Tourists may think life on an island off the coast of Maine is quaint, but Charlotte knows better. She's tired of her island prison (it has a real name, but she calls it "Bleak"), and she's sure that a life in the great anywhere-else is heaps better than one that revolves around catching a ferry to the mainland. She even has the perfect solution: boarding school.

But who will take care of the siblets? Will clinically crazy Mom or organic-obsessed Dad be able to hold things together without her there? And is Charlotte ready to leave love-of-her-life Noah behind?

Susan Carlton has created a remarkably vivid, strong character in Charlotte; her intelligence, charm, and bitingly sarcastic wit are sure to win over anyone who has ever wanted more than Bleak.

"A realistic picture of a girl who yearns for independence but secretly fears letting go of the familiar." - Publishers Weekly