Junonia, by Kevin Henkes

With fond memories of the pearl sands and crystal clear water of Florida I reminisced of my own childhood summers spent with family in sun as Henkes told the story of Alice Rice's own annual family vacation to this beautiful Gulf getaway. Alice is self-conscious of her beauty mark (as her parents call it), missing the family and friend who didn't make it to the beach, annoyed by the addition of 6-year old Mallory and her obsession with a doll, and obsessed with finding the rare Junonia (a type of shell that washes up on the Florida coast).

This is a story of self discovery in a sense; of finding out that, though, everything isn't always perfect, you must embrace the good that does come along and make the most of the bad. Alice is moving away from being an oblivious child, like Mallory, and seeing that sometimes people can be mean (like old Mr. Barden) and others can be overly kind (like her parents). Nothing last forever (like the sandcastle made for her Birthday) and so you have to make the most of change (like Kate having a new boyfriend, Ted).

In the end Alice not only learns a lot about life, but leaves the beautiful beach with memories that will last a lifetime and shape her into the person she will become along dreams for the coming year and those that will follow of returning to the beach. Girls from 5th-7th grade are sure to relate to the difficulties that Alice encounters and become enthralled in the lush descriptions of this beautiful part of the U.S.