Lexie by Audrey Couloumbis

It is about -23'C outside with the wind chill and we're going to get about 10 cm of snow tonight, so I was in the mood for something warm.

Lexie by Audrey Couloumbis is just the thing. 

Lexie is not looking forward to visiting the beach house at the shore this summer. It won't be the same after her parents' divorce. Her mom won't be there to turn on the gas, make the food or walk on the beach with her. It will just be her and her flaky father.

Or so she thinks.

On the way there, her father tells her that his girlfriend Vicky, her teenage son Ben and the sticky toddler Henry will be crowding the house and taking Dad-time away from Lexie. Can her summer be saved?

This is a very gentle, simple summer book full of sand sharks, star fish and blended family drama. Couloumbis has a sweet deft touch when dealing with Lexie's maelstrom of emotions when her father's new girlfriend and potentially brothers-in-law suddenly change her summer plans. And reading about the  natural wonders of Jersey shore was just the thing to warm this cold, winter's night.