I don’t know what’s up with all the theater books coming out this summer, but I am here for it! This delightful family story revolves around a summer production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that, for the various parties involved, mends relational fences, revives old dreams, and soothes recent hurts, all while bringing a whole lot of joy to the enchanting community of Block Island. You’ll meet a 19-year-old TikTok star who suffered a public disgrace and returns home to recalibrate, her mother who previously put her dreams on hold for practical reasons, and her A-list actor uncle who gets talked into directing community theater while back home for the summer. Buoyant and satisfying. For fans of Moore’s The Islanders for overlapping characters and Amy Poeppel’s Musical Chairs.

From the publisher: "Sharp, topical, and wildly entertaining, The Admissions shows that if you pull at a loose thread, even the sturdiest lives start to unravel at the seams of high achievement."

I've been on a roll with the Maine reads! When comments on this post featuring 12 recommended reads for those traveling to Maine (or who want to) mentioned that this Meg Mitchell Moore release was set in the tiny (and real) town of Owls Head, I dropped it into my beach bag. This family novel unfolds over the course of one summer and focuses on three generations of the McLean family. Every generation has its troubles at the moment—the progressing Alzheimer's of the family patriarch, the midlife crisis and struggling marriage of the adult daughter, the adolescent woes of the kids—but the Maine house has always been a respite. The family's precariously maintained balance is tipped when a surprise visitor shows up to the island—a love child of the family's respected patriarch, whose existence has been kept secret for twenty-three years. All is well by summer's end in this easy-reading tale of family secrets, forgiveness, privilege, reconciliation, and happiness.