Who knew that Deirdre Baker (co-author of A Guide to Canadian Children’s Books and the forthcoming guide to children’s fantasy Follow That Broomstick) could write such terrific fiction?

In Baker’s first novel, young Becca wonders what summer will be like on Gran’s remote West Coast island without her parents this year. Her loving but eccentric Gran seems more interested in observing seabirds than in focusing on Becca. Becca wants a real friend who can play and have adventures with her. However, as the summer goes on and Becca survives the visits of rambunctious cousins and quirky aunts and uncles, not to mention Merlin the Shakespearean actor-turned-plumber, she learns to sail, rescues her blackberry-obsessed Aunt Fifi from brambles, shucks her first oyster and finds 17 pearls inside it, swims around the island, and helps a baby seal that’s been separated from its mother. By the time Becca’s parents arrive with her new baby sister, and a real friend appears on the island, Becca has proven herself capable of making friends with anyone, and of finding adventure everywhere.

This wonderful novel is reminiscent of Lucy Maud Montgomery at her finest – episodic yet energetic, and rich in brilliant characterization and incident. Baker’s characters leap off the page with dialogue that is both weird and believable. Becca is a fully realized protagonist who finds ways of coping with her family’s eccentricities with determination and intelligence, surprising everyone. Gran’s island world is infused with natural magic: phosphorescent seas at night, Becca’s lucky pearls, and the mysterious connection between the baby seal and Becca’s new baby sister, hinted at but not belaboured. The riotous yet harmonious life of seabirds, fish, and mammals mirrors the energy and unpredictability of Becca’s relationships with her family. Young readers will be eager for more of this plucky heroine’s adventures.