"A coming-of-age novel with a refreshingly different twist. Heartwarming but never sentimentalized and thoroughly believable."-Cyrisse Jaffee, School Library Journal

"Adler infuses her first book with sympathy and sharp insights, and she writes with professionalism."-Publishers Weekly

Twelve-year-old Jeremy is sure his summer at his family's beach cottage is going to be terrible. It's bad enough having a cast on his leg so he can't run on the beach or swim with his friends, but to be stuck taking care of Lynette, a timid, seven-year-old girl, is the ultimate torture.

Once Lynette arrives, though, Jeremy has to admit that he enjoys the company. She's stuck in a depression after her mother's recent drowning, and she doesn't want to go anywhere near the ocean. To lift Lynette's spirits, Jeremy invents the Glits, magical creatures who grant wishes. Jeremy and Lynette spend their days building elaborate sand castles for the Glits and becoming close friends, but as summer draws to a close, Jeremy worries about what will happen to Lynette when he's no longer at her side.

A little touch of magic and a dose of "joy fizz" from the Glits just might solve Lynette's problems and restore this sullen girl to her laughing, playful self.