How to Sail to Somewhere by Ashleigh Barton

"Bea turns away, blinking her eyes back into focus. She can't believe that, after all this time dreaming about it, Somewhere is actually so close she can see it."

There are two girls in this story, Bea and Arabella, and quite unexpectedly their lives collide. Arabella is in Bea's class at school but Arabella is one of those popular girls who always has a swarm of other girls around her. Bea has never even spoken to her. 

"Arabella has always seemed like the kind of person who doesn't want to speak to Bea, but may be Bea has been wrong about that too. ... hanging with Arabella is like hanging with royalty. Arabella is pretty and rich and confident. She's also somehow stony, like nothing bothers her ... This makes her untouchable, alluring and being her friend is an instant ticket to being popular. And Bea can't understand it, but popular is all anyone seems to want to be. They're not concerned about being nice or smart or clever ... or resourceful or creative or pioneering or anything like that."

What Bea doesn't know is that Arabella is not really friends with all of those girls. Bea, herself, has one or two good friends but they always head away from this small seaside town in the summer. She usually has her uncle to keep her company because her extremely busy parents disappear very early each day and always return late at night. Usually, summer is her time of joy when her uncle Bryon comes to stay. He is a fantastic uncle and together they have so much fun but this year he has not come and no one has told her why or if they have told her she simply does not understand. Before he left last year Byron showed Bea a map and said that next summer, they would sail together to a small star-shaped island off the coast called Somewhere. 

Here is a description of Byron:

His smell "that combination of freshly washed cotton, chewing gum and his peppermint shampoo."

And "the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed and how his smile was always slightly crooked or the way he always listened when you spoke, watching you like what you had to say was genuinely interesting even if you were just telling him why sandwiches are better without their crusts."

I mentioned there are two girls in this story. Everyone knows Arabella lives in a mansion with solid gold doorknobs and marble walls and an indoor swimming pool and fifteen cars. Bea is amazed to be invited there by Arabella and then she is even more amazed to discover none of this is true. And then Arabella shows Bea that she also has a map of the island named Somewhere and suddenly this summer it seems these two girls are destined to become friends.  The girls make a plan to sail to Somewhere. Bea wants to go there because it was the place her uncle promised they would go to together but why does Arabella so desperately want to go there and also how is the old fisherman Ray connected with all of this? And what about Uncle Bryon he is not here and yet somehow he seems to be directing the action with mysterious clues, secret keys, hidden rooms and one very special book. I loved the way the girls used their local library to search for more information about the island. 

There is something truly comforting about a story that is filled with delicious food. Ashleigh Barton has included a wonderful cafe in her story. Arabella's dad works there, and he is happy, as all good chefs are, to share his food with an appreciative audience. Bea is given food at home but it is nowhere near as delicious as the food served at Fishbone. Older readers might make the connection about the nourishment of food and Bea's need for comfort. Arabella has delicious food from her father but she too has an emptiness inside because she is holding onto a dreadful misunderstanding about her own absent mother. 

Add this book to your book shopping list - it is sure to be enjoyed by keen readers aged 9+. And after reading this book you will also want to go to your own local fish cafe or perhaps enjoy a picnic of cheese and pickle sandwiches, honey cake with strawberry jam and homemade lemonade. 

If you are book talking this new Australian book with your library group I would begin with these sentence:

"Where are you going to go?"  "I don't know. I'll go anywhere. Somewhere."

How could this be misinterpreted?  What if there is an island off the coast called Somewhere?

Here are some detailed teachers notes by Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright. And here are the webpages for Ashleigh Barton. How to Sail to Somewhere was published just four days ago so it will be in your local bookshop right now!

Publisher blurb: Beatrice Glass - Bea - lives in a tiny fishing village that's sleepy all year until the summertime, when the tourists flock in and most of the locals leave. But summer is also when Bea's favourite person in the entire world, her fun and hilarious uncle, Byron, comes to stay. On their last day together the previous summer, Byron had given Bea an intriguing antique book containing a map of Somewhere, a mysterious island off the coast, and promised that next summer they'd sail to Somewhere together for their best adventure yet. That was last year. Now summer has arrived, but Byron hasn't. And now it looks like he never will. Are the book and Byron's disappearance linked? Byron has left some clues for Bea - a scavenger hunt of sorts designed to bring her and her new friend, Arabella, together and give Bea one last magical summer. Could Somewhere hold the key to both Bea's and Arabella's future?

My 2025 CBCA Younger Readers notable and short list predictions were totally wrong but anyway I am going to say that How to Sail to Somewhere is sure to be a 2026 notable - fingers crossed. 

There’s magic in this story. ...  a joyous magic that comes with discovering something new, making new friends and going on an adventure that means something to both of the main characters. Loss is a central theme in this novel, showcasing the power of facing how you feel about loss, and family finding ways to talk about things that are painful for everyone. Because not everyone always knows how to address things. ...  Grief is a powerful emotion that everyone responds to differently, and I liked that this book acknowledged that. This is a quiet gem of a book that will have something in it for every reader. The Book Muse

It’s evocative and emotional, without being syrupy or sanctimonious. I predict that readers will not only fall in love with these characters, but with the setting itself. Here’s one to add to forthcoming ‘best of’ lists without a doubt. Just so Stories

Companion books:

This is book is a perfect match with How to Sail to Somewhere - highly recommended.

Junonia

Summer of the gypsy moths

Jubilee

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass

Before I begin to talk about this book I would like to ask a question. Can you think of ANY middle grade books for readers aged 10+ that contain a genuine hug between friends - not a picture book - a novel and I am talking about an actual hug in this case between Evan, the main character in this story, and his best friend Rafe. Evan finds a way to open an old treehouse in their neighborhood. In the process he nearly caused a dreadful accident.

"First Evan realized the rusty hinges were not going to hold the door. Also first, because these two things actually happened simultaneously, the door tilted dramatically, paused for a second, and then fell to the ground. ... 'ARE YOU OKAY?' 'Yeah! ... it missed me!' ... He took a few deep breaths and was getting to his feet when Rafe's head popped up at the doorway. 'That was fast,' Evan said. 'I'm really glad you aren't dead.' Rafe smiled. 'Me too. Pull me in - I need a hug.' He wasn't kidding. When Rafe needed a hug, he asked for a hug. It was one of the things that made Evan understand that Rafe ... was mostly fearless."

Once upon a time the town of Martinville had a library. Ms Scoggin was the librarian. Al worked their too. And there was a library cat named Mortimer and a library customer named Mr Brock. Of course, all of that was years ago. Sadly, the library burned down and yes, some people died. Fast forward twenty years. Evan and his best friend Rafe live in this town. They have no idea they are about to be swept up into an astonishing mystery. 

On the way to school Evan notices someone has installed a little free library outside the Martinville History House. 

"When he pulled, the glass doors swung open easily. A smell floated out. A smell like ... applesauce? And ... cheese? But mostly applesauce. Strange. But it was a good smell. A little handwritten sign was attached to the single shelf inside: TAKE A BOOK; LEAVE A BOOK. OR BOTH. ... Evan decided to take two books. The smallest two, which he figured was the same as taking one."

These two books are the impetus for the mystery. One is a book entitled How to Write a Mystery Novel and the other is a beat-up book for little kids held together with tape. The title is now too hard to read. Since these are library books they contain further clues. There is a library stamp - Martinville Library but Even knows there is no library in his town. And there is a card in the pocket.

"The same name had been written there again and again. He flipped the card, checking front and back. One name: Edward McClelland. His dad's name."

Evan and his friend Rafe head back to the little free street library. The discover it contains forty-four books. Almost all of them have the same Martinville Library stamp and ten have his dad's name. Every book has return date stamp (oddly this is not a usual practice for a library) and the boys can see every one of them was returned on the same day - November 5th, 1999. BUT Evan discovers the book How to Write a Mystery Novel was not borrowed by his father - it says H.G. Higgins and Evan knows he is a famous mystery writer. Did he once live in Martinville?

One word of caution - do not read this book too quickly - there are clues which point to the mystery but I will admit I missed most of them because I do tend to read books way too fast. 

There are some sweet touches in this story that help the reader to really understand Evan such as his imaginary cape and hat.

"No one knew about the cape. His dad had 'given' it to Evan way back in kindergarten, when Evan was having trouble saying goodbye at the classroom door ... Evan had kept the imaginary cape all these years. In his mind he knew exactly what it would like like, if it were real: a red felt triangle, with two string to tie it on."

This idea of the cape reminded me of two Australian middle grade books (both long out of print) - The View from the 32nd Floor; and Swashbuckler by James Moloney.

Another delightful aspect of this story is the character of Evan's friend Rafe. Years ago, after a potentially dangerous event in preschool, Rafe's parents started setting rules - tons of rules - to keep Rafe safe. The rules were hard to keep but Rafe made a deal with his parents - He would obey all the rules but the rules would have an expiration date at the end of Grade 5 - the end of elementary school. That day is rapidly approaching. I also loved the way Evan accepted this issue and the way it restricted his friend. 

The Book Club run by Al is also perfect:

"The club members were Great Readers, and we had a wonderful time listening to each other talk about the books we were reading, what the stories were and what we thought might happen next, and how all of it made us feel. These young readers felt things about books, which is why I call them Great Readers. Being a Great Reader has nothing to do with reading great sophisticated books, or reading great long books, or even reading a great many books. Being a Great Reader means feeling something about books."

It also fun to see the way the people in Martinville interact with their new street library. I love discovering these in suburbs near my home. 

The pacing is strong, and the twists and turns are satisfying even if perceptive readers may catch hints of the ultimate truth along the way. A page-turner with striking characters and a satisfying puzzle at its heart. Kirkus

Since this is written from several perspectives, we get an interesting view of what happened at the library from someone who was there, someone who didn't even know the library had existed, and also a cat, which makes this very intriguing. There's a nice mix of mystery, book lore, and philosophical musings on the importance of books. Ms Yingling

Companion books:

The Parker Inheritance

Out of the Wild Night

The Summer we found a baby

When I read The Lost Library I thought of the wonderful librarian and her son in this book:

Leeva at Last