present, Summers at Blue Lake investigates how the actions of one generation can have consequences many decades later.” —Robert Francis, Aptos Times “The author skillfully builds suspense…Characterization is exceptional…Spikes of humor, brilliant descriptive passages…all contribute to a memorable, thought-provoking novel.” —Barbara Johnson, Voya book reviews

Performing works by master composers from Puccini to Bellini, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp is a summer magnet for thousands of aspiring musicians, dancers, artists and actors. Blue Lake students, most of them on scholarship, continue in the tradition established by resident muse Ludolph Arens, who believed the best way to nurture young talent was to focus their enthusiasm on the classics in an enchanted woodland setting far away from the distractions of daily life. Blue Lake's camp and international programs have nurtured jazz greats like James Carter as well as musicians who now play with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and other leading orchestras. Guest performers have included the likes of Victor Borge, William Warfield and Red Skelton. Blue Lake's international program has given students the chance to perform before European nobility, including His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden. Book jacket.

Returning to the Pennsylvania lake town where she had spent her summers as a child, BJ hopes to put her life back together after her husband's abandonment, but is confronted by the secrets of her past and by a reunion with her teenage crush.

Meet fourteen-year-old Gary. A self-described "tree-toad,"a sly and endearing geek, Gary has many unwieldy passions, chief among them his cousin Kate, his Underwood typewriter and the soft-porn masterpiece, High School Orgies. The folks of Lake Wobegon don't have much patience for a kid's ungodly obsessions, and so Gary manages to filter the hormonal earthquake that is puberty and his hopeless devotion to glamorous, rebellious Kate through his fantastic yarns. With every marvellous story he moves a few steps closer to becoming a writer. And when Kate gets herself into trouble with the local baseball star, Gary also experiences the first pangs of a broken heart. With his trademark gift for treading "a line delicate as a cobweb between satire and sentiment"(Cleveland Plain Dealer), Garrison Keillor brilliantly captures a newly minted post-war America and delivers an unforgettable comedy about a writer coming of age in the rural Midwest.

Twelve-year-old Nicholas and his ten-year-old, twin sisters, Hetty and Haley, spend the summer with their Great-Uncle Nick at Forsaken Lake, where he and their new friend Charlie investigate the truth about an accident involving their families many years before.

Sometimes the best place to find love is right back where you started... Falling asleep in a different bed every night has made it easy for Cain Black to forget his past. It's been ten years since he packed his guitar and left Crystal Lake, Michigan, to chase his dreams. Now tragedy has forced him home again. And though Cain relishes the freedom of the road, one stolen moment with Maggie O'Rourke makes him wonder if he's missing out on something bigger than fame. For Maggie—single mother and newly settled in Crystal Lake—love is a luxury she just can't afford. Sure, she appreciates the tall, dark and handsome looks of prodigal son Cain Black. But how long can she expect the notorious hellion to stay? The last thing either of them wants is something complicated. But sometimes love has its own plans. Bad Boys of Crystal Lake series: The Summer He Came Home The Christmas He Loved Her The Day He Kissed Her "Everything I love in a book: A hot and tender romance and a bad-boy hero to die for!" — Molly O'Keefe, author of Can't Buy Me Love

From Lake Como in Italy to Oxford, a wonderfully compelling novel about lost love, fate and second chances from the Sunday Times bestselling author. Lake Como - beautiful, enchanting, romantic... For Floriana, it is the place where the love of her life is getting married to another woman. And she's been invited to the wedding. For Esme, it is where, over sixty years ago, she fell in love for the first time. So often she's wondered what happened to the man who stole her heart - and changed the course of her life. Adam is in danger of burying himself entirely in his work after his girlfriend left him. Could a trip to Lake Como be the distraction he needs? Now it's time for each of them to understand that the past is not only another country, it can also cast haunting shadows over everyone's lives...