Summer of Salt: A YA Magical Realism Novel of Island Witches, F/F Romance, and One Legendary Summer

Summer of Salt: A YA Magical Realism Novel of Island Witches, F/F Romance, and One Legendary Summer

Magic passed down through generations. An island where strange things happen. One summer that will become legend. Practical Magic meets Nova Ren Suma’s Imaginary Girls and Laura Ruby’s Bone Gap in this lush, atmospheric novel by acclaimed author Katrina Leno. Georgina Fernweh waits impatiently for the tingle of magic in her fingers—magic that has touched every woman in her family. But with her eighteenth birthday looming at the end of this summer, Georgina fears her gift will never come. Over the course of her last summer on the island—a summer of storms, falling in love, and the mystery behind one rare three-hundred-year-old bird—Georgina will learn the truth about magic, in all its many forms. Praise for Katrina Leno: “Leno’s writing is flawless. Readers of all ages will find themselves swept away.” — VOYA “Charming and sophisticated.” — Kirkus “Crackles with wit, humor, and enormous love.”— Booklist (starred review) “Introduces a fierce new presence.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review) Gr 8 Up—The Fernweh family has lived on the island of By-the-Sea—where the two smells you can always be sure of are "salt and magic"—for generations. Almost 18-year-old twins Georgina and Mary are the latest in a long line of Fernweh women with magical gifts ranging from teleportation to potion-making (the sisters' mother Penelope can brew a mean hangover cure). Every summer, By-the-Sea also hosts 300-year-old Annabella, an Eastern Seaborn Flicker bird who may be a Fernweh herself, and the influx of tourists who come to see her. But when Annabella is found violently murdered, suddenly the island doesn't seem so magical, and more than one dark secret must be uncovered. A magical realist YA book is still a relatively rare sight, and Leno expertly crafts this example of the genre with atmospheric prose and subtle feminism. The real heart of the novel is the exceptionally well-written female characters and relationships. Leno's way of writing Georgina's blossoming first love with island visitor Prue Lowry is so sweet and purely devoid of the "problem novel" overtones that accompany so many LGBTQ+ relationships in fiction. Her examination of the trauma of sexual assault and the "imperfect victim" is sophisticated and complex. VERDICT A necessary novel that is, at the same time, so enjoyable to read that teens will have to fight the urge to crawl into the pages. Buy multiple copies.—Ann Santori, Cook Memorial Public Library, Libertyville, IL ★ “Sophisticated and complex. A necessary novel that is, at the same time, so enjoyable to read that teens will have to fight the urge to crawl into the pages.” - School Library Journal (starred review) “A fanciful, whimsical novel. Leno mixes small-town island life and the loving bond between sisters with light magical elements as well as weightier issues that are examined with nuance and maturity.” - Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) ★ “Equal parts fantasy, romance, and mystery, this book shimmers with an irresistible energy.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A tale that combines sumptuous old-fashioned storytelling and modern feminist themes.”   - Chicago Tribune Katrina Leno is the author of Everything All at Once, The Lost & Found, The Half Life of Molly Pierce, and Summer of Salt. In real life, she lives in Los Angeles. But in her head, she lives on an imaginary island off the coast of New England where it sometimes rains a lot. Visit her online at www.katrinaleno.com.