The First Day of September

Maybe Sarah shouldn't have taken that dare. Maybe she shouldn't have bragged that she could swim across the lake. None of that mattered now. She was drowning.

When twelve-year-old Sarah Oakley and her family visit their friends, the Harpers, at Sweetwater Lake, she doesn't hold out much hope for the vacation. She expects her brother, Will, and the two Harper boys to ignore her as usual. She expects to spend most of her time alone. She expects any adventure to happen within her imagination.

What she doesn't expect is to be the keeper of a dangerous secret and to accept a dare that might endanger her life. But soon, the lush nature of the mountains and the comforting spirit of the lake work their magic on her. After facing a capsized boat, a snake, a dying hawk, and a hurricane, she begins to earn her brother's respect, and her own. But just when she thinks her world is falling into place, everything around her starts to crumble. A friendship of the most unlikely kind just might help Sarah find her true worth. If only she can stay afloat.