How can such a tiny island like Moonpenny hold so many secrets? Eleven-year-old Flor, bereft when her best friend Sylvie leaves the island for a new school, never imagined how these secrets would impact her life. Her sister begins dating the island troublemaker; her mother flees the constant bickering with Flor's father; and then there is the arrival of Jasper, the daughter of a geologist visiting the island to unearth trilobites. Jasper is decidedly different from anyone Flor has ever met, and she opens Flor's eyes to even more secrets of Moonpenny Island. Springstubb, author of Mo Wren, Lost and Found (2011), has a feel for the drama and trauma that consume the lives of girls like Flor, who discover that life is rarely tidy and that stories are often left incomplete. That acceptance of change is key to Flor's development, and her actions should also offer hope to readers who will find in her a character who thinks and feels and acts very much as they do.

Ohio's Moonpenny Island is lousy with fossils--specifically trilobites (one of the first creatures to develop eyes) from the Cambrian period--as sixth-grade townie Flor learns when a geologist and his daughter come to explore. Flor's growing, if sometimes awkward, awareness of change and heightened understanding of those around her result in a unique protagonist who, like a fossil, creates a lasting imprint.

Gr 4-6 Flor and Sylvie are more than just best friends; "they are each other's perfect friend." But when Sylvie is suddenly sent away to live with relatives, Flor must fend for herself on isolated Moonpenny Island. Friends are hard to come by in such a tiny town, but Flor soon meets Jasper, the odd daughter of a geologist doing research on the island. Through the study of ancient fossils, Flor learns about the evolution of eyesight and applies her newfound knowledge to her own personal experience. She learns that, when dealing with people, eyesight can be clouded by preconceptions and judgment. Springstubb has written a heartwarming coming-of-age story, reminiscent of Kevin Henkes's Junonia (Greenwillow, 2011) and Jeanne Birdsall's "The Penderwicks" series (Yearling). The community of Moonpenny Island is both isolated and intimate; nature plays a major role. There is family strife in the storyalcoholism, physical fights, abandonmentbut they are dealt with very gently. The language has a quaint, old-fashioned feel: young characters use phrases such as "despicable boy" and "birdbrained." The (over)use of exclamation points in the narration can be distracting, particularly at the story's denouement. However, sensitive readers will be able to relate to Flor's widening worldview when she perceptively remarks that "'no man is an island,' but apparently eleven-year-old girls can be." Laura Lutz, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City