A charming and relatable tale for younger readers.
In Irwin’s middle-grade historical novel, a girl with low self-esteem tries to make friends and acclimate to a new neighborhood in the late 19th century.
Ginny Myers is a shy 11-year-old girl who lives in central North Carolina in 1894. Grieving the recent loss of her beloved grandmother, Ginny copes by spending time with her cat, Peaches, and her best friend and cousin, Annie. Unfortunately for Ginny, things get worse before they get better. The Myers family’s tobacco crops are failing to yield much, and their resulting financial situation is dire. In need of a fresh start, the family moves to the nearby Weaver Creek Mill Village, where the local mill has created a surplus of jobs. The entire clan contributes to the workload, with Ginny raising chickens for eggs and her older siblings working in the mill alongside her father. Despite the immediate friendliness of the townsfolk, Ginny lacks confidence and fails to believe in herself: “Who is that girl in the mirror, I thought, thinking she could act like she knew what she was doing?” Though Ginny does make friends, like Rowena Webb, whose father owns the company store, her self-esteem further plummets when she encounters Priscilla Parker, the daughter of the mill’s unfriendly superintendent, Mr. Parker. With no particular motivation, Priscilla goes out of her way to humiliate Ginny and her “farm girl” ways. Later, this contentious relationship comes to a head when Ginny is accused of a theft and suspended from school, putting the Myers family in a precarious position. Irwin’s novel spins an engaging and heartwarming tale. Though the plot and elementary prose is tailored for middle-grade readers, Ginny’s struggle with belonging and fitting into a new community is a topic readers of all ages can relate to. Setting Ginny’s trials and tribulations in the late 1800s cannily highlights how aspects of girlhood and young adulthood are universal, regardless of the historical period. Irwin deftly brings the novel’s setting to life while crafting an affecting story of one girl’s emotional journey.
A charming and relatable tale for younger readers.Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2025
ISBN: 9781966343547
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Warren Publishing, Inc.
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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