Fast Five Fiction: Beach Week

It's Friday and time for Fast Five Fiction! Each week I share five fiction books: new books, notable books, books around a common theme. Our summer reading theme this year is Oceans of Possibilities and we've got an ocean of great books for readers of all ages. This week is beach week and we've got some great beachy reads to recommend. 

The Islanders series by Mary Alice Monroe

Jake's life has been turned upside down. His dad was wounded in Afghanistan, and his mom is going to help care for him. That means Jake's going to have to spend the summer on Dewees Island with his grandmother. Dewees is a nature sanctuary--no cars or paved roads, no stores or restaurants. To make matters worse, Jake's grandmother doesn't believe in cable or the internet. Which means Jake has no cell phone, no video games ... no friends. 

But then he meets two other kids - one is also visiting the small island, and the other lives there. Forced together by circumstance and loneliness, they become inseperable. but when they find what they think is an abandoned boat, their adventure lands them in hot water! Their punishment? Turtle duty. Daily beach patrols at dawn checking for loggerhead sea turtle tracks initially sound pretty boring, but then a nest is destroyed. The three friends are determined to protect "their" nest. Can they save the loggerhead eggs from predators? And can Jake's growing love for the island and its inhabitants (be they two-legged, four-legged, feathered, of finned) help his father get well?

Stranded series by Jeff Probst

A family vacation becomes a game of survival!
It was supposed to be a vacation--and a chance to get to know each other better. But when a massive storm sets in without warning, four kids are shipwrecked alone on a rocky jungle island in the middle of the South Pacific. No adults. No instructions. Nobody to rely on but themselves. Can they make it home alive?

A week ago, the biggest challenge Vanessa, Buzz, Carter, and Jane had was learning to live as a new blended family. Now the four siblings must find a way to work as a team if they're going to make it off the island. They're all in this adventure together--but first they've got to learn to survive one another.

Aquicorn Cove by Kate O'Neill

When Lana and her father return to their seaside hometown to help clear the debris of a big storm, Lana remembers how much she's missed the ocean--and the strong, reassuring presence of her aunt. As Lana explores the familiar beach, she discovers something incredible: a colony of Aquicorns, small magical seahorse-like creatures that live in the coral reef. Lana rescues an injured Aquicorn and cares for it with the help of her aunt, who may know more about these strange creatures than she's willing to admit. But when a second storm threatens to reach the town, choices made many years ago about how to coexist with the sea start to rise to the surface. Lana realizes she will need to find the strength to stand on her own, even when it means standing up to the people who she has always relied on to protect her.

Saltwater Secrets Cindy Callaghan

Stella and Josie live for their summers at the boardwalk—each one a carbon copy of the last. Josie lives in Australia most of the year; her half-sister, Stella, lives in New Jersey. But every year, they come together for a beach vacation with their dad, and to make more memories. The real excitement for them is their secret special place under the boardwalk, where they hide their sister scrapbook, adding memories from each summer.

But this summer feels different. Josie isn’t the same—she’s turned into one of the popular girls that Stella can’t stand. Despite the rocky start to their vacation, they still go to their secret, special place under the boardwalk, adding memories to their sister scrapbook once again.

That is, until their place is discovered by the owners of the newest store—the Smoothie Factory, which replaced Josie’s favorite sweet spot. Not only have the owners of the Smoothie Factory discovered the cove, they are exploiting the natural habitat, and endangering marine life and everyone at the beach! It’s up to Josie and Stella to figure out how to stop their beloved boardwalk from disappearing for good.

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder

On the island, everything is perfect. The sun rises in a sky filled with dancing shapes; the wind, water, and trees shelter and protect those who live there; when the nine children go to sleep in their cabins, it is with full stomachs and joy in their hearts.

And only one thing ever changes: on that day, each year, when a boat appears from the mist upon the ocean carrying one young child to join them--and taking the eldest one away, never to be seen again.

Today's Changing is no different. The boat arrives, taking away Jinny's best friend, Deen, replacing him with a new little girl named Ess, and leaving Jinny as the new Elder. Jinny knows her responsibility now--to teach Ess everything she needs to know about the island, to keep things as they've always been.

But will she be ready for the inevitable day when the boat will come back--and take her away forever from the only home she's known?

Happy Friday and happy reading!