Orphan Island

From acclaimed author Laurel Snyder comes a deep, compelling, heartbreaking, and completely one-of-a-kind literary middle grade novel about a mysterious island where, each year, a boat arrives with one new child . . . and takes the oldest child away.

Nine on an island, orphans all
Any more, the sky might fall

On the island, everything is perfect. The sun rises in a sky filled with dancing shapes; the wind, water, and trees shelter and protect the nine children who live there; when they go to sleep in their cabins, it is with full stomachs and joyful hearts. Only one thing ever changes—on that day, each year, when a boat appears from the mist upon the ocean carrying one young child to join them, and taking the eldest one away, never to return.

Today’s Changing is no different. The boat arrives for Jinny’s best friend, Deen, replacing him with a new little girl named Ess, and leaving Jinny as the new Elder. Jinny knows her responsibility now: to teach Ess everything she needs to know about the island, to keep things as they’ve always been. But will she be ready for the inevitable day when the boat will come back—and take her away from the only home she’s known, forever?

Acclaimed author Laurel Snyder returns with a powerful, original, unforgettable story of growing up—the things we fight to hold onto, and the things we struggle to let go.