A coming-of-age tale that’s as engaging as it is inspiring.
An unassertive young girl adjusts to life in a new town and away from her beloved sibling in Mireles’ middle-grade novel.
Leaving home is the last thing 11-year-old Florencia “Fay” Beaufort wants. Her Aunt Carol moves them both to a “ghostly beach town” of Los Pinos, while her older sister, Aurelia, attends college hours away in Washington state. Even before the move, the once-close siblings had been drifting apart, which Fay struggles to understand. What the tween lacks in confidence, she makes up for in warmheartedness, which earns her friends around the neighborhood and at her middle school. Things start looking up when she joins the school’s art club, as drawing is one of her passions. However, budgetary concerns result in the club’s removal, and the students’ only alternative is an art class that charges fees. Fay and a couple of her friends plan a rally in protest and turn to the community for support. As a result, the typically reserved Fay will have to work hard to overcome her anxiety. Mireles, who’s nearly the same age as her tween hero, excels at character development. Fay will easily garner readers’ sympathy, as she’s constantly nervous about such things as socialization and speechmaking and disheartened when Aurelia doesn’t have time for her. A sublime cast surrounds her, including outgoing pal Athena, whose confidence Fay admires, and likably goofy neighbor Donovan. The author’s simple, crisp prose deftly illustrates narrator Fay’s perspective; for example, it’s difficult not to feel disappointed when Aunt Carol isn’t on hand to give Fay advice, or when Aurelia abruptly ends a phone call. The young artist, when happy or hopeful, often appealingly imagines floating butterflies—her favorite subject to sketch or sculpt. Fay’s personal journey, throughout much of one school year, culminates in an unexpected and unforgettable ending.
A coming-of-age tale that’s as engaging as it is inspiring.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2022
ISBN: 9798985230345
Page Count: 188
Publisher: Create Sparkle
Review Posted Online: Oct. 23, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.
In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.
Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063469730
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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