While spending the summer on tiny Dewees Island with his grandmother, 12-year-old Jake protects the islands turtles and wonders if his newfound love for this place will help heal his father, who was injured in Afghanistan. 75,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook.
Spending the summer with his grandmother on South Carolina's Dewees Island, eleven-year-old Jake finds two friends who are also struggling with family issues and together they try to save a sea turtle nest from predators.
An instant New York Times bestseller!?
Storytelling for young readers at its finestequal parts summer adventure and environmental suspense
[ a] love letter to family, friendship, and the natural world. Kwame Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of The Crossover
From New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe comes a beautiful story of friendship, loss, and the healing power of nature in her first book for middle grade readers.
Eleven-year-old Jakes life has just turned upside-down. His father was wounded in Afghanistan, and his mother is going to leave to care for him. That means Jakes spending the summer on tiny Dewees Island with his grandmother. The island is a nature sanctuaryno cars or paved roads, no stores or restaurants. To make matters worse, Jakes grandmother doesnt believe in cable or the internet. Which means Jake has no cell phone, no video games...and no friends. This is going to be the worst summer ever!
Hes barely on the island before he befriends two other kidsMacon, another summer kid, and Lovie, a know-it-all who lives there and shows both Jake and Macon the ropes of life on the island. All three are struggling with their own family issues and they quickly bond, going on adventures all over Dewees Island. Until one misadventure on an abandoned boat leads to community service. Their punishment? Mandatory duty on the Island Turtle Team. The kids must do a daily dawn patrol of the beach on the hunt for loggerhead sea turtle tracks. When a turtle nest is threatened by coyotes, the three friends must find a way to protect it. Can they save the turtle nest from predators? Can Jakes growing love for the island and its inhabitants (be they two-legged, four-legged, feathered, or finned) help to heal his father?