A fantasy story that proves to be just as colorful and intricate as lovingly stitched fabric.
In Carter’s middle-grade urban fantasy novel, a tween turns a set of unusual sewing patterns into magic.
Lacey Hayes, who’s not quite 12, is an old woman at heart. She drinks Earl Grey tea and spends a lot of time with nursing home resident Mrs. McHale, who’s teaching her how to stitch and sew. The senior even gifts Lacey a golden embroidery needle, which the youngster uses to sew a stuffed toy in the shape of a cat—which later comes alive. Mrs. McHale has other golden sewing accessories, as well as oddly named patterns, such as “Go Away Crochet”; the patterns turn out to be spells that Lacey can use for various things, such as ensuring that her lawyer mom gets the promotion she deserves. Lacey and her 11-year-old best friend and confidant, Ryan Reed, must work out what the spells do and which ones they should use (or avoid). As the girl starts using her new abilities, however, she starts to notice signs that someone may be trying to steal her magical tools. Carter’s winsome young hero and her bestie are virtual opposites; Lacey is a homebody, while Ryan is outgoing and much more popular in school. Their rock-solid friendship is a highlight, with the two effectively relying on each other and cheering each other on. The narrative is brisk from the outset, with bounteous magic and fully developed characters, including potential friends Lacey meets along the way. The spells, too, are a treat, using sorcery to track down items, protect loved ones, and create a few extra helping hands. Lacey and Ryan not only put these spells to good use, but also don’t hesitate to fix blunders. Maida’s crisp black-and-white artwork, which primarily depicts stitchwork, even includes illustrations that demonstrate various techniques. This novel works perfectly as a stand-alone, although readers would surely welcome a sequel.
A fantasy story that proves to be just as colorful and intricate as lovingly stitched fabric.Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781950916016
Page Count: 395
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 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
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
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