Ten-year-old Lexie used to love going to the shore. For as long as she can remember, she's spent every summer there with her parents, eating hamburgers, swimming in the ocean, and combing the beach for treasure.  This summer is going to be different though. Lexie's Mom and Daddy are divorced, and for the first time Mom won't be there. To make matters worse, Daddy has a surprise—his new girlfriend, Vicky, and her two sons are coming to stay with them for a week!  Now Lexie has to share her house with perky Vicky, Vicky's moody teenage son Ben, and messy three-year-old Harris. The little beach house just doesn't seem big enough for so many people. Is there still room for Lexie?

In a voice that's sharp, funny, and sincere, Newbery Honor-winning author Audrey Couloumbis tells the story of a girl discovering that if you pay attention, sometimes you can find treasure in the most unlikely places.

*From the Hardcover edition.*

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### Review

**Starred Review, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June 2011:**
"As she did in *Jake *(BCCB 12/10), Couloumbis demonstrates her skill at writing with quiet understanding and unstudied polish for younger readers. Her ability to walk through complicated emotional dynamics in kid-accessible language...is impressive, making Lexie a perceptive narrator but not requiring her to be implausibly sophisticated."

*From the Hardcover edition.*

### About the Author

AUDREY COULOUMBIS's first book for children, *Getting Near to Baby,* won the Newbery Honor in 2000. Audrey is also the author of several other highly acclaimed books for young readers, including *The Misadventures of Maude March* (which was named a Book Sense 76 Pick, a New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing Selection, and a National Parenting Publications Gold Award winner), *Love Me Tender* (a Book Sense Summer 2008 Pick) and *War Games* (a Junior Library Guild Selection). Audrey lives in upstate New York and Florida.

*From the Hardcover edition.*