Merry Five

Five children, one unforgettable summer. When the Rowe and Bradstreet families set off for Santa Luzia, anticipation crackles like salt air. Molly, Kirke, and Weezy Rowe pile in with their twin friends Paul and Pauline Bradstreet, their bags stuffed with expectations of lazy beach days and adventures at the Bradstreet camp. But before the vacation properly begins, chaos erupts: baby Donald goes missing, and the children unite in frantic search, discovering that even the most well-laid vacation plans can unravel in an instant. Once at the beach, old worries dissolve like seafoam. New excitements replace old ones. Sandcastles rise and fall. Secrets are exchanged. The Merry Five forge bonds that feel as permanent as the tide line, trading childhood confidences while the adults' world hums on somewhere nearby. This is a portrait of summer as it once was: endless, golden, and charged with the particular magic of childhood friendships tested and strengthened by shared escapades. For readers who long for the simple thrill of packing a suitcase and heading somewhere unknown with your closest friends.