Last Chance Season

Mills’s debut uses intricately woven backstory to take readers on a tour of the unfailing love between two headstrong teenagers who battled through abuse and separation to find each other again. Searching for an escape from his abusive father, Zach Stanley spends the summer in Plum Harbor (a small town near Cape Cod, Mass.) with his aunt and uncle. From the moment he meets Ashleigh Jones, they share a deep emotional bond. When he returns home to Arizona and she goes to Vermont for college, they vow to make a long-distance relationship work, but when Zach meets someone else he clicks with, he lets Ashleigh go. Eleven years later, Ashleigh’s job moves her close to Zach, and she must find a way to coexist with the only man who’s ever had her heart. Breaking up with Ashleigh was the hardest thing Zach has ever done, and he understands her reluctance to give him another chance, but he’s determined to regain her trust. The story is predictable, but the pace is steady, the characters are charming, and the plot contains a hint of mystery, making this endearing tale a delightful introduction to the Plum Harbor series. Agent: Emmanuelle Morgen, Stonesong Literary. (July)