June Baby by Shannon Garvey

Some summers never leave you.

If you’ve ever stood on the Marginal Way and felt the pull of the sea, you’ll understand Ruth. This moving debut unfolds over one transformative summer on Block Island, where a young woman reckons with love, loss, and the choices that shape a life.

Elin Hilderbrand calls it “the book of the summer,” praising its “juicy romance, explosive family secrets, and a delicious island setting.” High praise indeed—and well earned.

At seventeen, Ruth lost her mother to cancer. Unable to cope, her grieving father shipped her off to Block Island with nothing but a name scribbled on the back of a receipt: Diana Beckett. Diana, a renowned photographer, took Ruth in. And the island became her refuge—a place of beauty, of creativity, of first love with Diana’s nephew, Charlie.

Now twenty-seven, Ruth still summers among the lucky few who vacation in this wealthy beach town, scraping by the rest of the year, always yearning to return. Then tragedy strikes again. A surprising revelation from Charlie. A mysterious box left to her by Diana. And questions about just how well she knew the two women who raised her.

Torn between what to believe about her past and what her future might hold, Ruth faces a choice: does she dare rewrite her story entirely?

Part tender coming-of-age tale, part exploration of love and grief, all set against golden dunes and seaside sunsets. This one’s made for a salty afternoon and a comfortable chair.

Come browse a while. We think you’ll want to linger over this one.

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