"Backwater" by Joan Bauer follows the story of a young girl named Tessa who is sent to live with her aunt in a small town for the summer. Struggling with feelings of displacement, Tessa discovers a world of quirky locals, a mysterious history tied to her family, and the beauty of the outdoors. As she navigates her new environment, she learns valuable lessons about friendship, resilience, and self-acceptance. The narrative weaves themes of community and personal growth, while Tessa's journey of self-discovery unfolds against the backdrop of a charming but complicated small-town life. [Generated by language model - please report any problems].

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book has been graded for interest at 12-17 years.

There are 192 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2005 by Turtleback Books .

Joan Bauer is an award-winning American novelist. She is fascinated by politics and loves hill-walking. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and has one daughter.