Wild Blue Wonder

March 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-Quinn's family camp in Maine has always been a magical place to connect with others. But the summer before her senior year of high school, a tragic boating accident occurs. When the water overcomes human physical strength, Quinn loses her best male friend Dylan, the desire to be a competitive swimmer, and her passion for camp all at once. She goes through life in a daze of grief. Through a combination of time, support from family and friends, the process of rebuilding a boat, a spark for the new boy in town named Alexander, and her love of science, Quinn finds herself again. The setting of the small town Winship, ME, is eloquently described, and the family's camp comes to vivid life as a character in its own right. Adolescents will relate to Quinn's coming of age and also her ability to let go of the past. As she learns to trust herself again, her friendship with Alexander gradually grows into romance. Her relationships with her grandmother Nana and her best friend Hana are well developed and show how important close friends and mentors can be to young people. VERDICT A great work of realistic fiction with a romantic twist that will appeal to fans of YA for older teens.-Margaret A. Robbins, University of Georgia, Athens

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2018
A girl in rural Maine, dealing with the emotional aftermath of an accident for which she feels responsible, learns to let go of the guilt that haunts her. Seventeen-year-old Quinn Sawyer's life has become unrecognizable. The middle child in a once inseparable, tightknit family, including her gay older brother, Reed, younger sister, Fern, and family friend, Dylan--beloved by all three siblings--Quinn now feels ostracized and wracked with guilt. The aftermath of a tragic accident at their family-run summer camp, The Hundreds, has poisoned their relationships. With the help of stalwart supporters including her best friend, Korean-American Hana Chang, quirky grandmother Nana Eden, and the new boy in town, Alexander Kostopoulos, a Greek-British student wrestling with family issues of his own, Quinn slowly begins to heal. While some of the characters, such as Quinn's hippie mother, can at times feel like predictable caricatures, Quinn's self-blame and her siblings' confusion and anger ring true. The plot, which unfolds in chapters alternating between the events of the summer and the present day, is compelling, drawing the reader in as the mystery of what actually happened is revealed. One is left to cheer for Quinn and her grieving, wounded family in the satisfying climax. The Sawyer family and Dylan are white.A somewhat unconventional story about grief and guilt featuring a sympathetic protagonist. (Fiction. 13-18)

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June 25, 2018
“As you know, in all camp stories, there are monsters. In this one, there are two. The sea monster. And me.” Quinn Sawyer, 17, lives at the Hundreds, a summer camp her family owns and operates. The Hundreds has a special sort of magic: blueberries grow even in the bitter winter months, ghosts may well be present, and the family believes an aquatic monster roams the depths of their cove. Quinn had always been skeptical until the tragic night that the monster claimed Dylan, the boy the Sawyer siblings loved best. A year later, the siblings are silos of grief and guilt, each alone with their memories. Quinn, the only witness to Dylan’s death, is determined to face the monster in the cove—and the one within herself. This depiction of first love collective loss, and the complicated nature of sibling relationships by Sorosiak (If Birds Fly Back) surges with emotion, and Quinn’s developing relationship with newcomer Alexander, who is ignorant of the past summer’s details, provides lightness to this story of all-consuming heartache and shame. Sorosiak has created a family whom readers will connect with in all their messy, genuine sincerity. Ages 13–up.

Starred review from March 1, 2018
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Legend has it that a sea monster lives in the waters of Winship, Maine, and on the worst day of her life, Quinn Sawyer saw it. Quinn's childhood was, in a word, idyllic: she spent summers at the Hundreds, her family's summer camp, alongside her siblings, Reed and Fern, and with Dylan, the boy who was special to them all. But that was before. It's winter now and Winship is almost as quiet as the Sawyer household?Quinn and her siblings, once close, now barely speak, and Quinn, who doesn't believe in the magic of the Hundreds anymore, thinks she is just as monstrous as the sea monster she once thought she saw. When Alexander, a rare new boy, moves to Winship, Quinn befriends him, and slowly she begins to emerge from the isolation she's imposed on herself since summer. Sorosiak's sophomore novel (If Birds Fly Back, 2017) is a striking examination of love?of friends, of family, of self?as well as of grief. Quinn is a quietly compelling narrator, and touches of magical realism add a rich, atmospheric layer to her story. Then-and-now chapters keep the pace moving forward and add a hint of mystery, but ultimately this is a soft and lovely exploration of how life can freeze at the point of tragedy, and of a girl who learns to thaw.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
Quinn is a counselor at her family's seaside summer camp known for its legendary sea creature. She doesn't believe in Wessie but sees the creature while involved in a boating accident that kills her friend. Quinn battles grief and guilt on her journey toward self-forgiveness; her story is supported by a strong sense of place and a cast of distinct, well-drawn characters.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)