Seichō Summer by Bethany Faulk

Sarah had plans for her summer. They didn’t include being in Japan. Visiting her grandparents and spending two months at a lakeside camp with an international community might suit her brother and her friend Melanie just fine, but all Sarah Jones can think about are the friends she’s leaving behind—and the lost revenue from the job she’s supposed to be working. She’s resigned herself to a solitary summer of reading and writing, but an unexpected encounter with a boy who loves books, being persuaded to join the cast of Brigadoon, and meeting families from all over the world begin to stretch Sarah in new ways. Maybe the lake is not such a bad place to be after all. Sarah discovers that growing up means learning about herself, friendships, and the world around her—all during her seichō summer.