Emma is a typical high school girl - lunch with her friends, going to the mall, working at her uncle's roller rink. However, she still grieves the loss of her childhood friend, Scott, killed in an accident when they were eight.  One rainy night, as Emma is closing up the rink, a truck and minivan collide outside. No one is injured, but the driver of the totaled truck comes to the
rink to use the phone.  He is about Emma's age.  His name is Sam, and he looks exactly like Scott.  The two cross paths again at a football game and begin dating.

Meanwhile, Emma is assigned a class project on Anastasia, the Russian princess believed dead in a slaughter by the Bolsheviks. When she reads
about how many believed that the princess escaped alive, and was living under another identity, she begins to suspect that Scott may not be dead after all and may be living as Sam. Could Sam really be Scott?  Or is Emma's
unresolved grief from her past loss intruding on her reality with Sam?

RESURRECTING ANASTASIA is a fast-paced young-adult mystery/romance. I found the characters very believable and well thought-out from Emma and her group of friends to the adults in her life and the reasons they act the way they do.

The book's conclusion was a treat - it was not what I had expected and prepared for. I truly enjoyed the surprising, yet believable, ending. Cheers for both a rare realistic portrayal of teenagers and a tight page-turner.