Summer Nights and Meteorites

Gr 9 Up–Jordan Edelman is spending the summer on Nantucket, trying to connect with her single father, who has been staying on the island conducting historical maritime research for his next book. Having sworn off boys in an attempt to shield her dad from the type of emotional swings that have plagued her past relationships, Jordan is frustrated to find that she shares an intense physical attraction with his research assistant, Ethan Barnabel, whom she also resents for his close relationship with her dad. After Jordan uncovers an old scientific scandal that might undermine her dad and Ethan’s research—and compromise their funding source—Jordan learns that leaving things unsaid, in historical research or relationships, will never result in meaningful change. As with other titles in this ongoing series about the large, loving, and wealthy Barnabel family, the book shines when the warm and headstrong family is interacting with each other. Some of the archival research doesn’t feel organically integrated into the plot, but Jordan’s self-aware and realistic inner-monologue is a strength. Jordan’s father’s anxiety that he did not allow his daughter to explore their Jewish faith enough after the death of her mother is especially well-drawn.