Moonpenny Island

Flor and Sylvie are best friends. They have been forever. They live on a tiny island in the middle of a huge lake. In summer, the island teems with people, but when autumn comes, the summer people leave and Flor and Sylvie are the only two eleven-year-old girls for miles. But when this summer ends, things change. Sylvie’s parents send her to live with relatives on the mainland and go to school there. Flor and Sylvie can email and talk on the phone, but it isn’t the same. Flor’s mother also leaves to stay with her mother and sisters on the mainland because, she says, her mother is ill. In addition, Flor’s older sister, Cecelia, seems to be pulling away and just isn’t there for Flor anymore. Their father seems to work all the time. Flor is bereft and lonely.

Tricia Springstubb has written an absolutely engaging and charming novel that will capture the tween set and older readers as well. The writing is lively, the characters well-rounded and interesting and believable, and the story one with which young readers will fully relate and understand. Spingstubb explores friendship, young love, and family dynamics in ways specific to middle-graders.