Based on a real murder at the turn of the century, this outstanding debut novel is a powerful and moving coming-of-age book. Matde is torn between her familial responsibilities, her desire to be a writer, and the excitement of a first romance. Her dilemmas and choices are quietly |reflected in the life of a young woman found drowned in a lake, a woman that Mattie oMBfc to know through reading her Jotters.

When finally the tales of Mattie and the drowned merge, their stories beautifully combine in a brill and perfect conclusion.