Double the feelings, double the fun.
As if growing up isn’t hard enough, twins also have to face growing apart.
Ever since they can remember, twins Jake and Lily Wambold, born on the California Zephyr train, have sleepwalked on the eve of their birthday and awoken at their local train station, where they distinctly smell pickles. They have never been able to explain this or how they can occasionally read each other’s minds or finish each other’s sentences. The twins name their secret gift “goombla.” It's now the summer before middle school. The brother and sister alternate telling each chapter as spunky, tomboy Lily worries that they’ll lose their goombla and sensible Jake looks forward to living separately for a change. Each sibling’s chatty narration reveals a range of emotions. Lily, feeling lost for the first time in her life, leans on her hippie grandfather, whose wife and soul mate passed away and who knows what it’s like to lose half of oneself. Just when she’s given up on finding herself through ridiculous hobbies, friendship comes to her. Meanwhile, Jake immediately relishes his time with his new Death Rays posse as they scout out social outcast “goobers” to pick on. When he realizes that goobers can be brave and even friends, he reconsiders his allegiance. Perhaps Jake and Lily aren’t so different after all.
Double the feelings, double the fun. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 8, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-028135-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
An adventurous, otherworldly story that explores emotional themes.
A 12-year-old witch is responsible for saving her family and town from evil.
Esmerelda Santos is a bruja—a descendant of one of the four original witches, who vanished along with their special daggers. Usually, brujxes can command one element. Esme’s sister, Lenny, is of Water, and her best friend, Tiago, is of Air, but Esme is a Chaos witch. All she wants to do with her power is ease her father’s grief over her mother’s death. When she finds a heart spell, Esme believes she can use it to heal him. While she and Tiago are off gathering the ingredients, however, a storm hits, and all the witches vanish, along with the town’s magic. Esme returns to find Lenny, who’s been stabbed with a dagger. Lenny delivers a cryptic message before going up in smoke: They must find an original witch from the Legend of Ire. Esme and Tiago travel to a “banished realm where forbidden magic runs wild,” befriend a cursed fox, and find their way through portals to confront an unknown evil. If they fail, their families will be lost to Oblivion and their town of San Bosco will cease to exist. While readers must initially follow many different threads, the storyline smooths out as it develops. Once the worldbuilding is established, readers will be rewarded by being transported into the magical, mysterious world Esme inhabits as they follow her journey of self-discovery through grief and love. Final art not seen.
An adventurous, otherworldly story that explores emotional themes. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780063312074
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
The second installment in this spirited series is a hit.
A new baby coming means Ryan has lots of opportunities to grow love.
Ryan has so much to look forward to this summer—she is going to be a big sister, and she finally gets to go to church camp! But new adventures bring challenges, too. Ryan feels like the baby is taking forever to arrive, and with Mom on bed rest, she isn’t able to participate in the family’s typical summer activities. Ryan’s Dad is still working the late shift, which means he gets home and goes to bed when she and her older brother, Ray, are waking up, so their quality daddy-daughter time is limited to one day a week. When the time for camp finally arrives, Ryan is so worried about bugs, ghosts, and sharing a cabin that she wonders if she should go at all. Watson’s heroine is smart and courageous, bringing her optimistic attitude to any challenge she faces. Hard topics like family finances and complex relationships with friends are discussed in an age-appropriate way. Watson continues to excel at crafting a sense of place; she transports readers to Portland, Oregon, with an attention to detail that can only come from someone who has loved that city. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and occasional illustrations by Mata spotlight their joy and make this book shine.
The second installment in this spirited series is a hit. (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0058-8
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
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