August Isle - Hardcover

Standish, Ali

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062433415 ISBN 13: 9780062433411

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2019

Synopsis

*A Junior Library Guild Selection*

From critically acclaimed author Ali Standish (The Ethan I Was Before), the story of one girl’s journey to a magical seaside town, where she uncovers her family’s long hidden secrets and ultimately finds truth and redemption.

Fans of Sharon Creech and Rebecca Stead will be captivated by this story filled with warm humor, mystery, whimsy, and characters you can’t let go. A modern classic in the making!

For years, Miranda has stared at postcards of August Isle, Florida. The town where her mother spent her summers as a girl. The town that Miranda has always ached to visit. She just never wanted it to happen this way.

When she arrives on the Isle, alone and uncertain, to stay the summer with an old friend of her mother’s, Miranda discovers a place even more perfect than she imagined. And she finds a new friend in Sammy, “Aunt” Clare’s daughter.

But there is more to August Isle than its bright streets and sandy beaches, and soon Miranda is tangled in a web of mysteries. A haunted lighthouse. An old seafarer with something to hide. A name reaching out from her mother’s shadowy past.

As she closes in on answers, Miranda must reckon with the biggest question of all: Is she brave enough to face the truth she might uncover?

“A beautifully written story. An emotional journey of family, friendship, loss, and healing.” —Kirkus

About this title

About the Author

Ali Standish, author of the critically acclaimed The Ethan I Was Before, August Isle, and Bad Bella, grew up in North Carolina and spent several years as an educator in the Washington, DC, public school system. She has an MFA in children’s writing from Hollins University and an MPhil in children’s literature from the University of Cambridge. She lives in Raleigh with her husband, Aki, and their two rescue dogs, Bella and Keeper. You can visit her online at www.alistandish.com.

From School Library Journal

Gr 4 Up—The summer before Miranda starts eighth grade, her parents send her to August Isle, FL, to stay with her mother's ex-best friend and family. Miranda is eager to explore the bright streets and sandy beaches with Aunt Clare's daughter, Sammy. But mysteries abound. Why doesn't Miranda's mother want to be with her? Why did she throw out all of Clare's August Isle postcards? Why is Miranda so afraid of the sea? Who was Ben, a boy who apparently knew Clare and Miranda's mother when they were younger? Miranda is determined to overcome her fears and find answers. This book employs many well-worn tropes. There's a distant parent who has a painful secret, girls who look exactly like their mothers as children, an obnoxious boy who becomes their friend because there is nobody else to hang out with, a mysterious old man in the dilapidated house who just returned from years at sea, a nearby island where Something Bad happened in the past, and several locals who know what happened but won't tell the kids. Of course, Miranda disobeys warnings and sails to the forbidden island. History is repeated in a climactic scene and the truth is finally revealed. Although the plot is nothing new, Standish has created engaging characters, a pleasant setting, and enough intrigue to hook young readers. VERDICT A general purchase for fans of light summer mysteries.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0062433415
• ISBN 13: 9780062433411
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 368