The Line Tender, by Kate Allen

We all remember what being twelve years old was like: not quite a child, definitely not an adult; friendships with members of the opposite sex have become rare or fraught with anxiety; school is getting harder and some classmates are figuring out their passions while others are struggling. Allen's The Line Tender brought me back to this difficult moment in adolescence as I joined Lucy for a summer on coastal Massachusetts.

Lucy's marine biologist mom died suddenly when she was seven years old. She and her dad, a police detective and diver, have been doing okay since, thanks to their well-meaning neighbors and her close friendship with the boy across the street. This summer, the friends are working on a field guide together. It's an extra credit science project and a fun way they can collaborate - Lucy isn't really into science, but she is a good artist, so she draws the animals they find while her friend writes about them. When an old family friend pulls up a white shark in his fishing line, Lucy starts thinking a lot more about her mom, who studied sharks. The shark sets off a series of events that change Lucy's summer, and her life, forever.

This is a sweet novel for middle graders dealing with the onset of adolescence, and for anyone interested in learning a bit more about sharks and our interconnected ecology.

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