Clay's Reviews > Candle Island

This fine middle grade is about a 12YO artistic girl and her famous artist mom moving to the titular island (1960s?) after the much-loved father's accidental death. All they want is to be left alone to grieve in peace and quiet, but the tense vacationer-townie culture, the presence of a persistent art critic, and a helpless (and protected) osprey chick threaten upheaval in their lives. Many secrets are held and revealed; traumas are brought to life and moved toward healing. I only wished the main younger characters had been a couple of years older, say 14. The book and the first person narrative would have been more believable, the big reveal no less a surprise.