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September 2026 - A Day at the Beach
By Kristen · 9 posts · 83 views
By Kristen · 9 posts · 83 views
last updated Oct 30, 2025 11:22AM
What Members Thought
The trouble with a good book
is that you don't always know
when you will find one.
And then the trouble is,
that when you do find one,
like summiting a high peak,
you have to,
eventually,
come back down,
away from the world expanding,
capacious view that has just filled
you with awe and hope.
Maybe
that's why
the journey
to find
good stories
is always
worth the trouble ...more
is that you don't always know
when you will find one.
And then the trouble is,
that when you do find one,
like summiting a high peak,
you have to,
eventually,
come back down,
away from the world expanding,
capacious view that has just filled
you with awe and hope.
Maybe
that's why
the journey
to find
good stories
is always
worth the trouble ...more
The vibe of this book is Gary D. Schmidt meets Love That Dog. I listened to the audiobook, but I have the print copy on hold so I can see how the poetry looks on the page. I will hold off on a longer review until I have it in front of me.
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Thanks to an angry outburst in the cemetery resulting in a broken headstone, Finn is going to be spending his summer making reparations: if he can climb all 46 Adirondack Peaks, Edna's family will forgive him for the vandalism. Finn will be busy this summer, because he's also got PE and English credit to make up. He's definitely struggling, and it mostly stems back to his father's death during the COVID-19 pandemic; his dad, a first responder in New York City, was trying to save everyone but him
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Jul 21, 2025
Tamsyn
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
realisticfiction,
boys-book-club,
books-in-verse,
animal-tales,
adventure,
children-s,
mock-newbery,
fms
Probably Kate Messner's best book to date (and I've been a fan), and I hope it will get some Newbery recognition. I loved the way different threads -- anger, grief, loss, penance, support -- were woven together with Finn's experiences climbing the 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks, while coping with the death of his firefighter father. (Not to mention poetry, literary terms, and baking!) Throw in a dog, some humor, and a lot of nature and you have a winning story. Finally, the last part of the bo
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Loved this one! And it will be great for Colorado kids who might want to get into hiking. Finn is in trouble, and rather than being sentenced to community service, the victim's family decides that he should summit all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks. If he can successfully accomplish that over the summer, they'll drop all charges. They've lined up volunteers to hike with him since his mom has to work. Finn is furious - and intimidated. And very soon, sore, blistered and exhausted. But as he summ
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So so good, even as a listen. Great reader. Five stars and five hankies.
Finn is trying to fix the damage a very bad school year has caused. He needs to make up some schoolwork, and make reparations for an act of vandalism. This means climbing 46 mountains in the Adirondacks with a drooling happy dog, and writing poems about heroes. Writing this review I'm realizing how many disparate storylines exist in this novel, something I didn't recognize in the reading. I think this is a mark of a talented author. Finn's quest to make peace with his absent father's death is wo
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Feb 01, 2025
Debbie Jo
marked it as to-read
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J.j.
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Alison
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Meagan
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alisonwonderland (Alison)
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Julie
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Leslie
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Cheryl Meibos
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