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The House on Sunrise Lagoon: Sam Makes a Splash (The House on Sunrise Lagoon, 1)

The House on Sunrise Lagoon: Sam Makes a Splash (The House on Sunrise Lagoon, 1)

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The House on Sunrise Lagoon: Sam Makes a Splash (The House on Sunrise Lagoon, 1)

Author(s)

Nicole Melleby

Publisher

Algonquin Young Readers

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

May 09, 2023

ISBN

978-1643753102

Buy This Book

From an acclaimed author comes a cheerful, uplifting story of family and belonging, the first in a series perfect for fans of the Vanderbeekers and the Penderwicks.

If you want to get to know eleven-year-old Samantha Ali-O’Connor, you need to know three things:

One, she isn’t the only one of her siblings who is adopted, but she is the only one whose name isn't inspired by the ocean.

Two, she and Harbor always compete with each other to be the best Oldest Sibling—and just about everything else.

And three, she is determined to prove she's a real Ali-O'Connor by taking over the family business, repairing and chartering boats.

Except there's a Capital-P Problem: Her mothers have been Serious Whispering about selling the business before summer's end! Sam needs to come up with a plan, quick, before Harbor finds out. And before Sam loses her chance to inherit the business and be an Ali-O'Connor forever.

Editor review

1 review

Summer in New Jersey

June 07, 2023

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

The Ali-O'Connors live in New Jersey on a lagoon near the seaside. Mom repairs boats and takes people out in her boat, and Mama teaches and helps with the business' bookkeeping. Sam was adopted after being fostered by the family, and joins siblings Marina (who is also adopted and has Mexican heritage) and Harbor, as well as seven year old twins Cordelia and Lir who have Mama's Syrian ancestry. The children know that summer has started when the Badger brothers arrive to stay with their grandparents, and the summer activities begin. This is hard for Sam, because she hasn't learned to swim well, which is a problem given where they live. She is also concerned that she has caused the family financial difficulty, since her adoption was expensive, and the boat business isn't doing well. She is saving her money from doing chores to help, especially when Mom sells boats to Joe Koch, and Sam thinks that Mom might sell the business and go work for him. Cordelia and Lir get involved and ask everyone in their community for help, which wasn't exactly what the grownups wanted! The Badger brothers entice the siblings into taking some risky chances, but things work out. Sam really wants to take over the boat business when she grows up, because it makes her feel like she is part of the family, but will the business still be there?

Good Points

Children worry more about family finances than parents realize, so it was interesting that Sam was worried for the family. The mix of biological and adopted children is discussed freely, which is a bit of a change from a few years ago, and Sam visits her grandmother in an assisted living facility, and Marina talks about visiting with her father. The desire to be part of a large family still persists today, even though there are not nearly as many large families in the 2020s-- the suggested power of The Brady Bunch lingering on, perhaps?

I have noticed that many of my students don't know how to swim, and this seems particularly dangerous. Sam's attempts to learn, even though fraught with difficulty, were an especially good conclusion. I have to admit that I don't quite understand the topography of the New Jersey lagoon, but anyone living near water should certainly have this skill.

The blurb for this compared it to Birdsall's The Penderwicks or Glaser's The Vanderbeekers, but this seems more like Levy's Misadventures of The Family Fletcher, especially The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island, and has a bit in common with Donoghue's The Lotterys.

Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer Top 10 Reviewer 2014 reviews

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User reviews

2 reviews

Overall rating

4.8

Plot

4.5(2)

Characters

5.0(2)

Writing Style

4.5(2)

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0(1)

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This series is like coming home to a warm

July 26, 2024

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

In a family with five kids, two moms, and a dog that eats everything in front of him Sam is not the oldest and she is adopted. Her fear of not securing a place in this family leads her to extra worry when she overhears her Mom will sell their boat and will work for someone else. Sam wants to save her moms' business and prove her worth (she's even worried that being the one who doesn't know how to swim will be against her), but she learns a great and valuable lesson about love, friendship, trust, and family instead. These adventures in The House in Sunrise Lagoon are full of summer be bed, activities, and mood. It's as if I can smell the salty water and hear the seascape, celebrating the 4th of July. I love Summer.
I also love how all the kids have different personalities and add conflict and fun to the plot.
I won this book during a giveaway hosted by the publisher.

Therearenobadbooks 1 reviews

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Beautiful Family!

October 23, 2023

Overall rating

4.3

Plot

4.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

The House on Sunrise Lagoon holds a family full of love for each other. That said, living in a big family isn’t always easy. There are a lot of different characters that have to compete with each other for attention. But both moms do everything they can to do just that. They equally love birth children and adopted children and also each other. This love creates a sanctuary for every child to grow up safe and happy. But it isn’t always easy to accept this unconditional love when you’ve had bad experiences. Sam has been with the Ali-O’Connor family for three years now, and even though her moms treat her like their own, she can’t shake the feeling that she needs to solidify her place in this family. And what would be better to achieve that than to take over mom’s boating business one day? All Sam has to do is prove herself worthy. But when she overhears her moms talking about giving up the business, her future crumbles. Now, Sam has to try everything to prevent this outcome. But soon, she has to learn that sneaking around and lying about her feelings is never the way to solve problems.

A lot is going on in this family. No wonder with five children! And I’m happy there will be more books about the other children because everyone is incredibly unique and fascinating. I admire the Ali-O’Connors for the patience and strength they are giving their children. It is beautiful to see and makes you believe in the good in this world. Families like this do exist, and bringing up children with that much love - even when life gets hard sometimes - instead of hate will save us all. Naturally, Sam wants to be a part of this - who wouldn’t? But just as hard as it can be to provide this love, it often is equally hard to accept it.