MMGM- Piper Makes Waves

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at 

Teach Mentor Texts 

and 

Unleashing Readers

Carey, Elizabeth Doyle. Piper Makes Waves (Summer Lifeguards #4)

July 6th 2021 by Sourcebooks Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Piper's grandma, Bett, wants her to spend some time away from constantly working on the horse farm. Piper's mom travels a lot for work, and her father lives some distance away with his new family, so Piper's home is with her grandmother in a small, coastal town. Since her friend Jenna is a good swimmer, she and friends Ziggy and Selena have applied and made it as junior lifeguards. Piper has a bit of a crush on Luke, who is older and the son of the man who runs the beach where they work. Money is tight, and the life guarding gig doesn't pay, so Piper is glad to get work helping out a local caterer, until she is out one night until 1:00 and finds it hard to stay awake. Piper wants to do her job well, so decides to step away from catering, even though Jenna is angry. Piper needs to be more confident as a life guard, but she's nervous. When she is paired with the best college aged lifeguard, she sees him on his phone, which is against the rules, but doesn't say anything. She also goes out with Sam, the rich girl whose parents are in England and for whom Selena's parents work, and ends up in a dangerous situation that would not have happened if she had stood up to the other girl. Will Pipe gain the confidence and authority she needs to be a good life guard?
Strengths: I love books where kids are engaged in a lot of activities. In addition to everything else, Piper even babysits kids on the beach to earn money, and I love how she has to balance all of her activities, including occasionally working on the farm to help her grandmother, or even just making sure her grandmother doesn't have to make dinner on really busy days. What a nice change from some of my students, who seem to spend their days playing video games! There are realistic but easily resolved tensions with friends and family, situations that make Piper nervous, and a lot of good information about how to handle this type of situation. I love the discussion Piper has with an older lifeguard about not feeling uncomfortable wearing her swimsuit on the beach. This series is a solid choice for readers who like Coco Simon's Cupcake Diaries or even Martin's Babysitters Club books.
Weaknesses: I haven't been in middle school for a long time, so while it seems possible that Piper would day dream about being married to Luke (since that was the sort of mind set back in the day), it seemed out of place with today's girls. Or, I want it to be!
What I really think: Definitely purchasing, and think this will be a popular choice with my students, especially when it is February in Ohio and we all want some sun and sand!