"When life gives you lemons, eat them with sugar and pancakes."
Evie embraces her bold and adventurous personality. Life has thrown a fair amount of lemons at her in the past, all of which she's taken as lessons to be learnt from.
Following her mother's death, she moves to South England to live with her dad, who she has been kept away from since the divorce that followed her parents' crumbling marriage.
Burying her grief, Evie views this as an opportunity to be seized so she vows to make each day count and enjoy a fun and adventurous summer never to be forgotten. A summer of crossroads, sharp turns, new friends, clear skies and fresh discoveries.
But when the lemons pile up and the sugar runs out, Evie is forced to fix her bitter past, whilst dealing with her sour present. Yet again, she is faced with loss, false hope and missed opportunities.
It's the summer Evie learns the true meaning of courage and cowardice, and how neither can exist without the other. After all, the bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.
Ella is falling apart trying to live a "perfect" high school life. Then she meets Ren, who can see past her scars. Suddenly perfection isn't her only option.
*****
Ella Volkov is a gifted music student, but she's depressed and starting to crack under the pressure of high school. Her overbearing father won't even let her choose what instrument she plays. Then she finds herself alone at a party with Ren, her best friend's crush. She'd always thought he was rude, but after that night he's all Ella can think about. Now she's trapped. If Ella dates Ren, it will ruin her friendship with Jenny. But if she stays true to Jenny, she's losing the one person who can see past her scars. It's up to Ella to decide if she will forge her own path, or stay in the "perfect" box designed for her...
Content and/or Trigger Warning: depression, anxiety, self-harm, violence, sexual assault.
[[word count: 50,000-100,000 words]]