"Powerful. . . . A lyrical and sensitively rendered coming-of-age tale." --Kirkus Reviews

Ava's mom is about to have twins, and the pregnancy isn't going well. All Ava wants to do is stay by her mother's side, but instead, she is sent away to stay with her grandparents. Normally, spending time at the lake with Nonna and Nonno is wonderful. But everything is different now. While her mom's hospital visits are getting serious back home and summer storms rock the island, making the electricity go out at the cabin, Ava grapples with anxiety. An annoyingly cheerful boy named Cody seems determined to pop up everywhere she goes, but Ava can't be distracted from the feeling that something terrible, something irrevocable, is going to happen to her mom while she is gone.
When a bird dies in front of her, Ava is sure it is a sign that she is cursed--the last thing she, or her family, needs. But if a curse has been placed on her, there must be a way to break it. So Ava makes a deal: If she can take care of two orphaned bird eggs, she will have paid off her debt, and her family will be all right.
With everyone she loves on the line, Ava will do everything in her power to make sure that her mom, her twin baby brothers, her birds, and even Cody all come through the summer safely.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 06/03/2025
ISBN: 9781536243543
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 7.80h x 5.80w x 0.70d
Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 553540 / Where the Water Takes Us
Reading Level: 5.5 / Interest Level: Middle Grade / Point Value: 4