It s been a long seventeen years since Jess last saw her grandmother or visited the family cottage set on an idyllic lake in Northern Michigan. For all that time, she s been haunted by loss of her innocence and her ability to trust and, most of all, of a profound summer romance that might have been something more. So when her grandmother leaves the house to her, Jess summons her courage and returns to a place full of memories and secrets.
There, she stumbles upon old letters and photographs of a time not so much forgotten as buried. As she begins to unravel the hidden histories of her mother and her grandmother, she makes a startling discovery about a tragic death that prompted her family s slow undoing. With every uneven and painful step into the past, Jess comes closer to a truth that could alter her own path and open a door to a different future.
Revised edition: This edition of The Color of Water in July includes editorial revisions.