Before wings : a novel

Having barely survived a brain aneurysm two years earlier, fifteen-year-old Adrien, working at her Aunt Erin's summer camp, is caught between the land of the living and the spirit world, unsure where she belongs. As she struggles to understand the message delivered by the spirits of the five young women that only she sees, she learns of the tragic consequences of their connection to her aunt. Faced with the knowledge that another aneurysm could strike her at any time and mostly shunned by the other staff because she is the boss's niece, Adrien finds a soulmate in Paul, the camp handyman, who is convinced that he has seen his own death foretold. ** Fifteen-year-old Adrien barely survived a brain aneurysm two years earlier, and is haunted by the fact that she could die from another one at any time. In fact, issues of life and death completely fill her world at Camp Lakeshore, owned and operated by her Aunt Erin, a woman with a haunted past of her own. Adrien bonds with Paul, a teen who is convinced that he has dreamt of his own death and that it will happen on his next birthday. She also seems to be experiencing events in the lives of five girls, a group of campers who died long ago in a tragic accident. Anyone who ever spent time at a summer camp will recognize Camp Lakeshore, with its bad T-shirts, cliques, bullies, and time-honored rituals. Adrien is a sympathetic and believable character: intelligent, stubborn, funny, filled with confusion and doubt, but ultimately open to the possibility that she just might have a future after all. This could have been a terribly bleak and depressing book, but it isn't. Its engaging characters, realistic setting, and upbeat ending will satisfy teen readers. Having barely survived a brain aneurysm two years earlier, fifteen-year-old Adrien, working at her Aunt Erin's summer camp, is caught between the land of the living and the spirit world, unsure of where she belongs. Faced with the possibility of another aneurysm, she struggles to understand the message delivered by the spirits of the five young women that only she can see--a message that holds the key to a dark secret that haunts her aunt Having physically recovered from a brain aneurysm two years earlier, Adrian is drawn to the water at her aunt's summer camp, where she sees spirits dancing in the waves, calling to her, inviting her to join them, even as they reawaken Adrian's will to live "Two years after a near death experience, fifteen-year-old Adrien is sent to work at a summer camp, where she is caught between the land of the living and the spirit world" Cf. Our choice, 2001. By confronting the past, Adrien learns to understand and accept the present.