The Gold Dark Summer by Susan Papas

An eloquent novel detailing the ins and outs of an English boarding school in the late 1950s, Susan Papas’ The Gold Dark Summer is a lushly descriptive work about the delights and dangers of forbidden first love. Sadie, a young scholarship student at Bracken Hill who lost her father in WWII, falls for a boy and must cope with the consequences, including the betrayal of friends. Papas’ poignant book vividly captures the magic and excitement of youth, where every change and new experience is a dramatic opportunity for personal growth and exploration, offering a look at adolescence from a historical perspective that is wholly recognizable in the present day.