SEAGLASS SUMMER

SEAGLASS SUMMER, by Anjali Banerjee (Wendy Lamb Books/Random House 2010)(ages 8-12). More than anything, eleven-year-old Poppy Ray wants to be a veterinarian. So she convinces her parents to let her spend the summer on an island in Washington state with her veterinarian uncle Sanjay, who runs the Furry Friends Animal Clinic.

Once there, she comes to realize that it isn't all just about what she can pull out of her black vet kit. It involves blood, emergencies, and occasionally, pain and sadness. But with the help of a piece of seaglass (for meditating) and a boy named Hawk, she just might muddle through and survive the summer.

SEAGLASS SUMMER is a sweet and affecting story of a girl pursuing her dream and overcoming the occasional bout of squeamishness.