Halley and Me by Sandra Gardner
Winner of the 2012 Grassic Short Novel Prize
Halley and Me by Sandra Gardner
Cover photo on right by Abrahm Lustgarten
A truly twisted who-dun-it–you don’t know a crime’s been committed until the parties are caught in the act–and not one hint is dropped to the reader of who they are or what they did, until it’s too late: packing a punch for those who don’t want their shock telegraphed. –Dakota Lane, author of Johnny Voodoo
It was so touching. So sad. So heartbreaking for Sara to face all those events in one summer. The writing is delightful. I could picture the characters, the clothing, the setting. A poignant story of an adolescent girl who faces a summer of disillusionment in 1959. –Susan P. Baker, Author My First Murder
In this coming of age novel, family conflicts are revealed through the eyes of a discerning 13-year-old girl, as remembered by her 40-year-old self. Sandra Gardner combines drama, comedy, and tragedy in a riveting tale of friendship, deception, and betrayal. –Judith Lechner, author of The Moon Sings Back
Synopsis of Halley and Me
At Halley’s funeral, Sara, now in her 40s, tries to come to grips with her feelings about her once-beloved cousin. She hasn’t spoken to Halley in 30 years, after a family crisis tore the two apart and caused a death when they were teenagers in small-town Massachusetts.
Back in 1959, Sara was 13 and Halley, 15. The cousins stood together as a positive force against the various permutations of their dysfunctional families. But Halley was becoming a woman and slowly shrugging off the bonds between herself and Sara.
Complex family relationships, involving another cousin and, later, both girls’ fathers, led to the life-altering events at the families’ summer at Three Beaches.
