In the first book of The House on Sunrise Lagoon series, we follow the big, blended family of the Ali-O’Connor’s (including a Great Dane named Good Boy) set on Tices Shoal, NJ. We follow Sam, a foster child who was recently adopted by the Ali-O’Connor’s as she tries to find where she fits in and learns to swim.

I love Nicole Melleby’s books because of the way she writes family dynamics. In “Sam Makes a Splash”, Mom and Mama affirm their kids and help them learn from their wrong doings. She also writes children very realistically. I loved following Sam along her journey to save Mom’s boat, The Princess. You couldn’t help but root for her and her siblings as they go boat-to-boat to try and save the business.

A great read about an adoptee trying to find her place in her new family and what it means to be a family.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book.

This series is a nice addition to the catalog. The books are a great length for many readers, and by centering each book on a different sibling, it broadens the scope of relatability. These are great for readers seeking blended or non-traditional families.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

I absolutely loved Sam Makes a Splash and Marina in the Middle by Nicole Melleby. Both of these are the first in The House in the Sunrise Lagoon series.

In The House in the Sunrise Lagoon books we meet the Ali-O’Connor family: Harbor and Sam the two big sisters, Marina the middle child, the twins Cordelia and Lir and both mothers Mom and Mama.

These two books were so fun and cute but had a lot of heart at the same time. Each book follows one the adopted siblings, Sam and Marina, as they navigate their place in the family. This family is adorable. I love the dynamic of the characters together and how they interacted. Even if they have differences you can see how much they care for one another.

I also love how these books deal with certain topics as being adopted, being a big sister or being stuck in the middle, they even touch on living with same sex parents and having a family member with Alzheimer. These are perfect for kids that deal with these topics and issues. I already recommended them to all my school librarian friends.

I cannot wait for the third one to come out.

This is such a cute beginning story to a new middle grade series. Nicole Melleby is so good at writing middle grade and I’m so excited to read more by her!

This is the first story in an adorable series! Follow 11 year old Samantha as she tries to save her families business! She is going to prove this summer that she is an official Ali-O'Connor even though she is adopted by being the one who repairs the charter boats her family works on.

My 10 year old loved this book, especially since we are a charter boat family! She is so excited to read the second book in the series!

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for my ARC!

This is a fun heartwarming story about an adopted child trying to find their place in their family. It was easy to read, had plenty of adventure with relatable dialog. This is the first in a series called "House On Sunrise Lagoon." I will definitely be reading the others in this series as I really fell in love with the characters!

I am so excited to continue to read this series. I love how each book focuses on a different sister. It’s like Full House meets Odeon Family, and I am here for it. I could see so many middle level readers loving this series. My one point would be that I felt like the cover design does make this book appear for younger readers more than I originally anticipated. It’s definitely at a text level closer to 5th grade level.

Thank you, Algonquin Young Readers, for allowing me to read The House on Sunrise Lagoon: Sam Makes a Splash early!

Nicole Melleby knows how to write middle-grade. This novel was so cute and fun. I loved it and I cannot wait to read the others in the series.