Quicksand Pond

by Janet Taylor Lisle
Lexile:  600
Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Jessie is less than thrilled to have to spend her summer with her dad, sister, and brother in a run down cabin on Quicksand Pond.  To make matters worse there is no internet or cell service.  Jessie finds an abandoned raft that she takes out on the pond when she runs into Terri, a girl whose family seems to have a troubled past.  Jessie wants to be Terri's friend, but their lives are completely different.  They decide to fix up the raft together which leads them to the Cutting's tool shed where they encounter Miss Cuttings, an old woman who some people believe has lost her mind.  The stories of the past and present begin to intersect as Jessie and Terri work together to get the raft back on the pond.