A wonderful summer movie can seem to take us back in time and even make us feel like we’re in a place we’ve never been. Whether we feel the joy of dancing in the Catskills in 1963 in Dirty Dancing, the irresistible fun of summer camp hijinks in The Parent Trap, or the fear of a shark in a coastal town in the 1970s in Jaws, watching these summer films can empower us to escape on fantastic adventures even if we’re stuck at home this August. The fantastic flicks on this list span nearly a century of filmmaking, and they’re so fun to watch. Which summer movie do you like best?
The coming-of-age summer: films about seasons of changeStand By Me (1986): the coming-of-age summer you never forgot
This coming-of-age drama may be one of the best Stephen King adaptations of all time. Stand by Me follows a group of boys who set out in search of a body, but they discover a lot more about themselves and each other. The movie’s final line — “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve” — has certainly stayed with me.
The Man in the Moon (1991): Reese Witherspoon’s debut and a Louisiana summer full of firsts
Set in a Louisiana small town in the 1950s, The Man in the Moon chronicles the coming-of-age of an insecure teenage girl who idolizes her older sister while also feeling jealous of her. Fourteen-year-old Dani also loves Elvis with all her heart but has a long way to go before she can love herself. Her world is expanding by the day one special summer that’s full of joy and devastation. Reese Witherspoon makes her film debut playing Dani, and this movie shows how she was a powerhouse actress she was even in her young teens.
Summer of ’42 (1971): a Nantucket summer and the sweetness of first love
Based on the memoirs of screenwriter Herman Raucher, Summer of ’42 follows fifteen-year-old Hermie and his friends during the summer of 1942 on a small New England island. Directed by Robert Mulligan, who also directed To Kill a Mockingbird and The Man in the Moon, the film won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for Michel Legrand’s gorgeous theme. Jerry Houser, who made his film debut in Summer of ’42, stands out as Oscy, Hermie’s big-hearted best friend. He’s hilarious and gives the film the comic spark that it needs to balance its more bittersweet moments.
My Girl (1991): the summer that broke a generation’s heart
Set during the summer of 1972 in Madison, Pennsylvania, My Girl follows a precocious 11-year-old named Vada Sultenfuss. Her life is more complicated than it should be, since she lives in a house that doubles as a funeral home with her widowed, preoccupied dad. She finds escape and joy with her best friend Thomas J. Sennett, and she takes a summer writing class because it’s taught by her favorite school teacher who she has a crush on. Then her dad gets a girlfriend for the first time since Vada’s mother died when she was born. Vada has one intense summer in what has been one of my favorite movies since I saw it at the cinema when I was 12.
Dazed and Confused (1993): the last day of school and the whole summer ahead
This film follows its ensemble cast as they navigate the last day of school and their anticipation of summer in 1976 Texas. It captures the bittersweet beauty of growing up. The characters face summer crushes, keg parties, and the adolescent yearning for something just over the horizon. Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, and Parker Posey acted in this film before they were stars. The film shows that sometimes disregarding the rules can feel like freedom for a group of kids!
Now and Then (1995): the summer life as they knew it changed forever
Now and Then is a movie about girlhood and growing up. It’s set during summertime as a group of girls experience newfound freedom and self-discovery. Childhood innocence starts to unravel as the girls discover hard truths. Often called the girls’ Stand By Me, it features memorable performances from the adult stars and its child cast: Christina Ricci, Thora Birch, Gaby Hoffmann, and Ashleigh Aston Moore.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012): Wes Anderson’s color-saturated summer of young love and wilderness
Moonrise Kingdom brings us to an island off the New England coast for the summer of 1965. Two twelve-year-olds, Sam and Suzy, fall in love and make a secret pact. Wes Anderson’s unique film captures the feeling of a summer that exists outside of adult logic.
The golden age of summer: classic films from the 1930s through the 1950sMake a Wish (1937): the summer camp musical that started it all
One of Hollywood’s earliest summer camp stories, this musical comedy starring Bobby Breen follows a young boy whose singing talent blossoms over a memorable season at camp. Light and charming, Make a Wish is a piece of classic Americana that reminds you summer has always meant something special.
Summer Stock (1950): the last joyful partnering of Judy Garland and Gene Kelly
Light on plot but heavy on dancing rhythms, Summer Stock brings the sunshine with the last joyful partnering of Judy Garland and Gene Kelly. Their chemistry is unmistakable. The “Get Happy” finale, filmed separately after the rest of production wrapped, became one of the most iconic musical numbers in Hollywood history.
A Place in the Sun (1951): a summer love triangle that won six Academy Awards
A Place in the Sun features Montgomery Clift as George Eastman, a young man from a modest background who becomes entangled in a love triangle with two women: the privileged Angela Vickers, played by Elizabeth Taylor, and the working-class Alice Tripp, portrayed by Shelley Winters. A Place in the Sun was a popular and critical hit, winning six Academy Awards.
Rear Window (1954): Hitchcock’s sweltering Greenwich Village masterpiece
In Rear Window, it’s a sweltering summer in Greenwich Village, and to pass the time, photographer Jeff Jefferies takes to spying on his neighbors across the courtyard. While he’s spying, he begins to suspect his neighbor of murdering his wife. It’s one of the greatest and most suspenseful summer films ever made.
A Summer Place (1959): the most melodramatic summer on the Maine coast
A Summer Place is now known for offering handsome heartthrob Troy Donahue his first starring role, and for Max Steiner’s “Theme From A Summer Place,” which was the most popular tune of the year after the movie’s release. It’s still a beloved song all these years later! Based on the novel by Sloan Wilson, the movie tells the story of two teens who are madly in love but facing the responsibilities of adulthood way before the adults think they are ready to handle it all.
Gidget (1959): the movie that invented the California summer dream
Gidget launched Sandra Dee to stardom and casually shows an empowered young girl at a time when they weren’t teen girls usually weren’t presented that way in entertainment. Sixteen-year-old Frances Lawrence and her friends start their summer vacation by heading to the beach, where she is introduced to surf culture by Moondoggie. The movie helped invent the California summer dream.
Sweet summer magic: Disney, the musical, and the 1960s beach filmSummer Magic (1963): Hayley Mills and a perfect summer in small-town Maine
This lovingly crafted slice of Americana stars Disney legend Hayley Mills as the exuberant Nancy Carey who is endlessly optimistic despite her great grief. Summer Magic is set in Beulah, Maine, where Nancy moves with her family to start over again after they lose everything following the death of her father. I promise it’s more joyful than it might sound. With songs by the Sherman Brothers and Burl Ives as a lovable supporting character, watching this Disney classic is a pleasant way to spend a hot summer evening.
Beach Blanket Bingo (1965): the beach party film that made summer look like a party
The fourth entry in the beloved Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello beach party series, Beach Blanket Bingo is fun and carefree. Its supporting cast included Harvey Lembeck, Linda Evans, Don Rickles, Paul Lynde, and Buster Keaton. Sun, sand, skydiving, mermaids, and beatnik bikers are all part of this most unusual summer flick.
The Endless Summer (1966): two surfers chasing the perfect wave around the world
The Endless Summer, Bruce Brown’s seminal 1966 surf film, was a trailblazer. It introduced the popular California sport to a wider American audience. Often considered one of the best surfer movies of all time, The Endless Summer captures the thrill of the sport and a much simpler time.
The summer suspense film: heat, paranoia, and danger after darkJaws (1975): the movie that invented the summer blockbuster
The success of Jaws is often credited as creating the summer blockbuster. Dread lurks just beneath the surface of the beachside celebrations in this film. Steven Spielberg’s suspenseful masterpiece resonated deeply with audiences and helped establish him as a director like no other.
Blow Out (1981): Brian De Palma’s sweltering Philadelphia thriller
In Brian De Palma’s Blow Out, John Travolta gives a strong performance as a film sound-effects man who believes he has accidentally recorded an assassination. This movie grapples with themes of political paranoia and obsession, and it’s one of the great underseen American thrillers.
Friday the 13th (1980): the film that made summer camp terrifying forever
The plot of Friday the 13th is well known among horror fans. It follows a group of teenage camp counselors who are murdered one by one by an unknown killer after they come together to reopen an abandoned summer camp with a horrific past. Made on a shoestring budget and initially dismissed by critics, it went on to define an entire genre and make summer camp a scary place for a generation.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997): when a Fourth of July secret becomes a nightmare
Set in a seaside South Carolina village, this horror movie centers on four high school friends celebrating their final Fourth of July together before heading off in different directions to start their adult lives. Written by Kevin Williamson of Scream and Dawson’s Creek fame, the film has a strong cast of late-1990s teen idols: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze, Jr., and Ryan Phillippe.
The Parent Trap franchise: the ultimate summer camp movie universe
Few film franchises are as inseparable from the idea of summer as The Parent Trap series. You may know the Lindsay Lohan one best if you are a Millennial, but the Hayley Mills movies are so much fun to watch that you’ll want to see them all. Taken together, these films form a small, warm universe built entirely around the magic of summer.
The Parent Trap (1961): the original summer camp twin switch that started it all
The Parent Trap is a 1961 Disney feature film starring Hayley Mills, Maureen O’Hara, and Brian Keith in a story of a pair of teenage twins who never knew the other existed until they coincidentally meet at a sleepaway summer camp. Hayley Mills does a wonderful job playing both twins. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards and has never stopped charming audiences in the decades since it was released.
The Parent Trap (1998): Lindsay Lohan’s stunning debut and a summer camp for the ages
Directed by Nancy Meyers and set partly at a Maine summer camp and partly in the rolling vineyards of Napa, the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap updates the original while paying homage to it. The Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson romance is genuinely moving, and Lindsay Lohan’s debut performance made her a child star. Like Hayley Mills did decades before her, Lohan portrays both twins.
It Takes Two (1995): the Olsen twins’ summer camp spin on the Parent Trap formula
Though not officially part of the Parent Trap franchise, this Olsen twins vehicle seems so inspired by it that it’s worth including here. Two strangers meet at summer camp. In this case, one’s a pampered rich girl, and one’s a scrappy orphan. They look just alike and join forces to bring the adults in their lives together. Kirstie Alley and Steve Guttenberg are adult stars of this very charming summer flick.
The Parent Trap II (1986): Hayley Mills returns and the twins grow up
Twenty-five years after her twinning performance in the 1961 original, Hayley Mills reprised her roles as Susan and Sharon for The Parent Trap 2, a made-for-TV Disney Channel sequel. The film focuses on Sharon’s daughter Nikki, who tries to hook her mother up with her best friend’s father, played by Tom Skerritt. It is very beloved by Xennials like me who grew up with it. It’s a warm, nostalgic sequel. It was released on a double DVD with 1961’s The Parent Trap. I wish they would add the sequels to Disney+ and am not sure why they don’t, but you can buy this on DVD. It’s worth it.
Parent Trap III (1989): Susan and Sharon meet a new family of mischievous triplets
The third installment in the Parent Trap was aired on The Magical World of Disney, with Hayley Mills reprising her dual roles as twins Susan and Sharon. This time Susan finds herself falling for a widowed father with a set of mischievous triplets of his own, played by real-life triplet sisters Leanna, Monica, and Joy Creel. It carries the spirit of the original into a new generation. (As a kid, I just loved the Janet Jackson dance number scene.)
Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon (1989): the franchise finale takes the family to Hawaii
Released directly through The Disney Channel only seven months after Parent Trap III, Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon is the fourth movie in the series of films. It sees Hayley Mills reprising her roles as Susan and Sharon. After inheriting a family resort in Hawaii, Susan and Jeffrey Wyatt decide this is the place to spend their honeymoon, heading there with their triplets and Sharon in tow.
The sporting summer: competition and camaraderieThe Bad News Bears (1976): the summer little league film that refused to be feel-good
An aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league. What makes The Bad News Bears a genuine classic is that it refuses to be a feel-good movie in the conventional sense. It’s more realistic and gritty than most summer films.
The Sandlot (1993): the epitome of a childhood summer outside
The Sandlot is the epitome of childhood summer. A bunch of kids spend all their days playing outside, and the result becomes a lot more than just a baseball game. Every kid who ever spent a summer outside with a group of friends is sure to experience nostalgia with this one.
The summer romance: films that make you want to fall in love before SeptemberDirty Dancing (1987): the summer romance that changed everything
In the summer of 1963, 17-year-old Baby Houseman vacationed with her parents at Kellerman’s, an upscale Catskills resort. In the beloved classic Dirty Dancing, she meets someone who changes both her summer and her entire life forever. The movie originated the iconic catchphrase: “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
Say Anything… (1989): the boombox, the valedictorian, and the summer before college
A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college in Say Anything. Cameron Crowe’s directorial debut examines teens through a fair-minded lens, seeing them as regular people with real-world feelings and their own complexities. And who could forget the boombox scene?
Before Sunrise (1995): one perfect night in Vienna that feels like an entire summer
Considered to be one of the greatest romance films of all time, Before Sunrise features Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as two passengers on a train who decide to hop off and roam around Vienna getting to know each other. The movie is set within a 24-hour time period in mid-June. Richard Linklater distills everything intoxicating about summer into a single night.
Call Me by Your Name (2017): a sun-drenched Italian summer too beautiful to last
Set in sun-drenched Italy in the early 1980s, Call Me by Your Name follows 17-year-old Elio after meeting Oliver, a charming graduate student spending the summer with his family. Their quiet connection grows into something unforgettable. Summer cinema doesn’t get more beautiful than this.
Brokeback Mountain (2005): the Wyoming summer that neither man could ever leave behind
The film recounts the lifelong romance between two Wyoming cowhands, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, who meet one summer when they take on tough work while trying to survive. They fall in love in the summer of 1963 and, though they go on to live separate, closeted lives, their hearts never manage to quit each other. Ang Lee’s masterpiece uses that first summer on the mountain as the emotional anchor for everything that follows.
Cruel Intentions (1999): a dangerous summer bet among Manhattan’s elite teenagers
Sarah Michelle Gellar stars in this aptly named film. She plays a rebellious teen girl who is bored with having everything money can buy, and she challenges her stepbrother to seduce an innocent girl before summer ends. Cruel Intentions is set among wealthy teenagers living in New York City, the plot involves manipulation, seduction, and love.
Mamma Mia! (2008): 109 minutes of pure Greek island escapism
Not so much a film as a 109-minute holiday in the sun, Mamma Mia! is a jukebox musical with ABBA’s most infectious hits.Set on a colorful Greek island, the plot follows a young woman about to be married who discovers that any one of three men could be her father, so she invites all three to the wedding without telling her mother Donna. What could go wrong at this summer wedding?
Grease (1978): the ‘Summer Nights’ magic that lasts all year
When I first wanted to include Grease on this list, I hesitated since a lot of it takes place during the schoolyear. However, it opens with one of the most gorgeous montages in cinema history with John Travolta as Danny and Olivia Newton-John as Sandy frolicking on the beach. That whole montage represents their idyllic summer romance. Then later there is a call back to their epic summer love story in the high-energy, song-and-dance number “Summer Nights”. It feels joyful like summer, too, so it deserves its place, and “Summer Nights” is a great addition to any summer-themed playlist.
The friendship summer: films about the bonds that outlast the seasonBeaches (1988): the friendship tearjerker that begins and ends at the beach
When the irrepressible C.C. Bloom and the proper Hillary Whitney first meet one summer, all the 11-year-olds have in common is the need for a best friend. Both girls continue leading very different lives, but they become close through writing letters. Their friendship ebbs and flows through a lifetime of highs and lows. Bette Midler performed the film’s hit theme song “Wind Beneath My Wings,” which won two Grammys in 1990.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005): four best friends, one summer apart, one pair of jeans
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a quintessential female buddy movie. It follows the adventures of four best friends who spend their summer apart on different adventures, but they do their best to stay connected by passing along a pair of jeans that magically fits each of them.
Aquamarine (2006): the summer a mermaid taught two friends about the power of friendship
Aquamarine is based on the novel of the same name by Alice Hoffman, the beloved author of Practical Magic. Two young teen girls who are best friends try to enjoy their last days of summer before one moves far away to Australia. Then they meet a mermaid.
The summer camp film: cabins, chaos, and characters you never forgetErnest Goes to Camp (1987): Jim Varney’s beloved Ernest P. Worrell finds his calling at camp
Jim Varney’s beloved Ernest P. Worrell landed his first feature film at summer camp, and if you are a fan of Jim Varney, you will love Ernest Goes to Camp. The film is good-natured and full of slapstick comedy. Ernest accidentally causes disasters, befriends misfits, and tries his bumbling best.
Troop Beverly Hills (1989): pampered girls, wilderness badges, and unexpected heart
In Troop Beverly Hills, Shelley Long takes over leadership of a troop of pampered Beverly Hills girls that includes her daughter. She prefers luxury hotels to summer camping, and she finds a way to bring luxury to even the most rugged tasks. This movie is funny, warm, and sharper than it gets credit for; I’m glad it has become a cult classic on the strength of Long’s performance. The film delivers every ounce of summer fun it promises.
Addams Family Values (1993): Wednesday Addams goes to summer camp and burns it down
Wednesday and Pugsley are shipped off to Camp Chippewa for the summer, and the results are among the funniest sequences ever put in a summer camp film. In Addams Family Values, Christina Ricci’s Wednesday is surrounded by relentlessly cheerful campers and a tyrannical counselor played by Christine Baranski.
Camp Nowhere (1994): the summer camp fantasy where kids made their own rules
A group of kids who want to avoid their parents’ chosen summer camps band together to create their own. This was a really fun idea for a movie, and it’s fun for kids to watch as they imagine what they would do if they could create their own summer camp with no adult supervision. Camp Nowhere is anarchic, funny, and a perfect fantasy of what summer could be if adults just stayed out of it.
The summer comedy: films that capture the season’s spirit of chaos and freedomSummer School (1987): the summer school class nobody wanted and everyone remembers
Mark Harmon plays a high-school gym teacher who has big plans for the summer but is forced to cancel them to teach a remedial English class. It has a really exuberant soundtrack, and although it does tackle some tough problems the students face, Summer School has the vibe of a carefree summer flick.
Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead (1991): the summer the babysitter died and the kids took over
When their mother goes to Australia for the summer, the Crandell children find themselves stuck with a mean babysitter, but the elderly sitter suddenly dies. They find themselves with a lot of freedom, but for the oldest teen girl played by Christina Applegate, she also has to learn about adult responsibility to keep her and her siblings afloat all summer long. It became a modern cult classic, and it is the source for the viral quote: “I’m right on top of that, Rose!”.
National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983): Clark Griswold’s gloriously disastrous summer road trip
Few summer movies capture the chaos of a family road trip quite like National Lampoon’s Vacation. The movie follows the well-meaning but wildly unlucky Clark Griswold and his family as they go on a cross-country expedition to Walley World.
The summer of change: when you have something important to sayDo the Right Thing (1989): Spike Lee’s Brooklyn masterpiece where summer becomes a pressure cooker
Set on one block of Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood at the height of summer, Spike Lee’s 1989 masterpiece follows a cast of unforgettable characters as they deal with rising tensions in the community. Lee used summer heat as metaphor, and Do the Right Thing is a movie with something big to say that is just as powerful in 2026 as it was in 1989.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962): a summer in Alabama and a father who stood for what was right
In To Kill a Mockingbird, during the summer of 1932 in Maycomb, Alabama, we see the world through the eyes of six-year-old Scout Finch. Her father Atticus, played by Gregory Peck, is a principled lawyer defending a Black man falsely accused of a terrible crime. Robert Mulligan’s film, adapted from Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, captures the specific atmosphere of a Southern summer. Peck won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in To Kill a Mockingbird, and the film is on the National Film Registry.
Moonlight (2016): a Miami summer that carries the weight of a lifetime
Barry Jenkins’s Academy Award winner for Best Picture follows Chiron, a young Black man growing up in Liberty City, Miami, through three significant parts of his life. Mahershala Ali won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as Juan, a drug dealer who becomes the closest thing to a father figure Chiron will ever have. The movie is beautiful yet emotionally devastating.
The Florida Project (2017): the summer just outside the happiest place on earth
Sean Baker’s The Florida Project follows six-year-old Moonee and her group of friends over the course of a single summer at a motel just outside Disney World. These aren’t kids that get to enjoy the Magic Kingdom, though. It is close but remains beyond reach. However, Moonee, played by Brooklynn Prince, turns the motel into her own private kingdom. This complicated summer movie is joyful and devastating.
Boyhood (2014): twelve summers in the life of one American boy
Richard Linklater filmed this marvelous movie over the course of twelve years, following the same actors — including Ellar Coltrane as Mason and Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke as his parents — as Mason grows from a child into a young man. Summer after summer passes across the film’s nearly three-hour runtime. Arquette won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film.
The escape summer: films set somewhere you wish you wereUnder the Tuscan Sun (2003): a divorced writer’s summer fresh start in the Tuscan countryside
It’s almost impossible to watch Under the Tuscan Sun without feeling tempted to book your next flight to Italy. The comedy drama follows a divorced writer who seeks a fresh start by going to Tuscany, and it’s fun to watch with its stunning visuals of the Mediterranean coast and compelling characters.
Roman Holiday (1953): the original European summer fantasy with Audrey Hepburn in Rome
Roman Holiday is a romantic comedy that doubles as a European summer fantasy. Audrey Hepburn plays a princess who runs away from her royal obligations for one special summer day in Rome. She rides a Vespa through sun-drenched piazzas, eats gelato on the Spanish Steps, and falls in love with an American reporter played by Gregory Peck. Directed by William Wyler and shot entirely on location in Rome, it won Hepburn the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Summertime (1955): Katharine Hepburn alone in Venice and unexpectedly in love
Katharine Hepburn plays a middle-aged American secretary who saves up for years to experience her dream summer vacation to Venice, Italy. She finally travels alone to Venice and experiences her dream coming true. However, things get complicated when she also happens to fall unexpectedly in love. This is a summer movie that looks at love in all its complexity.
Eat Pray Love (2011): Julia Roberts in Italy, India, and Bali searching for something more
Julia Roberts plays a woman who, after a difficult divorce, spends a year traveling as a way of soul-searching. She starts a sabbatical in June, spending the summer in Italy before later going on to India and Bali. The Italian part of this flick is pure summer escapism, and Roberts brings a warmth and touching humanity to the role that carries the film through it all.
The made-for-TV summer: small-screen classics that defined the seasonPoison Ivy (1985): Michael J. Fox at summer camp just before Back to the Future changed everything
Not to be confused with the Drew Barrymore thriller of 1992 with the same name, Poison Ivy is the 1985 made-for-NBC romantic comedy starring Michael J. Fox as camp counselor Dennis Baxter. He works at a boys’ summer camp called Camp Pinewood in Clifton, Maine. After he falls in love with the new camp nurse, he spends the summer trying to convince her to leave her fiancé for him. The summer camp movie is not quite what you might think it will be.
Looking for Miracles (1989): two brothers at a Depression-era summer camp and the summer that shaped them
Based on the memoir by A.E. Hotchner, Looking for Miracles is a Canadian made-for-TV film about two brothers who are coming of age at a summer camp during the Great Depression. It stars Zachary Bennett as a child and was filmed right around the time he became a child star on Road to Avonlea, known simply as Avonlea when it aired on the Disney Channel in the United States.
Camp Cucamonga (1990): every early 1990s TV star you loved gathered at one summer camp
Camp Cucamonga was cast with a lot of teen stars from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Among them are Danica McKellar from The Wonder Years, Candace Cameron from Full House, Jaleel White as Urkel from Family Matters, and a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston. They all come together into a lovable summer camp adventure. There’s even a rap song about their summer camp adventure made to convince their parents to let them stay after things go a bit awry.
The Challengers (1991): a Canadian summer of friendship loyalty and growing up
The Challengers is a lesser-known but wonderful Canadian made-for-TV film about grief and finding yourself. Mackie, played by Avonlea star Gema Zamprogna, is a 12-year-old girl struggling with grief after her father dies and having to adjust to a new life in a smaller town because she had to move away from the city with her mother for financial reasons. She goes to great lengths to fit in during a difficult summer, but she finds real friendship and fun along the way.
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