Line Tender

Funny, poignant, and deeply moving, The Line Tender is a story of nature's enduring mystery and a girl determined to find meaning and connection within it.Wherever the sharks led, Lucy Everhart's marine-biologist mother was sure to follow. In fact, she was on a boat far off the coast of Massachusetts, collecting shark data when she died suddenly. Lucy was seven. Since then Lucy and her father have kept their heads above water--thanks in large part to a few close friends and neighbors. But June of her twelfth summer brings more than the end of school and a heat wave to sleepy Rockport. On one steamy day, the tide brings a great white--and then another tragedy, cutting short a friendship everyone insists was "e;meaningful"e; but no one can tell Lucy what it all meant. To survive the fresh wave of grief, Lucy must grab the line that connects her depressed father, a stubborn fisherman, and a curious old widower to her mother's unfinished research on the Great White's return to Cape Cod. If Lucy can find a way to help this unlikely quartet follow the sharks her mother loved, she'll finally be able to look beyond what she's lost and toward what's left to be discovered.★"e;Confidently voiced."e;—Kirkus Reviews, starred★"e;Richly layered."e;—Publishers Weekly, starred★"e;A hopeful path forward."e;—Booklist, starred ★"e;Life-affirming."e;—BCCB, starred★"e;Big-hearted."e; —Bookpage, starred★“Will appeal to just about everyone.” – SLC, starred★"e;Exquisitely, beautifully real."e;—Shelf Awareness, starred