Half Moon Summer
by Elaine Vickers
Intermediate, Middle School    Peachtree    288 pp.
6/23    9781682635391    $17.99
e-book ed.  9781682635544    $10.99

Drew and Mia met as infants—born on the same day in the same hospital, they stopped crying only when nurses put them in the same bassinet—but grew up in different areas of California, meeting again only when Mia comes to stay with her Gram in Drew’s hometown of Half Moon Bay for the summer before they turn thirteen. Mia’s family is there while her father is in Alaska caring for his ailing mother. Drew’s summer plans mainly involve avoiding work in his father’s carpentry shop until the gift of a pair of Nikes gives him new purpose. Mia joins Drew and his dad on their morning runs, and they decide to enter a local half marathon. When Drew learns that his dad has been diagnosed with ALS, the race takes on a deeper meaning. Vickers does an excellent job of blending her two narrators’ voices, with Drew’s chapters written in prose and Mia’s in verse. The book deals authentically with tween feelings, especially their complex reactions to death and loss, while also maintaining a solid pace through the dynamic plot, making it a great choice for upper-middle-grade readers looking for an emotionally intense story without a hint of romance.

From the July/August 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.