Sand Dollar Summer - Softcover

Jones, Kimberly K.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1416958347 ISBN 13: 9781416958345

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2008

Synopsis

Twelve-year-old Lise watches her safe world fall apart when her strong, self-reliant mom is injured in a car accident. To recuperate, Mom takes Lise and her bright little brother to live in a rattletrap house on the beach in Maine for the summer. Although her mother grew up there, this is Lise's first experience with the ocean. She's terrified by what may be lurking in the cold depths and confused by the ways that Maine is changing her mother.

As secrets from the past start spilling out, even the solid earth may not keep Lise safe anymore. Lise will have to learn to go with the flow -- or risk falling apart -- in this tender, funny, and wise novel...the story of one family's unforgettable summer.

About this title

About the Author

Kimberly K. Jones is the author of Sand Dollar Summer, which earned two starred reviews, was named a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, and was chosen by Booklist as one of the Top Ten First Novels for Youth. She lives in Monkton, Vermont. Visit her online at kimberlykjones.com.

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 6-8–Lise, 12, is beginning to feel at home in a new town with her single mother and 5-year-old brother, a selective mute. When her mother is injured in a car accident and faces months of rehabilitation, she decides to recover in Maine, where she grew up. Lise is shocked and resentful when they arrive at Fiddle Beach and she sees their tiny rented house. And she finds that the immense, uncontrollable, and endless ocean terrifies her. She is so caught up in her own feelings that she never really acknowledges the pain and frustration her mother is experiencing, and is even somewhat jealous of the former boyfriend who enters her mother's life. But when she meets Ben, an elderly Passamaquoddy Indian who lives in the last house on the beach, Lise finds that she can tell him about her fear and the changes in her life. Ben talks to her about knowing when to fight for what is important and when to accept change. Lise doesn't quite understand until Hurricane Fern hits and she almost loses her life while trying in vain to rescue the old man. Struggling in the water, she hears a small, clear voice calling her name–it is her brother's. Jones gets right to the heart of the matter in this captivating and touching first novel. Lise is by turns irritating, humorous, and compelling, but always believable. A first-rate debut.–Terrie Dorio, Santa Monica Public Library, CA
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About this edition

• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1416958347
• ISBN 13: 9781416958345
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224