A Thousand Cherry Trees

It’s been three years since James got to spend the summer with his father in Burham, California, a tiny desert town whose only claim to fame is a neighboring hippie commune called the Dropouts. Back then, James used to spend every summer hanging out with Dayle, one of the only girls in town. But Dayle’s letters to him back home in Boston have dried up, and James isn’t sure what to expect this summer in Burnham.

But then along comes Sunny, a runaway living in the Dropouts who has a taste for ...