This book has has such a fun premise. It is, literally, a day at the beach. You meet a variety of characters and families, witness many different activities, and find interconnection amongst it all. It starts early in the morning with siblings running, training for cross country, along the water's edge. Then throughout the day more and more people find their way to the beach. Some we meet briefly, and others we get to know a little more. Although some characters did have their struggles, the overall feel of the story was a fun day at the beach. It brought summer vibes to this Arctic winter freeze I'm currently experiencing!

I loved this sweet book. I am an eighth grade English teacher, and my students love Gary B. Schmidt books. This seems a bit of a departure, and reads more like a series of interconnected short stories, but the depth of the characters and how much I love them, shines through. I especially loved Simon and Jackie, but that's because they remind me so much of my own children. This is a great book for summer, and I anticipate it will be great on audiobook for road trips. I will be checking it out!

This is a collection of short stories which link to a day at a beach in New Jersey. A perfect summer reading book for Middle School kids grade 6 and up. Schmidt and Koertge capture the energy of a summer beach day and they capture all of the different personalities. We learn the back story of many of the characters and there is a satisfying conclusion.

This was such an interesting read: a connected collection of very short stories about the people who spend their day on a beach in New Jersey, with a small plot line of one beach-goer's missing phone threaded throughout.

Because of the sheer number of characters and a couple plot elements, I think this is better suited as a young adult book than middle grade. But I really enjoyed it, and will almost definitely re-read it sometime. It's the type of book you get more out of the more you read it!

These short chapters always seemed to be ending as soon as I was really invested. Thankfully, the storylines eventually came together for a satisfying ending. Middle grade readers that I serve will like the shorter chapters and will recognize the familiar events the characters faced. A great middle grade read!

I am the world's biggest Gary D. Schmidt fan and will read anything and everything he writes. And while I enjoyed this collection of bite sized short stories, each featuring a kid at the beach and how their stories sometimes intersect and sometimes don't, this wasn't a home run for me. I liked it fine. But didn't love it and didn't feel as connected to it due to the stories being so short.

I do think kids will love it, and it's a great change of pace from a full blown novel. It was fun seeing how some stories built upon others, and how some were standalone.

My favorite was probably the 3 generations of Mikes and the carpentry work they did on the boardwalk every weekend.

A good book to add to a classroom collection! Recommended for ages 8+.

Thank you for the arc! The short chapters and overall short book length is needed in middle grade lit. Fans of You are Here: Connecting Flights will like this novel that features different perspectives of people on a beach over the course of one day. Although the book was a great collection of short stories, the ending felt rushed compared to other books by Schmidt.

Big thanks to Net Galley for the ARC for this wonderful book! Two of our middle school students’ favorite authors team up to create a series of vignettes about all the different people on the beach. At turns, laugh out loud funny and deeply moving, this book is sure to fill the hearts of readers everywhere.

Reading this with my son we loved this book so much. We recently took a trip to the beach so he was able to grab moments in the book and tie them to his memories. It is the perfect read for those who are not able to go to the beach.
This book reminded me of the movies like New years Day and Valentines day where there are so many story lines intermingled into one story. Woven like a beautiful masterpiece made at the beach. Perfection.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! I’m definitely a fan of this author, so I was happy to snag this one. It’s a nice compilation of a variety of people who are at the beach over a course of a day. There are signs and times updating the progress of the day as it goes along, and there’s a big range of characters whose stories often overlap. While I really enjoyed all these little stories (most were just a few oages) and the characters and relationships in them, I did take off a star because I felt like the stories could’ve overlapped and come together a bit more to make it stronger and more interesting. I also felt like the ending of the book/end of the day could’ve been a better wrap up and fell short a bit. That being said, there were several times as I read that I just thought the book and individual stories were delightful and real and sweet. Overall, it’s one I’d put in the hands of my students for sure as it’s white clean and has some nice messages about humanity and kindness in here.

I love the beach. This book was so descriptive and fun it made me feel like I was at the beach and miss the beach at the same time. What a fun read as we see friends and family make connections as everyone experiences their own fun at the beach.

just read “A Day at the Beach,” the slighted boys and the fast running girl— I’d kiss you if I could! The surgeon with the hand played in my head like a movie where you can’t tell if it’s the cinematography or the story that is making you question the juxtaposition of beauty and anguish. A perfect tool for interdisciplinary studies. That sandcastle contest— who wins the award? Why is it often Cinderella’s castle. Art, social studies mashed up. That woman diving for the Conch shell, the rotting whale, the kids discussing shells, Beach Science and Lit. I’d love to teach this book!

Let’s go to the beach! What a fun read as we see friends and family make connections as everyone experiences their own fun at the beach. People are throwing Frisbees, finding shells, making new friends, forming sandcastles, and even losing things. You can smell the yummy food found on the boardwalk. Feel the sand and the sun as we all experience the fun during a day at the beach.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.