Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord tells the story of Lucy Emery, who has just moved to a small lake town in New Hampshire. It is summertime, and she makes friends with some of the summer residents and learns about her new home at the same time. She spends a great deal of time on "Loon Patrol" with Nate Bailey, who has visited the lake each summer ever since he was young with his Grandma Lilah. Grandma Lilah is getting older, and can no longer do the Loon Patrol for the local "Loon Preservation Society", and she's starting to have trouble remembering other things as well. As Nate dreads the day when Grandma Lilah may no longer remember him, Lucy also dreads the day when her new friend will leave for the summer to return home to go to school. Lucy's father is a famous photographer, and Lucy is following in his footsteps. During this summer, she attempts to capture and preserve all those things that are important in photos. But photos can't stop things from changing. I found Half a Chance to be a very poignant and moving story. Cynthia Lord does a beautiful job of helping the reader gradually come to the understanding that changes happen, life moves on, and that there is usually more than one way to "see" a situation. Her use of photography/art as a theme and "lens" for the story helps to show that different events can be viewed from a variety of perspectives, but that they are still moments in time, and nothing stays the same forever. Lucy learns a lot over the summer about the cycle of life--beginnings and endings. Lucy says, "Last times and first times shouldn't matter more than all the middle times, but somehow, they do." The book deals well with the issues that can crop up in friendships, and also with the issue of aging, memory loss, and the onset of dementia... something middle grade readers may be facing in older family members or friends. Half a Chance is a book I suspect will stay with me for a long time.