A life-affirming, coming-of-age free verse novel about friendship, family and the bittersweet beauty of growing up

For Billie, summer has already meant Pearl Beach - foaming white waves and lazy mornings, old Aunt Edith and above all, her best friend Andy. But this year, Andy is determined to grow up. Billie wants to change too, but why does growing up feel like losing their friendship forever?

Then Aunt Edith gives Billie the diary she kept as a teenager. Inside is a tale of extraordinary survival - of feeling persecution and crossing oceans, of agonizing betrayal and breathtaking first love. Guided by Edith's past, can Billie find the courage to face her own future?