A Great Books for Great Kids staff pick 2021. Middle-schooler Maisie's dreams may be destroyed when she tears her ACL and can no longer participate in ballet. Feeling depressed after losing ballet and friends to her injury, she faces a family trip up the coast to where her mother is from. On this journey Maisie learns much about her family. Grades 7-8.

Set in Seattle and coastal Washington state, this new middle grade novel is being published under a new imprint called Heartdrum. This exciting project from HarperCollins showcasing the voices of Native creators. This title tells the story of Maisie and her struggles to recover from ACL surgery and her dreams of returning to ballet. Her entire family is of Native descent and as they take a family trip historical events are remembered and historic sites are visited. Much of the book is set in February and Maisie is spending time at the sea -- giving us the title. What I really loved about this book in addition to the new things I learned about Native history was the strong family structure that Maisie is a part of, especially her interactions with her little brother Connor. While I fell in love with the cover, it seems to depict a girl who is several years younger. It is just not the way I imagined Maisie once I read her story. Still, the book itself is well done and delivers a quality product and represents the new imprint well.