Sarah Robinson is deeply troubled in the wake of her dad's second marriage. She now has to deal with a new stepmom and two stepbrothers, Marco, who is her age, and Nacho, who's younger. Even though they've all moved from Texas to California to start life as a new, blended family, none of the kids seem remotely happy about it. Sarah's dad and stepmom then decide to take the whole family on a special vacation in order to break the ice and have everyone get to know one another. They'll fly to Tahiti, charter a boat, and go sailing for a few days. It'll be an adventure, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. Shipwreck Island is the first installment in a series from S. A. Bodeen. “A fractured family goes on a sailing trip to bind its wounds, and disaster ensues . . . should leave readers plenty impatient for the next volume.” ― BCCB “Narrative tension runs high as the kids try to adjust to their new life and the stress of their disastrous vacation . . . this adventure just gets going when the book comes to an end, leaving the story wide open for a sequel.” ― Booklist “In this exciting series debut, 12-year-old Sarah Robinson responds with ill-grace to her father's remarriage after six year as a widower . . . Intensely readable and will be excellent for reluctant readers.” ― School Library Journal “The first in a series, a contemporary castaway tale featuring a blended family . . . This book will leave readers hungry for a second helping.” ― Kirkus S. A. Bodeen is the author of The Garden and The Compound , which earned her an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults, a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, and a Publishers Weekly "Flying Start." She is also the author of several picture books, including Elizabeti's Doll , winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Award. Bodeen grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Her first friends were cows, which she named after characters in books. From there she went on to be a Peace Corps volunteer in East Africa, and has lived in seven states, as well as a remote Pacific island. She adores books and is a big fan of cheese. She lives in Oregon. 1 Sarah Robinson had been ordered to pack a suitcase and, to the best of her ability, she was going to use that task to express her displeasure at the mess her life had become. She yanked a zebra-striped swimsuit and several pairs of underwear out of her top drawer. Slam! A few weeks earlier, her father had married a flight attendant that he’d met through an online dating service. Sarah had held out hope that when he actually met the woman, he wouldn’t like her. But when he came back from his first trip to visit her in Texas, he told Sarah, “After your mother died, I never thought I’d be happy again. But I’ve fallen in love. I know you’ll love her too.” “Well, that’s not ever gonna happen.” Sarah hurled the clothes at the open suitcase on her bed and opened up another drawer. She jerked out a pair of jeans. Slam! On the second trip to Texas, he proposed. And then, on the third, he married her. Of course, he tried to get Sarah to go along, but she refused, insisting on staying home with her grandparents because she truly believed her father would never go through with the wedding unless she was there. But he did. And then he and his new wife went on a short honeymoon trip before he flew home. Sarah’s new stepmother came with baggage: two new stepbrothers for Sarah. Her father had told her over the phone, “The youngest is ten, and he is just a hoot. And the other is twelve, just like you. You two have so much in common.” “The only thing we have in common is our age.” Sarah twisted the jeans up and hurled them at her suitcase. She pulled out another drawer and dug into a pile of shorts, snatching up three pairs. Slam! The three of them, the Murillo family, had taken a few weeks to sell their home and pack up, so they arrived the day before and had already settled, somewhat, into the Robinsons’ extravagant Southern California home. Sarah took one look at their worn luggage and figured it all out. Her new stepmother was after her dad’s money. Classic. “She’s just a golddigger.” Sarah walked into her closet and began plucking shirts off hangers with so much force that some of the hangers broke and fell on the floor. She backed out of her closet and used her foot to kick the door shut. Slam! Sarah walked over to her bed, held the shirts over her head, and heaved them into the suitcase. She grabbed a hanger off the floor and whirled around, knocking some things off her dresser and onto the floor. “Oh no!” She quickly bent to pick up a gold and glass perfume flacon, and then sighed with relief when she saw it was unbroken. She held it up to her nose and breathed in. White Shoulders. Her mother’s scent. Also on the floor was a silver frame, which she snatched up. “Oh, Mama…” The photograph inside was of the two of them on Heritage Day in kindergarten. Sarah’s long, black hair was in loop braids, and her blue silk kimono had come from her mother