THE SUMMER OF LOST LETTERS

Take one box of letters referencing a secret love affair, add a fizzy summer romance, season with inordinate wealth, and throw in a soupçon of environmental concern.

When a package of letters arrives from her recently deceased grandmother’s nursing home, 17-year-old Ashkenazi Jewish Abby discovers O’ma hid a long romance that took place in the period between her rarely discussed escape from the Nazis and her adulthood as mother and grandmother. So Abby finds herself a summer job in Nantucket, home of the mystery letter writer, and begins her investigations. Almost immediately she has a meet-cute with letter writer E’s attractive, preppy, 18-year-old grandson, a Sephardic Jew who would rather study botany than enter the family business, and sparks fly. Zesty, genuine dialogue (with a few mildly dated pop-culture references), adventures with a diverse group of new friends, genealogical research, and the mystery of O’ma’s past—which includes a missing necklace—make for a full summer. Judaism provides a central point of identity, with Shabbat dinners and a helpful rabbi, and within that context, a range of experiences are represented. The ending is emotionally satisfying if mildly credulity-stretching. This is a confection that will leave readers eager for a summer in Nantucket and their own perfect romance.

Charming, with historical depth to balance the froth.