Megan Mabee has been filling notebooks with her story ideas and favorite book quotes since she first began reading. She enjoys board gaming, rewatching Miyazaki movies, and building Legos with her preschooler. Megan holds a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from UNC Greensboro and a Public Librarian Certification. Megan has worked in a college bookstore and high school library, and she now loves talking books in the public library where she works and as a Bibliologist at TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations.
I think my favorite part about summer time has always been summer reading. When I was in that sweet spot of my tween years, before I started working full-time summer jobs, I loved nothing more than dragging my little brother with me to our town library. We didn’t have licenses yet, but we did have bikes, so we’d trek the couple miles over to the library and fill our backpacks with books. I floated between the middle grade and YA sections of the library, and some of the middle grade books I chose during those summers have remained forever favorites of mine. If you’re looking for some great reads this summer, too, I think middle grade books set on the coast make for the perfect starting place.
While I’d love to actually visit fun coastal destinations like these, traveling is expensive, and I don’t get the chance to travel as much as I’d like to. Biking to the library is more in line with my travel budget. In lieu of real life travel adventures, a coastal setting in a book draws me to the places I wish I could visit during the summer. The middle grade books below include settings like coastal Maine and seaside cottages. You’ll read about haunted lighthouses and mysterious fairy islands. I hope they make your summer feel as enchanting as mine did during all of those library bike adventures.
Candle Island by Lauren Wolk
This new book by Newbery Honor-winning author Lauren Wolk promises an atmospheric coastal setting in the small town of Candle Island, Maine. In the wake of her father’s death, Lucretia and her mom head to the remote Candle Island for a fresh start. There, Lucretia’s famous artist mother can escape the prying eyes of journalists as well. Over the course of an unforgettable summer, Lucretia will paint, take care of an osprey chick, meet a mysterious boy with a lovely voice, and get caught up in the secrets of the island.
English (US) · 