Lauren Wolk

The little mouse who lives in the Outermost House, "at the tip of the beach...was in love with her life." But she notices the ocean encroaching on the land, and no one seems to be doing anything about it. She tries to build a barricade, but her efforts are too small; when a storm approaches, even the old man who lives in the house leaves, abandoning the house to its fate. The Outermost Mouse "looked from one treasure to another and could not think how to save them," and when the water comes show more and sweeps the house away, "she joined the ranks of captains everywhere."

Lyrically written, with beautifully soft illustrations in watercolor and Procreate/Photoshop.

See also: The Ship in the Window by Jonker/Cordell; The Littlest Drop by Alper/Pinkney show less

Vivid -- in prose, in imagery, in heart, in thoughtfulness, in pain. Love the island setting. Love the way this book helps us to understand that art makes you feel. Love the characters. Love the deep exploration of privilege and the ways we can live gracefully within whatever level of privilege we have and extend grace to others. I come back to Lucretia again and again -- the way she sees sounds, the instinctual kindness and care for creatures. And I love the struggle that is friendship. show more Beautiful.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss. show less

After her father dies, Lucretia and her mother move to a small island off the coast of Maine. They hope to find privacy, but are instead caught up in a contentious feud between the summer people and the year-round residents. Lucretia forms a cautious friendship with Bastian, a local boy, but she gets on the wrong side of three privileged summer kids. And then there's Murdock, a prickly girl Lucretia's age, who could be a friend if she can get over her own past hurts. It will be a summer of show more growth and change for all of them.

Lauren Wolk's writing is always excellent, and this book is no exception. It's set in that nebulous pre-cellphone near past (70's? 80's? early 90's?) and has a timeless feel. I did think it a bit unrealistic that the only two friends Lucretia makes are prodigies like herself (are there no other kids on this island?), and the bad kids are unrelentingly bad, but then again, this might not be the time or place to give spoiled rich brats a lot of nuance. This is a book for a thoughtful and mature young reader, one that adults will also appreciate. show less

This was an intense read, and a really compelling one, notable both in setting and in moral complexity. What I mean by moral complexity is that the very well written main character is capable of relating what happens to her and simultaneously sharing a level of compassion that works almost like a web, connecting the reader intimately on many levels with the other characters. This is not a black and white book. It is an intensely moving, emotionally complex, simply told story, with an show more inevitability that tears at the heart. I'm absolutely delighted to read something WWII that's set in America, and confronts the damaged soldiers who linger after World War I as well. And yet in the end it's a pretty straightforward story of a bully, and the impact of cruelty on community.

I feel like I'm writing around the plot, but it's an unusual read, and a great one.

Advanced Readers Copy provided by Edelweiss show less