A Summer in a Canyon: A California Story

Summer 1914. A group of spirited young campers heads to the wild beauty of Las Flores Cañon in California, and nothing will ever be the same. At the heart of the group is Polly Oliver, a girl with enough energy and invention to keep an entire camp laughing, scheming, and naming their little settlement with elaborate ceremony. They coerce the bemused Geoffrey Strong into christening their temporary home, and as the weeks unfold, the canyon becomes a world of discovery: secret swimming holes, unfamiliar flora, and the particular magic that happens when young people are let loose in extraordinary landscapes. Through letters, the absent Elsie Howard remains vividly present among them, an invalid friend whose courage and wit bind the group together even from afar. This is a book that understands how a single summer can reshape a life, how nature becomes the backdrop for growing up, and how the friends we make under open skies stay with us forever.