August Isle by Ali Standish
Published by HarperCollins on April 16th 2019
ISBN: 0062433415
Pages: 352
Goodreads

“Some people, when their heart gets broken, try to pick up the pieces. They stitch them back together as best they can. But me–I just tried to sweep the pieces under the rug. Where they couldn’t cut me up anymore.”

This is the heart of an emotional family story revolving around a parent/child relationship that can’t move forward due to secrets from the past. Miranda and her mother have a tense relationship and Miranda cannot figure out what she did to cause it, though she is certain the problem is her. When she is sent to August Isle for the summer while her mother travels for work and her father works on a big court case, she is sure she will get a window into her mother’s life and maybe be able to unravel her a bit and find a way to connect. Turns out, Miranda stumbles on a thread and when she follows it to the end, her world almost unravels. But a world that has unraveled can be knit back together and this is the conclusion reached at the end of this lovely novel. Standish captures the devastation of loss, the weight of unspoken stories, and the power of friendship and family to help overcome fear and alienation. A worthy addition to middle grade shelves with realistic situations and enough mystery to keep the reader engaged. The ending is a bit pat, but it is satisfying and drives home the point of the book.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth