Alexa McCurry leads an ordinary teenager's life in upstate New York—until she embarks on a summer adventure in Central America. While working at a potentially boring internship in a marine DNA lab, she befriends a local boy, José, and a remarkable dolphin, Pecas. Together, Alexa and José uncover an ominous secret: Pecas' missing baby may be a captive at a marine biology facility. In a riveting tale of intrigue, Alexa and José work to unravel the mystery—and lead the reader on a vocabulary-expanding adventure.

The Marino Mission is a fun and painless way to master 1,000 tough SAT vocabulary words. Why spend all day looking at lists of words and definitions when you can read a gripping page-turner that incorporates SAT vocabulary words right into the text? Even better, words are defined at the bottom of each page so you don't have to flip to the back of the book to find definitions. Plus, self-tests at the end of the novel help you retain what you learn and prepare for test day. Once you open up The Marino Mission, you'll hardly know you're studying at all!