TOUCH BLUE by Cynthia Lord

A.R. Book Level: 4.4
A.R. Points: 5.0
Pages: 186

This was a great story with a really unique setting: an island off the coast of Maine.  Tess’s family lives on this island but will have to move to the mainland if the school closes due to low enrollment.  A few families on the island take in foster kids to boost the student population, and Tess’s family gets Aaron, a prickly thirteen-year-old who just wants to be reunited with his mother.  Aaron is definitely not what Tess expected, and she struggles to make him feel welcome and like part of the family.  Like in Rules, Cynthia Lord shows realistic emotions of young people in difficult situations.  Read this—you’ll love it. And you may learn a little about luck and lobster fishing.