3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares (318 pages)
Ama, Polly, and Jo were best friends since the third grade. Like most friendships, theirs was tested as they endured middle school and grew apart. Ama is on the fast track to earning a high SAT score, getting into a great college, and being a valedictorian. She’s only 14, but she’s spending her summer earning high school credit at a special camp. She thinks there’s been an error when she finds out her summer camp requires hiking and camping rather than reading and writing. While she’s miserably growing accustomed to her outdoor surroundings, Jo is spending her summer at the beach with her mother. Her parents have recently separated, so she welcomes the distraction of the gorgeous boy she meets on the bus to the beach. Meanwhile, Polly is stuck at home with a mother who doesn’t pay much attention to her and gets it into her head that she should go to modeling camp, despite lacking typical “model” beauty. She puts herself on a diet and gets ready to tackle a life of modeling. Throughout their summer apart, the girls reflect on what their past friendship meant to them and how much they miss each other.
Miss Simer’s Rating: ***
How would it feel to have your dog and best friend taken away? In the village where Maggie lives they have outlawed all dogs that are not sheep herders. Maggie can not and will not give up her dog, Sirius. Sirius is blamed for things that are not his fault. Vera, Maggies cousin helps her hide Sirius in a secret place. When a boat crashes into the rocks during a terrible storm Maggie is faced with a tough decision. Sirius is a very good swimmer and Maggie knows he can rescue the people on the boat. What will then happen to Sirius? My family loves dogs. This is a great story about how smart and loyal dogs are to people. 
Escaping the Giant Wave
A minor character from Harmon’s debut novel Skate is branched out in this follow-up. Uprooted from his city life in Washington and transplanted with his gay dads to small-town Montana, Ben is anything but thrilled. In fact, he makes it his goal to make everyone around him as miserable as he is. Crusty Aunt Mae takes them in, but doesn’t take any bull from Ben. When he meets a cute farm girl, Ben thinks maybe Montana won’t be so bad after all, but his encounters with a young boy who lives next door gives him his true purpose in Montana. The boy is being abused by his father, and Ben decides to do something about it. 
If you have read The Cay, you will enjoy this sequel. Phillip, now blind and rescued from the island, returns home to Curacao with many stories to tell of his beloved friend Timothy. Phillip matured by living alone on that island for so many days and he finds it very difficult to adjust to life without sight and with his parents. They meet with many surgeons before finding one who agrees to attempt to repair Phillip’s eyesight. Interspersed between the chapters about Phillip, the readers learn about Timothy’s life from his early days with Aunt Hannah up until the days he spent with Phillip on the island. Recommended for fans of the original!
Tibby, Carmen, Lena, and Bridget are in for the summer of their lives. Best friends since before birth, the girls are going to spend their first summer apart. Tibby will stay in town and work at a local store. Carmen is off to South Carolina to visit her father. Lena is on her way to Greece to stay with her grandparents. Bridget is headed to Mexico for soccer camp. Before they split up for the summer, the girls happen upon a pair of magic pants that fits each of them perfectly despite their extremely different body types. The girls agree to send the pants to one another throughout the summer and keep a record of their events while in the pants. As a fan of the movie, I was surprised by how much was different in the novel, but I still enjoyed it immensely. It’s a great read for girls!
