Blue Beach
-
- Pre-Order
-
- Expected Jun 9, 2026
-
- $16.99
Publisher Description
Perfect for fans of Promise Boys, this gripping historical mystery follows a teenager who finds a murdered girl on her family's California beach—a discovery that will reveal the racism rampant in her world.
Fifteen-year-old Blue Collins’s parents own the only Black beach in Santa Monica in 1929. She loves spending time there with her handsome friend Ben Clark. It’s a quiet spot where they can be alone and where Ben’s darker skin won’t be judged by onlookers—or Blue’s own family.
During a sunset rendezvous after a summer parade, the pair discovers the body of Dottie Whitehouse, a white debutante. Blue Beach is already threatened by local white property owners. Now their whole community could be at risk. In their panic, Blue and Ben move Dottie’s body into the waters of a nearby white beach.
Dottie’s body washes ashore, and it isn’t long before all eyes are on Ben. Everyone saw how Dottie teased him and how they shared smiles. And their history goes deeper than Blue ever realized. But to save Ben from the outraged white townspeople, she’ll need to do whatever she can to dig up the truth and prove his innocence. Ben isn’t the only one whose life depends on it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Actor Parsons (Clouds over California) makes her YA debut with an evocative, socially conscious murder mystery set against the racially charged backdrop of 1929 Santa Monica. Fifteen-year-old Blue, whose family owns Blue Beach—the only stretch of sand open to Black residents in Southern California—finds her summer upended when she and her friend Ben discover the body of white teen Dottie on the shore. Fearing violent retaliation from white neighbors, the pair move the body. When evidence reveals that Dottie had asked Ben to meet her at the beach prior to her death, Ben goes into hiding as suspicions and threats run rampant. Guilt by association jeopardizes Blue, her family, and their livelihood, which is further imperiled by a white land developer's plot to take ownership of the beach. Determined to clear Ben's name and protect her community, Blue follows her sole clue—a ruby earring found in Dottie's mouth—into a web of secrets. Despite predictable plotting and an overly tidy resolution, anticipatory language and Blue's steadfast pursuit of truth lend the narrative momentum and heart, culminating in an appealing, worthwhile offering. Ages 12–up.
