The Islanders

Trigger warnings: military injury/loss of limb, miscarriage (mentioned), incarcerated family member

Jake is forced to spend his summer on Dewees Island with his grandmother.

Jake Potter is a tween who is so not excited about being forced to spend his summer in Dewees Island, SC without restaurants, stores, video games, TV, or WiFi. He is visiting his grandmother while his father recovers from an injury.

Helen Potter (Jake calls her Honey) is Jake's grandmother who is suffering from the loss of her husband who recently died. She feels anxiety about her son, Jake's father, and has become withdrawn from normal life. Jake is told that Honey needs him, and the statement proves to be true.

Jake is able to shake Honey out of her sad existence. She has stopped cooking and has spoiled food in the fridge when Jake arrives, no longer cleans her house, and has stopped helping the local Turtle Team protect nests on the beach. With Jake there, Honey comes out of her shell and begins to live life again.

Jake makes two friends on the island and they go on many adventures together. They spend a lot of time at the Nature Center learning about the birds and marine life that live on Dewees Island. Each of Jake's friends has a family struggle of their own; Lovie's biological father is in prison and she doesn't have contact with him while Macon's mother has lost several children and is on bed rest to prevent miscarrying her current pregnancy.

Michael Crouch's higher-pitch voice is perfect for a prepubescent teenager.

Recommended for children interested in nature, adventure stories, or marine biology.

Mary Alice Monroe is a bestselling Southern fiction novelist who lives in South Carolina. This is her first middle grade book.

Series: The Islanders, #1

Publisher: Aladdin

Narrator: Michael Crouch

Running Time: 7 hours, 30 minutes

Length: 304 pages

Release Date: June 15, 2021

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.