A Daring Rescue

March 1, 2020

Gr 3-5-The first book of the "Dolphin Island" series introduces eight-year-old Abby Feingold. Her father and stepmother, Rachel, open a resort on an island in the Florida Keys, which was given to them by Rachel's aunt as a wedding present. Abby meets Bella Garcia, whose family is vacationing at the resort. While exploring the island, the two discover a hidden lagoon where they swim with a pod of dolphins. Bella is afraid that more tourists will scare the dolphins away and wants to keep them a secret, but when Abby overhears her parents talking about the resort being in danger of closing, she blurts out the secret of the dolphins in the hopes that it will entice more visitors to the island. The two friends argue, but soon reconcile when they, along with the dolphins, must save a macaw from being attacked by a raccoon. In the end, the resort's success is secured and Abby and Bella pledge to remain friends. Although the resort is described as being on the precipice of financial ruin, Abby seems to lead a privileged life with her own phone and a Cuban housekeeper who prepares arroz con leche as a late-night snack and speaks "angry Spanish" to her nephew Carlos. VERDICT Despite the attempts to highlight the bright culture of the Florida Keys, the story and its moral are somewhat uninspired. However, depictions of dolphins will be enjoyed by animal-loving early elementary students.-Kelly Topita, Anne Arundel County Public Library, MD

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2020
When Abby Feingold's family starts a resort, she learns about the wildlife of their new island home. When Abby's father married her stepmother, Rachel, Rachel's great-aunt gifted the couple a private island in the Florida Keys. Naturally, the couple promptly quit their jobs to run a small resort. Abby quickly befriends one of the first guests, Bella Garcia, but soon Bella starts to withdraw, hurting Abby's feelings. When Abby follows Bella, she learns Bella's secret--a colorful bird has led Bella to a cove where a pod of dolphins lives. Bella swears Abby to secrecy about the cove, and the girls name the dolphins. Although the text gives lip service to the fact that dolphins are wild animals, that doesn't stop the girls for long from swimming with them. When Abby overhears her parents' concerns that their resort may not attract enough guests to stay viable, she blurts out the dolphin secret--at the cost of her friendship with Bella. The realistic characters will make it easy for readers to vicariously experience this semiwild private tropical paradise--the setting is the book's biggest treasure. Abby and her father present as white; Rachel (with whom Abby has a delightfully close relationship) is black, with Jamaican heritage; Bella is Latina. The resort's cook, Sofia, is Cuban, and Sofia's nephew becomes a recurring character, as does Bella; Volume 2, Lost in the Storm, publishes simultaneously. A good summer read. (Fiction. 7-10)

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