Family Week

by Sarah Moon

Four best friends spend Family Week together at an annual gathering of LGBTQ+ families in Provincetown, MA—the largest of its kind across the world—in this middle grade coming-of-age story that celebrates identity, acceptance, and found family.

For as long as they can remember, Mac, Lina, Milo and Avery have celebrated Family Week together in "the smallest, gayest town in the world"—Provincetown, Massachusetts.

But this summer, their big rented beach house feels different. Avery’s dads are splitting up, and her life feels like it’s falling apart. Milo’s flunked seventh grade, which means everyone is moving on to bigger and better things except for him. Mac’s on his way to a progressive boarding school that lets transgender kids like him play soccer, but it means leaving his twin sister, Lina, and his moms—and the safety of home—behind. 

Everything is changing, and for Lina, it feels like it's happening with or without her. Avery, Milo, and Mac know this is going to be their last summer together. But Lina can't accept that—and if she can make this the best summer ever, maybe she'll convince them that there will be a Family Week next year. Good things might not last in the real world, but they do in P-town.... Right?

Genres: Middle Grade, LGBT, Realistic Fiction, Queer, Fiction, Contemporary, Young Adult

Unknown Binding

First published April 15, 2025

About the author

Sarah Moon is a teacher, writer, and translator. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

[Frida · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to go to family week! This was a wonderful story about your chosen family and how they can evolve.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read this!

[Jenna-booklooksbyjenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

provincetown you will always be gay and famous

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come on April 2ndI received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Family Week by Sarah Moon is a Queue contemporary Middle Grade set in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Twins Milo and Lina and their moms have celebrated Family Week with Avery and her dads and Mac and his mom every year for almost their whole lives. But everything is going to change this summer as the four get ready for big changes that come with growing up.

I rarely comment on covers, but given the political climate that I received this ARC in, I would be remiss not to. I believe the cover was finalized before November, but it seems like an act of defiance as of writing this on January 31st. It's unapologetically Queer with the trans and BIPOC-inclusive flag prominently displayed along with a transboy on the cover and a racially diverse cast of characters. There is no mistaking what this book is and, when I got approved, I actually cried tears of joy when I saw this cover again. I loved it before, but I love it so much more now.

This book had me tearing up multiple times because of how normalized Queerness is while still recognizing the political climate the book was written in. Milo is a transboy who started transitioning before the book starts. One of the reasons and he Lina’s mom's want him to go to an elite boarding school is because it will allow him to play soccer when bans on transgender athletes are keeping trans kids out of sports. The kids refer to themselves as ‘gaybies’ and make Queer jokes but, outside of Provincetown, they deal with being outsiders in a society with mostly heteronormative families.

Avery’s dads are in the middle of a divorce when the book opens and we get to see Avery's complicated relationship towards all of it. One of her dads is Bi/Pan-coded (the exact label is never used and it is instead explained as sexuality being a spectrum, which I felt was done more in a way to introduce that how we identify ourselves and our sexuality can change at any age and less out of reluctance to explicitly give it a label) and has started a new family with a female friend but still wants to be one of Avery's dads. Avery has a lot of complicated feelings around this and I thought it was very cool and important for kids to see that kids growing up in Queer houses can also struggle with divorce.

Lina is in the middle of her first crush and her own blossoming Queer identity (she's never given a label) as she is shown to be attracted to several girls and to want to start a relationship with her crush if her crush returns her feelings. Mac, meanwhile, is dealing with feeling inadequate next to Milo as Milo is a genius who has already skipped a grade and Mac almost had to repeat the seventh grade. I appreciated the journey that Mac and Milo had to go on to becoming friends again; their frustration with their own lives and each other were great foils for the target audience of middle school schoolers.

I would recommend this to young readers looking for books with a variety of Queer representation, readers looking for Middle Grade with Queer interracial relations and characters (particularly Jewish-Chinese and Black-Jewish) and those looking for shorter works affirming that trans children deserve as much love and consideration as any other child

[Rapunzel Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like Family Week, but it fell a little short for me. If you like sweet, straightforward, and family-driven, this could absolutely be a book you’ll enjoy. However, I felt like there wasn’t enough time spent on any individual plotline, and it often felt as though events were happening somewhat randomly rather than being unified by a continuous plot, particularly in the middle of the book.

Individually, I liked all of the characters, and their individual struggles were very vivid and relevant, with particularly poignant moments for each one. Personally, I connected a lot with Milo and Avery, and I loved the overall themes of acceptance and queer joy within a very contemporary society. It also did a really good job of creating a narrative that revolves around queer families and a sense of belonging. (And I love the cover!) As a whole, though, I didn’t feel like it quite hung together, maybe because the short length combined with the many points of view made it so that I never felt fully anchored in any one story until close to the end.

On a content-warning side, two of the major characters contemplate/attempt self-harm in the second half of the book, and though it’s left somewhat ambiguous, it’s more than worthy of a CW.

2.5 stars, rounded up because I truly do feel that some readers could enjoy this book, particularly younger middle schoolers - it just wasn’t for me!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to PRHAudio and Knopf for Young Readers for my gifted ALC and finished copy.

It’s incredibly important in the current political climate for stories like this to proudly be sold, read, borrowed, and talked about so that we normalize queer stories. To be clear, while this story has queer characters, it’s about family.

Provincetown, Massachusetts has a week where queer families from all over come to enjoy time together. For these four friends, they’ve spent family week together every year for almost their entire life. And this is the most important year of all, because following this week all of their lives will change forever.

This was a sweet story filled with queer joy and growth. I love that one of the kids dads are divorcing (that sounds horrible, but it’s also important to show how families can change by separating and moving on) and he’s in a relationship with a woman now. There are so many letters in the alphabet and their child learning that her father can still be queer and with a woman is something I haven’t seen in middle grade before.

[Lisa Pineo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I read one of Moon's previous books and wasn't that wowed by it but this one really pulled me in. I'm not the target audience but I think kids would also relate to the characters and experiences in the story. Each kid had a different secret to start their summer Family Week. Cheating, divorce, failing school, being a genius about to be shipped off to boarding school but not wanting to go, a crush on a best friend who doesn't seem to reciprocate and their twin pulling away; and that's just to start the book. I appreciated the multiple genders and sexual identities as well as different races. Each problem was dealt with sensitivity and care and each character had their own voice and learned lessons after the week was up. It's a fairly short book but I think 8-12 year olds are looking for that now since it's not a graphic novel. Lots of drama, emotion, love, family (biological and found), and truths spilled make this a book you want to gulp in one sitting.

[Jan Raspen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun feel-good book about the kids of a bunch of LGBTQ+ people who vacation together every summer for a week in Provincetown, Massachusetts. All the family structures are diverse and some of them are in the process of changing. These changes affect the kids in different ways, and we get to see the ways they come together to support each other as found family often does. There's lots of diversity in representation of queer people, and I think young readers will either love to see themselves represented in the book or will gain valuable insights into other kinds of families.

[Cammy]

Sooooooooooo angsty in a way that feels very realistic. All these kids are going through it. This is really realistic about how tweens talk/act, which surprised me. I wanna go to Provincetown now.

[Hannah Showalter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute! Wish it was a bit longer, because I wanted to spend more time with this family, but it was so sweet!

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in Provincetown, MA, Family Week is the story of three families that share a week together during the biggest celebration of lgbtq+ families in the country. Each of the kids in the story is going through typical preteen drama, for the most part, and it's sweet that they all have each other's backs. My favorite thing about this book, though, is reading how the kids communicate. I love, love, love that, throughout the story, the author gives examples of effective and positive communication between the kids with each other and with their parents in a natural, non-pushy way.
I would definitely recommend this book for kids in middle school and beyond. It's a fun read and the characters are instantly lovable.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Donna Metler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Family week by Sarah Moon demonstrates a reality for LGBT kids and kids from LGBT families, which is that their problems often are the same problems other kids face…with an added element.

So, Mac has a chance to go to a specialty gifted school, where his language gifts can be fully accommodated, but doesn’t want to leave his twin sister or his parents. This would be enough for any kid to deal with, but the fact that Mac is trans and would be able to play soccer at the private boarding school, but not at his local school just adds another twist.

Lina is worried about losing her brother…and is navigating her first lesbian crush,

Avery’s parents are getting a divorce. That’s hard enough for any kid to deal with, but the fact that one of Avery’s dads has left the other for a woman and Avery will soon have a new step sibling and her guilt because at some level, she always wondered what it would be like to have a mom, a dad, brothers, sisters….that’s an extra level.

Milo is failing 7th grade and was recently identified as twice exceptional (Kudos to the author for using 2e!,)


None of these kids’ problems are that they have same sex parents, or that they’re LGBT themselves (for those that are) They’re kids, navigating problems not uncommon for kids their age. And enjoying, but also struggling, with being with their friends that they see every summer, hoping to be understood, but also dealing with the fact that being a teen is harder than being a kid.


Family Week shows the value of community, of connections. Many kids will relate to that, too-ones who go every summer to the same camp, or see the same neighbors when they visit their grandparents. Those who don’t necessarily fit in all year, but have a place they belong will relate to WHY Provincetown family week is so important to Milo, Mac, Lina, and Avery-why being and feeling NORMAL is so powerful. So will parents, reading this book, because ultimately the parents are simply normal parents facing parenting problems and not necessarily making the best choices or fully hearing their kids.


And that is the amazing value of this book. Because not only is it going to help kids who have same sex parents, who are trans, who are gay feel seen, it will also help gifted kids, kids who feel like the less achieving sibling, kids with divorced or divorcing parents, kids who struggle in school, kids who are dealing with crushes, kids who have trouble taking to their parents feel seen. This book has one of the best examples of how giftedness can appear in different kids that I’ve EVER seen.


I look forward to adding this book to the recommended list for the class I teach on Giftedness/Twice Exceptionality. I look forward to adding it to my Little Free Library. It’s an excellent middle grade/middle school book for families to share.

[YSBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

For one week every summer, Provincetown, MA holds Family Week, a gathering of queer families filled with kid-friendly events. Moon uses her own childhood memories from vacations in Provincetown as inspiration for her latest middle grade novel, Family Week. Twins Lina and Milo have been meeting their friends Avery and Mac in Provincetown every summer for as long as they can remember. Their families even rent the same house together. But this summer might be their last. Mac’s failed seventh grade, Avery’s dads are getting a divorce (and one of them will be having a new baby with a woman), Milo has a full scholarship to a fancy boarding school that will let transgender kids like him play sports, and Lina feels like everything is changing whether she likes it or not. Now that everyone is back in Provincetown for a week, Lina is determined to make this the best summer ever so that everyone will want to come back again… except everyone seems to be withdrawing and no one is having fun. Can Family Week be saved? Milo and Lina are Asian, Avery is Black, Mac cues as white. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

These kids are all going through a lot and the angst feels authentic. Mac resents Milo because of how easy school is for him. Avery is stealing lipsticks in the hopes that her dads will notice her. Lina is pretending to be excited for Milo even though she feels left behind, and Milo is scared to tell his sister and his moms that he really doesn’t want to go away for school. All readers should be able to find something resonant here, especially the life lesson about talking to the people you love about what you are going through rather than suffering alone. In the end this is a sweet story about friendship and the importance of safe communities for marginalized groups.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three lgbtq famlies meet every year in Provincetown, MA, ever since the families first met when the children were four years old. They are now 13, and things have changed. One is in the middle of a divorce, one of the twins has been awarded a full-ride scholarship to a prestigious boarding school, one has a crush on one of the other girls, and one has nearly flunked out of school. Do they all share their secrets? Or do they keep them to themselves, so that nothing spoils the festivities.

Each of the kids has this sort of push and pull, not sure how much to share, and then sharing it. Unlike the adults, who don’t want to talk about it.

I do like how they know each other so well, despite only spending a week together every year. There is a certain fellowship that builds with doing the same things every year, but with slight variations.

The descriptions are great. One feels as though one is really in P-Town. And the whale trips that at first one of the kids hates, and then finds he loves.

This is a quick read, and I found I had trouble putting it down.

One nit I have is that I normally don’t like changes in point of view (POV) in the same section, just a paragraph apart. It is very jarring. But, that was the way this was written, so I gritted my teeth, and kept reading, because other than that, I enjoyed the story.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out the 15th of April 2025.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished “Family Week” by Sarah Moon and I’m absolutely in love! This middle grade gem is a beautiful exploration of identity, acceptance, and the power of found family, all set against the backdrop of the vibrant and welcoming Provincetown, MA.

Sarah Moon has crafted a heartfelt narrative that resonates deeply with readers of all ages. The story follows four best friends—Mac, Lina, Milo, and Avery—who gather for their annual Family Week, but this time, everything feels different. With Avery’s family in turmoil, Mac facing academic challenges, and Milo preparing to leave for a new adventure, the stakes are higher than ever.

What I love most about this book is how it captures the bittersweet essence of growing up and the fear of change. Lina’s determination to make this summer unforgettable is both relatable and inspiring. Moon’s writing is infused with warmth and authenticity, making you feel like you’re right there in the beach house, riding the waves of joy and sorrow alongside these unforgettable characters.

“Family Week” is a celebration of love in all its forms—a must-read for any age, but especially those middle school, early high school readers. It reminds us that even as we grow and change, the bonds we create can last a lifetime.

This book hits shelves in April, and trust me, you won’t want to miss it! Mark your calendars and get ready for a beautiful journey filled with laughter, tears, and a whole lot of heart. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

[Kelly {SpaceOnTheBookcase] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family week is the one week out of the summer where non-traditional families come together and vacation in the city of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Described as a week of “Gay Christmas,” bestfriends Mac, Lina, Milo and Avery have a lot on their shoulders this year. Avery’s dads are getting a divorce, Milo didn’t pass the 7th grade, Milo has been invited to a prestigious boarding school and his twin sister Lina doesn’t want anything to change. A book that captures the heart of what it means to grow up, Family Week is a great inside look into the difficulties families face regardless of what they look like from the outside.

This is a coming of age story through and through and I really enjoyed that it didn’t shy away from the difficulties of being a tween. Life is hard, especially at this age, and Family Week gives kids who aren’t used to seeing themselves in books the opportunity to do so. I did have the chance to listen to the audiobook and I would recommend the book in either format.

Thank you Random House Kids and PRH Audio for the gifted copies.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lina, Milo, Avery, and Mac and their parents have spent family week in Provincetown for as long as they can remember. The children first became friends when they played together at a library, and they and their families rent a house for the week.

This year, things are different. Each of the children has a secret they are trying to hide from the others. Two of them have such a painful secret they don't want to come to Family Week at all. What will happen when all of them and their families get together? Can their friendships survive the strain of the secrets? or will this be the last time they are all together?

This delightful book explores challenges that middle schoolers face with changes, family, and friends. Finding one's voice and one's true self are at the center of this empowering, delightful read. It's one I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC!

[Jasmine Shouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars rounded up

This is a cute story that's great for middle schoolers about queer families - born and chosen. I loved the diversity. I liked that it touched on a variety of topics like divorce, pressure of perfectionism, crushes, and finding a passion.

I did not care for the writing style. I hated that POV swaps would happen from one paragraph to the next with no warning, especially when it was between two characters of the same gender.

Overall, it was a nice, quick read. I definitely recommend for 12-13 year olds.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute, sweet, queer story about families, both found and chosen. Spending a week in Provincetown, MA for Family Week, enjoying activities both queer and hobby focused really showcases the discovery of one's self.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. I like that the chapters were literally each day of the week. However, there were parts that felt overly detailed and others that I would have loved to read more of. I don't know if that's because of the formatting or wanting to keep things shorter for the intended middle grade audience.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for allowing me to read this eARC.

[Ande Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved Family Week! It is a great MG look at growing up in a queer family and what makes a family in general. I think all four of the main kiddos were really well written and their voices/struggles were completely clear. I wanted the adults to get it together a little bit more, but they were well written as well. Overall, a book with lots of heart & lovely queer vibes!

Thanks to NetGalley, Sarah Moon, and Random House Children's for the chance to read and review. M opinions are my own!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC

This was a really nice book focused on a group of LGBTQ+ Families. The book is laid out with some POV switching that could be jarring but I did not have a problem with it. I think the focus on the changes and how everyone is dealing with them is great for a middle grade novel since a lot of the younger readers may be dealing with similar issues. It’s also nice to have a book with a focus on so much diversity. Definitely a good read and fits greatly in the middle grade category.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving middle grade novel about four friends and their family's vacation during a 'Family week' that celebrates pride and diversity. I really enjoyed this heartfelt story about different kinds of families - found, blood, blended, etc and their individual challenges. There are lots of fun moments and some highly relatable ones. It was good on audio, has fantastic LGBTQIA+ content and is sure to resonate with young readers. Recommended for fans of authors like Alex Gino, Ronnie Riley and Kyle Lukoff. Many thanks to @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set during Family Week (for LBGTQIA families) in Provincetown, 3 families have come together and shared a house for vacation since the kids – Avery and her dads, twins Milo and Lina and their moms, and Mac and his mom. – were little. This year tensions run high and none of the teens want to return next year. Avery’s dads are divorcing, Milo is leaving soon for boarding school and Lina is feeling abandoned, and Mac is not doing well in school. With a little help from whale camp and drag camp, the family starts communicating with each other.

[Bibliohiker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This was a great read! Families are all different and that’s what makes us unique. I like that Milo stayed true to himself and for pushing Mac to open up. Sometimes it takes time to really find ourselves. The summer brought the kids closer together and some realized they’re more alike than they think. The kids thought it’d be the last summer of Family Week but they realized it wouldn’t be the last one.

[Mimsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the e-ARC of Family Week!
5 / 5 ⭐

Family Week is a very cute - and very messy - tale of queer families colliding in the gayest town in America. Our young protags have to learn how to define family and find themselves during a weeklong vacation already jam-packed with traditions. Family Week is queer, trans, multiracial, and Jewish; within its pages, the concepts of gender, sexuality, and family are all expansive.

[Meg Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved a lot of things about this book, including the very fact that it exists. As a 10 year family week attendee, much of this book really resonated with me. It made me want to read more books set in Ptown. That being said, the story was a bit too complicated and subtle for my 10 year old, who I was reading it to. Maybe it’s meant for older audiences. And yes, Family Week (the week) is magical and I recommend all LGBTQ families experience it at least once!

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This reminded me a bit of The Family Fletcher Takes Rhode Island and had the vibrant LGBTQIA+ community of Bunker's Zenobia July or Lukoff's Different Kinds of Fruit. The children had a number of typical problems (parents divorcing, having to move schools, sibling problems, personal identity, crushes) set against a summer vacation background.

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet book. There are lots of fun characters and everybody has their own drama that is going on. It’s hard to keep track of who is who in the beginning, but I got the hang of it. Much needed representation of all kinds of families. These felt like real kids dealing with real issues and I’m glad this book is here.

#LGBTQ+ #OwnVoices #PrideReads2025

[Jennybeast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this. Joyously queer, of course, but also accessible and chock full of themes that speak directly to tweens -- which is a lot about pain and about showing up for each other. Divorce, crushes, friendships, being too smart, feeling not smart enough, traditions, and the kind of butt kicking that only comes from people who know you so well that they can see through your bs. Huge, kind.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about Family Week. This is such a solid middle grade book tackling divorce, new siblings, changes in schools, and the overall growing pains of moving from being a tween into your teen years. As all 4 kids struggle with the idea that this summer may be their last family week vacation, they also learn that found family can change but still be there for each other.