A Newbury Award winner. Sara, 14, is suffering the yo-yo emotions of the teen years, and she doesn't understand why. Younger brother, Charlie, 10, is mentally disabled; older sister, Wendy, is beautiful and self-confident; and Aunt Willie, who looks after them all, is over-protective (and a marvellous character). Their long-distance father is unapproachable, and Sara copes by trying to be tough and cynical. When Charlie disappears, going to look for the summer visiting swans on the lake, the whole town mobilises to search for him. The descriptions of how Charlie himself feels when he is lost are particularly good, as are the interactions between Charlie and Sara. Sara does find him in the end, with the help of a boy whom she has considered her arch enemy, and in her suffering over Charlie's disappearance, learns much about herself. Outstanding - particularly for children trying to cope with all the problems of having a mentally disabled brother or sister.