A second cup of enchantment best savored slowly.
Cryptozoologists seek to expose a magical town’s secrets—if they can find any proof.
Spring break in Aldermere promises local Finley Barnes “a week’s worth of quiet.” But the arrival of a Society of North American Cryptid Chasers film crew sends the whole town into a frenzy. While the crew may themselves struggle to find magic, what if something magical finds them? First, Fin spots a horselike shadow in the forest outside her cottage. Then, her friend Cedar learns of big tracks with “human-ish toes.” A run-in with a baby Bigfoot catapults the mystery into full-on crisis: Can they keep the creature a secret from everyone and reunite her with her herd? Lloyd-Jones’ follow-up to Unseen Magic (2022) adds more depth to the cozy Northern California town’s lore while maintaining its airy fog of intrigue. Deliberate pacing allows for secondary characters’ backstories to get some time in the limelight. While Fin’s previously revealed trauma is far from gone, this sequel presents a Fin with better coping skills for her anxiety. The specters of climate change, forest fires, and rising housing costs ground the magic with some present-day realities. Most of the cast is White by default; Cedar is cued Mexican American. The ending hints at more adventures—and possibly cryptids—to come.
A second cup of enchantment best savored slowly. (map) (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-305803-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
Supernatural mystery meets generational drama with hopeful endings for all.
Eleven-year-old Frank must solve a supernatural mystery to save his new home.
As fifth grade comes to an end, Frank Fernández is looking forward to finally staying put in Alabama for a second year, as promised, after a childhood spent following his parents’ home renovation work all across the country. Frequent relocation has made Frank wary of forming friendships or making plans, but his hopes for more stability are temporarily dashed when his parents announce plans to renovate a lighthouse in the Florida Keys, near where his mother grew up and his father’s home country of Cuba. Papi promises this will be their last move, though: The lighthouse will be theirs. But from their first day on Spectacle Key, things seem to go wrong: Tensions rise between his parents, and Frank’s hopes of a forever home are under threat from seemingly supernatural forces. In order to put down roots, Frank and new ghostly friend Connie, a White girl with freckles, must discover what secrets the island is hiding, uncovering Frank’s own family roots along the way. Frank is a fan of horror—he names his new Great Dane puppy Mary Shelley. But though there is some mild peril to be found, rather than a ghostly thriller, this is an appealing, lightly spooky family drama with valuable lessons for those who would hide from a difficult past instead of confronting and healing generational trauma.
Supernatural mystery meets generational drama with hopeful endings for all. (Supernatural. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-313481-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Delightfully weird and whimsical.
A 13-year-old girl and a colony of bats overcome losses in this middle-grade debut from Ready Player One author Cline.
After Opal B. Flats’ mother dies, she goes to live with Uncle Roscoe on the family farm in the Texas Hill Country. Her first night there, she has an alien encounter and subsequently discovers that she can communicate with the Mexican free-tailed bats living in a nearby cave. Their connection becomes essential when Opal, Uncle Roscoe, and the bats, through differing circumstances, are forced to find new homes. Opal and Uncle Roscoe, who read white, convince the bats to accompany them to Austin, “the only place in this whole stone-hearted state where weirdos are welcome!” If Opal and Uncle Roscoe have a slow start with fitting in, it’s even more difficult for a colony of over a million bats, especially when prejudice against them is being systematically reinforced by a greedy councilman whose pesticide business suffers when the bats start eating insects. The third-person narration unfolds in a homey style that’s colored with references to music and famous names that contribute to the sense of place, including Ann Richards, Selena, and Willie Nelson. Entries from Opal’s scrapbook are interspersed throughout. Readers will be relieved that, despite the hardships Opal and the bats must overcome, they ultimately prevail, succeeding in making friends and new homes for themselves in this celebratory primer on bats and belonging. Westell’s delicate, atmospheric illustrations greatly enhance the text.
Delightfully weird and whimsical. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780316460583
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
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