Welcome to Dog Beach

Change upsets contemplative Remy, and she’s up against a lot of it during her 11th summer on Seagate Island, where her family vacations. As Greenwald’s novel opens, Remy is facing her first summer without her dog, Danish, who recently died. Her relationship with her two best friends is also in flux: Micayla has new friends (and a new crush), and Bennett, who Remy realizes she likes as more than a friend, is busy hanging out with a boy who’s new to Seagate. Starting a doggy day care business together eases Remy’s pain over the loss of Danish and bonds the three friends and two newcomers. Greenwald (My Summer of Pink & Green) gives Remy a candid and relatable voice in this first book in the Seagate Summers series. Reflecting on her confusion over her shifting friendship with Bennett, she says, “I feel like I’m bursting with feelings, like I’m carrying balloons under my shirt and I have to let them out.” This involving summer read probes genuine adolescent transitions with insight, poignancy, and humor. Ages 10–14. Agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (Apr.)