• Age: 11 to 13
• Grade: 6 to 8

Fourteen-year-old Alex's life is in ruins. Her family ripped apart by unspeakable tragedy, she is stuck on Brier Island for the summer with her aunt. At first, Alex is desperate to escape this place where everyone's business is public knowledge and there is too much time to think. But the island begins to work its magic, with its quirky characters, rugged landscape, and whale-filled ocean, and Alex forms a special bond with an adventurous baby whale she names Daredevil.

Through her attachment to Daredevil and the beauty of Brier Island, Alex slowly begins the long journey toward healing. But everything changes when Alex is suddenly thrown into a life-or-death struggle. Can she find the courage and the strength to save Daredevil- and herself?

Moving, funny, and honest, this is a powerful story of losing loved ones and finding yourself, set against the stunning backdrop of Brier Island.

Jo Ann Yhard's first novel, The Fossil Hunter of Sydney Mines, is a Canadian bestseller. Jo Ann lives in Halifax with her husband, James, where she writes on her yellow laptop, Bumble Bee.

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Lost on Brier Island

Atlantic Canadian readers will also recognize and revel in Jo Ann Yhard’s depiction of a tiny coastal community in Nova Scotia in her newest novel for young readers, Lost on Brier Island. Alex has been sent to Brier Island to stay with her aunt for the summer while her family tries to pick up the pieces after the recent tragic death of her twin brother. Filled with anger and resentment, guilt and shame, the troubled teen stubbornly resists the efforts of well-meaning friends and neighbours to reach out to her. In spite of herself, however, Alex is drawn into the fabric of this tight-knit community and comforted by the beauty and rhythms of the island. She also forms a special bond with an unexpected new friend, a baby whale that she names Daredevil. When Daredevil gets into a dangerous predicament, Alex must find a way to save him. In the process, she makes some startling discoveries about herself and her brother that enable her to finally begin to come to terms with her own loss.

Readers of this poignant family drama will feel as though they have been transported to this breathtakingly beautiful island in the Bay of Fundy. They will feel as though they can actually touch and taste the cold, quiet fog that creeps up so suddenly, hear the pounding of the waves against the side of Gus’s boat and smell the mouthwatering goodness of Eva’s ham-and-cheese rolls.