by Gillian McDunn
First sentence: “Some summers are the funnest and some summers are the longest but last summer was perfectly ordinary until the day we found the hand.”
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Content: It’s got short chapters and some illustrations. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore. I read this book for the Cybils, and this reflects my opinion and not that of the whole panel.

Bex and Davey have always been a duo, biking together or rowing around the marshes of their island. And this summer starts like every other one, except it hasn’t rained in 313 days and the water levels are lowering. And with the lower water levels, a hand appears in the marshes. Not a dead hand (ew), but a metal one. And with developers wanting to build a bridge to the island from the mainland, Bex and Davey are afraid that would mean the end of the statue they found before they even had a chance to figure out who made it.

Thus begins an adventure as Bex and Davey try to figure out what the statue is, and who the artist was that created it. And the answers they find will surprise everyone.

I like McDunn’s books. They’re quiet and sweet and portray everyday challenges in a very accessible light. This one is no exception, though it packs a bit more punch than I’ve come to expect from her. I do think the developer plotline was a bit underused, but I liked how the artist’s plot was resolved, and how it all came full circle in the end. I also like the environmental angle with the drought. It was well done and quite enjoyable.