The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island

Starred review from February 15, 2016
Even on historic Rock Island, "Where Time Stands Still," things change. When the four Fletcher boys and their two fathers arrive at their traditional August vacation cottage on a New England coastal island, they discover their beloved lighthouse next door fenced off and new Latino neighbors, the Galindos, who have two daughters, teenage Val and her younger sister, Alex. The cheerful disorder of a large family takes center stage in this companion to The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher (2014). Issues of adoption and same-sex parents recede into near invisibility as the boys face other challenges. The energetic third-person narrative makes use of alternating points of view to chronicle each boy's personal story. Blond, white Sam, 13, finds friends in the local theater and discovers Shakespeare; African-American Jax, now 11, pals around with Alex and experiences real bigotry for the first time; his white near-twin Eli has his 11th birthday and conquers his fear of kayaking; and 6-year-old Indian-American Frog struggles to teach their two cats to swim. Together with the Galindo girls, the four boys solve the mystery of the closed lighthouse and its unpleasant buyer-to-be. There is constant action and delightful humor, but there are also realistic present-day problems and happy solutions. An old-fashioned summer adventure set in a very modern world, this lively family tale will leave readers impatient for more. (Fiction. 8-12)

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Starred review from April 1, 2016

Gr 4-6-The Fletcher family-four adopted boys, two dads, two cats, and one dog-are off to their annual summer visit to Rock Island. This year the Fletchers' beloved lighthouse is closed and has been threatened with demolition. While seeking answers to the lighthouse problem, Sam joins a theater company, Eli faces his fear of kayaking, and Frog attempts to teach the cats how to swim (in between visits to the ice cream truck, of course). As in the first book, gentle humor abounds: in one memorable scene, a series of mishaps literally sinks the boys' latest lighthouse fund-raising scheme. This time, though, race is an issue: African American Jax and his Latino (and gender-ambiguous) friend Alex are profiled as criminals while engaging in an essentially harmless stunt. Papa's response to the incident-that he can only try to understand what being black is like and that racists do exist but that good people outnumber them-is heartbreakingly honest. A mysterious artist, a video-toting neighbor, a cheery ship captain, and Aunt Lucy's African American magician boyfriend round out the cast, and multiple plotlines converge in a denouement in which nefarious plans are foiled and the beloved lighthouse is saved. VERDICT A must-have middle grade family story with contemporary sensibilities.-Jill Ratzan, Congregation Kol Emet, Yardley, PA

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