Other editions of book Raven in a Dove House

It's summer vacation, and twelve-year-old Nell has gone upstate to spend a month with Aunt Ursa and Cousin Foley. Seeing Foley's best friend, Slade, puts a smile on Nell's face, even when she tries to stay cool. Nell is enjoying the lazy days of summer, especially Foley's antics and Slade's flirty talk . . . until the boys surprise her with a frightening request. They want her to hide a pistol in her old dollhouse. Nell doesn't know what to do. Suddenly, she doesn't trust anyone, even herself. But when tragedy strikes, she knows she can't handle it on her own.

Nell spends every summer with her aunt Ursa and cousin Foley. This summer she finds she is strongly attracted to Foley's smooth-talking best friend, Slade. When Slade and Foley beg her to hide Foley's Raven .25, a pistol her cousin purchased in a gun-running scheme, Nell reluctantly agrees -- even though the weapon scares her and hiding it means lying to her aunt. Nell is haunted by guilt when tragedy strikes and Foley runs away. Could she have prevented Slade's death? Should she have told Aunt Ursa what the two boys were up to? Seeking answers, Nell turns to her father, who must face his own conflicted feelings about his family and his past. In the end Nell learns the importance of making choices for herself, telling the truth, and about the healing power of a strong family.