The death of both their parents catapults cousins Meline and Jocelyn into the household of their eccentric Uncle Marten, an independently wealthy hermit who, in earlier years, played the stock market so that he could now be alone and think about what interests him. Alone no longer, the arrival of the girls means adding a housekeeper, a butler, a zany helicopter pilot, and a romantic doctor into the household mix. The characters have one thing in common: they are each in their own unique ways learning to deal with the death of loved ones and the resulting loneliness. Set on an isolated island off the Vancouver coast with events narrated by alternating characters, the mystery surrounding Meline and Jocelyn’s family is solved only as the teenag ers begin to learn that running away from pain does not help start life again. 2008 Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize, 2008 CLA Young Adult Book Award finalist. Polly Horvath has won the National Book Award, the Newbery Honor, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, the Mr. Christie Award, the Young Adult Canadian Book of the Year, and has been listed on the White Raven’s list. sc