Product Description
When poachers threaten the island they love, two girls team up to save the turtles—and each other. An eco-mystery with an unforgettable friendship story at its heart from a fresh new voice in middle grade.
Twelve-year-old Barana lives in a coastal village in Honduras, where she spends every spare minute visiting the sea turtles that nest on the beach.
Abby is feeling adrift in sixth grade, trying to figure out who she is and where she belongs after her best friend moved away from New Jersey.
When Abby’s papi plans a work trip to Honduras, she is finally given the opportunity to see his homeland—with Barana as her tour guide. But Barana has other plans: someone has been poaching turtle eggs, and she’s determined to catch them! Before long, Abby and Barana are both consumed by the mystery, chasing down suspects, gathering clues, and staking out the beach in the dead of night. . . . Will they find a way to stop the poachers before it’s too late?
A heart-pounding mystery with a hint of magic, María José Fitzgerald’s debut novel explores the power of friendship, community, and compassion to unite all living creatures.
Review
“Fitzgerald’s page-turning debut, a contemporary eco-mystery with a touch of magical realism, explores timely themes of friendship and identity while tracing two girls’ heartwarming bond.” —Publishers Weekly
“ [A] heartwarming tale of activism, art, and identity.” —Booklist
“A character-driven mystery in which the setting pops out.” —Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
María José Fitzgerald is a former teacher and current writer of children’s books. Her favorite stories usually include animals, friendship, family, and magic. She grew up snorkeling and hiking in her homeland of Honduras, where nature and culture nourished her soul. Her debut novel, Turtles of the Midnight Moon, will be published by Knopf in the spring of 2023. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading, walking her dogs, or maybe out on a family mountain-bike ride.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER 1
Barana
Barana woke to the crescent moon–shaped scar between her shoulder blades tingling, calling her to the beach. To Luna. She turned to face Tulu’s side of the room. Her brother’s body was still, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.
Barana slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the doorway. She pushed the curtain aside and entered the main room of the small wooden house that teetered on stilts above the sand. Papá snored from the other bedroom. Mamá was probably cuddled up next to him with Marisol. The baby was like a tick, always attached to Mamá’s body.
Nobody would notice Barana’s absence.
The tingling on her back turned to a persistent prickle. She hadn’t sensed Luna all season. As far as she knew, her leatherback turtle had yet to lay a clutch. Maybe tonight would be the night.
Barana slipped on her chancletas and opened the front door. The waves and crickets muffled her footsteps as she stepped off the rickety stairs and onto the shimmering sand.
The wind sang through the palm fronds, and the moon above smiled. Guided by Luna’s call, the warm breeze, and the sea, Barana approached her favorite place on earth, the place where turtles roamed, where turquoise waters met the Caribbean sky—la playa.
The mighty Atlantic was three minutes from her house, and Barana knew the way to her beach by heart. She kicked off her sandals and ran barefoot through the palm trees, letting the fine sand brush against her brown toes.
The wind cooled both her nerves and the sweat upon her brow. Pataya’s sweltering June weather was not for the faint of heart. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she paused to look up. The moon’s barely visible crescent shape smiled down at her. Miles of sand stretched out before her.
The cemetery was a few minutes away, at the west end of the beach. She was in no mood to bump into ghosts or the creepy creatures of local myth, so she ran east, e
