Alice is full of expectation as she and her parents begin their annual spring trip at the Florida coast—she’s looking forward to celebrating her tenth birthday surrounded by the people she’s always thought of as family. But from the moment they arrive, some things go wrong. It turns out the other family with kids that usually comes can’t make it. Then a family friend gets stuck in New York. Mr. Barden, an elderly man with a nearby cabin, seems confused at times and says things to Alice that feel hurtful. And her mom’s best friend, Kate—who always comes alone—arrives with a male companion and his young daughter, Mallory. The little girl is a challenge; her mother has left, and Mallory’s sadness and uncertainty make for difficult and unpredictable behavior. Even as Alice continues to look forward to the big change of turning ten, these myriad small changes are unsettling. Quiet moments reveal as much as those of high drama in Kevin Henkes’s masterful novel, with the thoughtful and particular way Alice sees the world illuminating how important “small” things so often are in the life of a child, for whom they are not small at all. Throughout the week, Alice is on the watch for a rare junonia shell. Accepting that reality won’t always fit her idea of perfection—with the shell, and with life—but that things just might turn out okay regardless, is one of many revelations in this story that superbly conveys the emotional landscape of childhood. (Ages 8–11)

Returning to the beach cottage—a cottage named Scallop—where she has always celebrated her birthday is a special occasion for Alice Rice.

Who will see the first dolphin this time? The first pelican? What will have changed? Stayed the same? And will this be the year she finally finds a junonia shell?

Alice's friends are all returning, too. And she's certain her parents have the best party planned for her. Alice can't wait. If Alice is lucky, everything will be absolutely perfect. Will Alice be lucky?

Multiple award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Kevin Henkes brings his insightful, gentle, real-world insight to middle grade novels, including:

• Billy Miller Makes a Wish
• Bird Lake Moon
• The Birthday Room
• Junonia
• Olive's Ocean
• Protecting Marie
• Sun & Spoon
• Sweeping Up the Heart
• Two Under Par
• Words of Stone
• The Year of Billy Miller
• The Zebra Wall