Readers will readily root for the impassioned protagonist on her hard-fought feminist journey.
Seventh grader Freya Stillman creates her own brand of community activism after a school project reveals hard truths about the town’s history.
Named for abolitionist Benjamin Wellstone, Freya’s cozy coastal town is very proud of its history. Reading some of Wellstone’s letters for school, she’s surprised and angered to learn that while he may have been a hero to some, he vehemently opposed women’s voting rights. Irish American Freya and her new friend Callie, who presents white and has ADHD, also unearth information about local suffragist Octavia Padgett. They consider her to be more worthy of their attention. The girls publish a fiery op-ed in the town’s website about Benjamin Wellstone’s problematic values and their desire to see the prominent statue of him standing on Wellstone Green removed. The article divides the residents, eliciting strong opinions from the girls’ friends, families, and even the mayor. After some misguided protest attempts that involve vandalizing the statue and lying to her parents, a frustrated (and grounded) Freya finds a new focus for her cause through thoughtful discussions with trusted, empathetic adults. Freya dreams up a project that will honor art protest movements, like the famous AIDS Memorial Quilt, while highlighting little-known local suffragists. The age-appropriate, relatable, and realistic lessons Freya learns are reinforced by supportive grown-ups in her life.
Readers will readily root for the impassioned protagonist on her hard-fought feminist journey. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781665917674
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short.
In the dystopian, totalitarian world of 2099, 14-year-old Tessa and her family are desperate to solve the mystery of her twin brother Theo’s disappearance.
Tessa is growing up in a time when playgrounds are historical relics, surveillance cameras are everywhere, music is outlawed, and owning books is illegal. Under the absolute rule of Zokiris, the decadeslong leader of her territory, people are heavily controlled. When Theo vanishes under mysterious circumstances and his name is erased from the Territory Statistics list, Tessa’s 135-year-old neighbor, Miriam, gives the family contraband books that become central to figuring out Theo’s whereabouts. Most books have long since been seized and stored away in Building 903; Tessa is intrigued by their presence in her home, while her mother is terrified. Lowry, the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Giver (1993), shines in her creation of uncomfortably believable dystopian societies. Tessa’s painfully limited world is fully imagined, with its own history, laws, and norms. Her relationship with her brother reads as realistic and tender and is crucial to the mystery. Miriam is the most strongly developed character: wise and independent, unafraid and hopeful. While the climb to the book’s climax is captivating, the hurried resolution is disappointing. The powerful messaging around the importance of literature and imagination certainly resonates, however. The main characters present white.
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short. (Dystopian. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780063515109
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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