Bittersweet by Miranda
Beverly-Whittemore
Mabel is thrilled when her rich and
gorgeous college roommate Genevra Winslow invites her to spend the summer at
the Winslow compound: a collection of small cottages on Lake Champlain in
Vermont. The cottage Genevra inherits,
Bittersweet, is a bit of a wreck but the girls work hard to “pass inspection”
and make the cottage their own. Mabel
dreams of becoming a Winslow herself, she even interlibrary loaned some small
press books on the family prior to her vacation so she would know all about this
enchanting family. But while Mabel is
there she not only experiences how the rich live, she is swept up into the
family history and family secrets. Some
that may cost her dearly.
What starts out as the typical
coming of age novel turns into a dark and gothic suspense story. I thought I figured out one of the secrets,
only to find that there were many more layers to the dark things hidden in the
family’s past (and present). Where did
the family wealth come from? Why are
there bolts on exterior and interior cottage doors? Why did Genevra’s cousin commit suicide? All of these questions will be answered with
each answer being more disturbing than the last.
