Meg Rosoff

At the house on the beach, everything is always the same. Summer unspools in days of sticky heat and lazy beach walks, the family only reconvening for lantern-lit suppers in the garden with the sea a constant roar in the background. Predictable, familiar - and easy. But everything changes with the arrival of the Godden brothers: Kit, magnetic and lazily seductive, and Hugo, intense and unknowable. By the end of summer, nothing will be the same. --...

A baby that is different from all the others brings a family great joy until he grows too big for their home.

"Pa Peachey has gotten it in his head that he is going to be the baker in the family, and the Peacheys and their dog, McTavish, are more than a little surprised. Stunned, in fact. Ever since Ma Peachey declared herself free of the cooking responsibilities, Betty, Ava, and Ollie have taken turns making inventive and delicious meals. But Pa thinks he can do better, even though his cakes are as flat as manhole covers and his cookies turn to charcoal....

"When Ma Peachey resigned from being a mother to take up yoga instead, the rest of the family took up being in crisis: no one cooked dinner, no one picked up the dirty laundry, and the children were always late for school. Ma might be off finding inner peace, but Pa Peachey, Ava, and Ollie are falling apart! Only almost-nine-year-old Betty is wise enough to know that the family needs to be rescued. Enter McTavish - a rescue dog on a mission to rescue...