Midsummer Sisters
Writer/Artist: Niki Smith
Publisher: Graphix
Publication Date: June 2, 2026
Kenzie and Quinn have been step-sisters since toddlerhood, after Kenzie’s mom passed away and Quinn’s parents split up. But now that Quinn’s mom wants to move for more work opportunities and Kenzie’s dad wants to stay put, they fight constantly—and the girls struggle to cope not just with the volume and frequency of their arguments, but with what the future could mean for their blended family.
When their grandmother, affectionately dubbed Gramma, arrives in early summer and offers to take Kenzie and Quinn to her home on North Carolina’s Outer Banks for as “long as it takes to sort this mess out… whatever that might mean,” the girls jump at the opportunity to visit the beach, kayak, and see the wild horses that roam the shores. But their trip is soon extended to the entire summer, and their hopes for a reconciliation between their parents become smaller by the day.
Still, in Gramma, both Kenzie and Quinn find solace—even when Kenzie’s grief makes her turn inward and Quinn’s makes her lash out with anger. Together, the trio build a safe space that can survive any storm, even literal ones.
Niki Smith’s new middle grade graphic novel, Midsummer Sisters, radiates warmth even in its exploration of a blended family going through significant and potentially devastating change. Smith has a penchant for creating deeply grounded, complex characters—particularly children, whose inner lives are so often flattened in media—and Kenzie and Quinn are no exception.
Kenzie is obsessed with rocks, worries she’ll be left behind by Quinn if their parents split up, and boasts a prominent facial birthmark. She recently passed junior lifeguard training and spends her time on the Outer Banks hunting for fossilized shark teeth.
Meanwhile, Quinn is a talented softball player who’s crushing hard on her friend Willow and doesn’t realize her grief over potentially having to move away from all of her friends with her mom means Kenzie thinks Quinn won’t miss her as much as them. She always forgets sunscreen despite her red hair and very fair skin, and she takes dozens of photos on the Outer Banks that she sends Willow in their frequent text exchanges.
Gramma, who’s related to Kenzie by blood but claims Quinn as her full granddaughter, too, is a vet who works with the local wild horse foundation to monitor the herds and—only when needed—intervene to provide medical treatment and rehabilitation. She doesn’t allow shouting in her home and she dotes on her small, senior dog named Toby.
Midsummer Sisters focuses mostly on Kenzie and Quinn, whose relationship feels as if it is suspended in time while they stay with Gramma. As long as they’re on the Outer Banks, whatever comes of their parents and their fighting can’t quite touch them—not yet. But even when summer ends, Gramma promises to be a safe harbor, creating a sense of stability even in the most liminal months of the year.
Smith deftly manages the layered tension of liminality, inevitability, safety, and grief in Midsummer Sisters through shared glances and interrupted conversations that outline not just how small Gramma’s literal home is, but how intimately Kenzie, Quinn, and Gramma co-exist during this precarious period of time. Smith’s dialogue is clear, sharp, and distinct for each character; however, her art is what truly establishes the stakes here and drives the story forward.
In addition to kinetic character illustrations that flow in and out of standard panel layouts to underscore moments of vulnerability and distress, Smith also presents wide, sweeping illustrations of the land and the wild horses that roam it. The juxtaposition builds a framework upon which the story and its emotional stakes are pinned. It simultaneously underscores the grief of feeling so tethered to someone, somewhere, or something and potentially having to say goodbye for good, and creates a sense of hope that even if there is an ocean between them, some people—like Kenzie and Quinn, who can’t remember ever not being sisters—will never truly be apart.
In many ways, Midsummer Sisters feels like a spiritual successor to This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki. It’s a masterclass in slice of life-esque, contemporary family drama that both tackles difficult subjects and offers genuine joy to its readers. Smith makes this difficult balancing act look easy, presenting it all with graceful lines and vibrant colors for a sensational read.
Verdict: Buy
