A tender and heartfelt new middle-grade fantasy from the author of The Forgotten Magic of Zoey Turner.
THE MYSTERIOUS MAGIC OF LIGHTHOUSE LANE
by Erin Stewart
Simon & Schuster, February 2026
(via Writers House)
People are seriously overrated. At least that’s how Lucy sees it. People come with feelings, and Lucy feels them all too strongly.
Lucy doesn’t like that she can feel the anger when her parents fight, or that a lonely octopus at the aquarium filled her with so much sadness that she sobbed in front of her whole sixth-grade class. So when her parents suggest that she spend the summer with her grandfather at his isolated cabin on Prince Edward Island, she jumps at the chance to get away from people, feelings—all of it.
Lucy arrives at her grandfather’s with the only thing she really needs: her camera. From behind the lens, she can watch the world without having to feel any of it. Then Lucy finds her grandmother’s old camera and darkroom. When she starts taking pictures of the people in town and developing photos, she sees things in a new light—a new, magical light. In the pictures, she can see everything: her subjects’ deepest fears and hidden desires.
As Lucy tries to get to the bottom of the photographic magic, she realizes she’s been given a special gift by her grandmother. Between the camera’s magic and her own ability to feel everything, maybe Lucy’s big emotions could actually do something good for once.
But figuring out the mystery means giving up on her summer of being alone. Is Lucy ready to open her heart to new friends—and new feelings—in order to help the people in her summertime home?

Wally Mammoth lives in the Ice Age, where his huge heart warms even the coldest
Meet the teacher day? Check! Fun, new classroom? Check! Shiny new first day of school shoes? Check! Meet Junie B. Jones! The B stands for Beatrice. Except she doesn’t like Beatrice. She just likes B. and that’s all. Junie B. is almost six. Almost six is when you go to kindergarten. And TODAY is Junie B.’s first day of school! Only guess what? Junie B. does NOT want to ride the school bus home. It smells on the bus. Plus also, what if there are meanies on the bus who might pour chocolate milk on your head?! In fact, what if Junie B.’s so scared of the bus that when it’s time to go home…she doesn’t?!
Cordy is looking for good luck, looking for the feeling of safety she lost when her father died in a fishing boat accident, maybe even looking for a hint of magic—anything that will stop her mom from wanting to leave the coastal town she and her brother have always called home. What Cordy finds is a muddy, hungry little dog who ends up bringing all the luck she could want, and more.