For thirteen-year-old Judy Strand, summers in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, bustle with games of stickball played in the street, fun-filled outings to neighboring Coney Island, and her familys yearly trip to the Catskill Mountains. But in July 1944, Judys carefree days and her innocence are shaken by a discovery: The man shes always called Pa isnt her real father. Even more shocking, Judy learns that the father she doesnt remember was an alcoholic who abandoned his family. Thats why Judys mother emigrated to America from Norway. Now Judy feels jumbled inside: Shes angry at her mother for keeping the truth from herand shes suddenly awkward around Pa. Nothing her parents say soothes the hurt.At first, even the attentions of Jacob Jacobsen dont make her feel any better. Judy likes Jacob; its just that his dads drinking binges hit too close to home. Ashamed, Judy doesnt want anyone to find out her secret. But as misfortune befalls Jacob, Judys close friends, and her own family, Judy rallies to their side, and in the process recognizes that growing up encompasses forgivenessof others and of herself.From the Hardcover edition.