Gelbwasser, Margie

While fifteen-year-old Russian-Jewish immigrant Alyssa tries desperately to cope with her mother's increasingly out-of-control alcoholism by covering for her and pretending things are normal, her best friend Lana attempts to fit in with the popular crowd at their high school.

Four teenagers from two families--sisters Katie and Julie and brothers Alex and Kyle--meet every summer at a lakeside community in upstate New York, where they escape their everyday lives and hide disturbing secrets.

While fifteen-year-old Russian-Jewish immigrant Alyssa tries desperately to cope with her mother's increasingly out-of-control alcoholism by covering for her and pretending things are normal, her best friend Lana attempts to fit in with the popular crowd at their high school.