The rope walk, by Carrie Brown

An immersion in childhood, done with delicacy and intensity. Ten-year-old Alice lives in Vermont with her professor father and five older brothers, and inhabits a dreamy world of her own until a boy her age comes to stay with the family. Theo is a whirlwind of activity, leading Alice into what she starts to call the real world. There is the giddiness of unthinking youth, coupled with the sadness of a neighbor's illness, leading to a remarkable act of heroism by the two youngsters. This is a book for grownups, but you'll feel young again reading this.