Those Summer Girls I Never Met — Richard Peck

Drew isn't looking forward to spending two weeks trapped on an ocean liner with his ill-tempered sister Stephanie and Connie, the grandmother he hardly knows. But once the cruise begins, Drew is quick to change his mind. Self-assured Conniean aging big-band singeris unlike anyone Drew has ever met. Even rebellious Stephanie falls under her spell. And in the days that follow Drew and his sister come to a deeper understanding of what it means to be a family. Though Drew and Stephanie's initial reluctance to go on the cruise is rather mystifying, for the most part this warm account of an unusual family rings true. Drew's rapid-fire narration is deceptively lighthearted: his goofy, glib voice proves capable of expressing a great range of emotion. Ages 12-up. (September)