IF YOU WERE HERE

Two teens find themselves caught up in a fraught summer romance against a backdrop of family stress.

Six years after her parents’ divorce and six months after her father’s death, 17-year-old Lili Gardner returns to Nantucket with her mother and younger sister to fix up Dad’s house. Over the summer, Lili hopes to finish his obsessive quest to clear the name of his ancestor Kezia Gardner, a smuggler during the Revolutionary War. Rebuffed by local history museums, Lili finds an unexpected source in 19-year-old Wren, whose family owns McCleave’s Mermaid Museum. To his father’s disappointment, Wren, who uses a wheelchair after breaking his back four years ago, prefers giving factual boating tours over spinning tales of fantasy. Wren disdains tourists ever since his mom—who originally arrived as a tourist—got tired of island life and left the family when he was 3. If Lili wants his help, she’ll have to volunteer at McCleave’s all summer, her seasickness notwithstanding. As Wren and Lili work together, their prickly relationship deepens into something warmer—even though Wren is dating Eryn, who faithfully stuck by him after his accident. The more Lili focuses on research, the more she alienates her family—just as Dad did. While some readers may find the resolution a bit tidy, Lili’s and Wren’s alternating first-person perspectives grapple thoughtfully with grief and romantic dilemmas. Most characters read white. An author’s note explains that Kezia is based on several historical figures with that name.

Sweet and insightful.