Delightful illustrations and enduring underlying themes make this a fun, quick read.
Just as suddenly as she disappeared at the end of series opener Sadie’s Story (2015), Ms. M the witch pops back into the lives of three besties right when she's needed.
In the first book, a lonely Sadie befriends Ms. M while Jess and Maya are on vacation at Moosehead Lake. This time, Ms. M comes to Jess’ rescue. A natural athlete, Jess excels at basketball, soccer, tennis—just about any sport she tries her hand at. But when it comes to moves in the kitchen, Jess is no match for her chef mom. One afternoon when the babysitter cancels, Jess and her friends decide to make lasagna to surprise her mom. Unfortunately, their good intentions result in a smoked-filled kitchen. Jess is grounded, but all is not lost. Ms. M shows up as her new sitter, and the witch’s outrageous magic stunts and mutual love of sports cheer Jess up. Despite the witty humor, some jokes may go over young readers’ heads. For instance, Jess tries to learn Dog (yes, it’s a language) but “Fra, fra. Foow,” from Jess’ mouth is not the same as “Fra, fra. Foow,” from Ms. M’s. “It’s all in the intonation, dear. Like Chinese.” However, many preteen girls can identify with Jess’ thorny relationship with her mom; no matter how hard she tries, she can’t seem to make her mom happy. Marcero depicts a multiracial trio of friends; Jess and her mom appear to be Asian.
Delightful illustrations and enduring underlying themes make this a fun, quick read. (cooking tips, recipe, resources) (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: July 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-233841-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
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
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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