A lively, diverse mystery with enjoyable, informative plotting and a relatable young female protagonist.
A girl searches for an elusive bird of myth in the nation’s Capitol building in this sequel.
After solving the truth behind the “Demon Cat of Capitol Hill” in Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza (2020), the first volume of this middle-grade series by veteran public radio journalist Felde, preteen detective Fina Mendoza finds herself embroiled in another mystery. Has the trickster Chickcharney bird of Bahamian folklore taken up residence in the Capitol building? It is some months since 10-year-old Fina and her teenage sister, Gabby, moved from California to the nation’s capital with their father, a member of the United States Congress. Busy Papa isn’t keen on Fina continuing her sleuthing, but she can’t say no to investigating whether the bird roosting in the Capitol building is indeed the Chickcharney, a long-legged, owllike creature from her friend Monica’s native island in the Caribbean. Monica is convinced that the bird has an important message for her, and Fina hopes it might have one for her, too, from her deceased mother. But what message did the bird send when it pooped on the president’s head during his State of the Union address—an event that so dominated the news cycle it eclipsed what the leader said? (According to Papa’s legislative analyst, the State of the Union reminds Congress of all the good things the president did and all the things he wants the branch to do, and then “somebody from the other party goes on TV to complain about everything the president just said.”) This year, Papa delivers the Spanish-language rebuttal and takes on immigration reform, with repercussions when Fina’s strong-minded Abuelita gets involved. Felde, executive producer of the podcasts Book Club for Kids and The Fina Mendoza Mysteries, combines her knowledge of the behind-the-scenes workings of Congress and Capitol Hill’s historic locales with suspense, humor, and a young, first-person Latina protagonist who is alive with realistic curiosity, empathy, and determination. Woven into the plot, with a light but meaningful touch, are political differences, immigration issues, Fina’s eventful approach to inquiry and research, and a strong, loving family still adjusting to loss and change.
A lively, diverse mystery with enjoyable, informative plotting and a relatable young female protagonist.Pub Date: July 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73709-781-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Chesapeake Press
Review Posted Online: July 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
Contagiously goofy and fun.
Area 51 gets its first new resident in 5 years—and a new mystery.
When her grandma moves into a kid-free retirement home, 12-year-old orphan Priya “Sky” Patel-Baum and Spike, her pet hedgehog, relocate to Area 51 to live with Sky’s eccentric Uncle Anish. At 51, humans and Break Throughs (government-speak for aliens) live together off-grid in harmony. Unfortunately, several Zdstrammars (one of many Break Through species) mysteriously disappear, disrupting the base’s harmony and contributing to feelings of suspicion. Despite being deputy head of the Federal Bureau of Alien Investigations, Uncle Anish becomes a prime suspect. Can Sky and Elvis, her alien classmate, prove Uncle Anish’s innocence and find the missing Zdstrammars before it’s too late? YA author Buxbaum’s middle-grade debut is a rip-roaring series opener complete with over-the-top characters and jokes galore. Naidu’s black-and-white cartoon illustrations extend the comedy with ongoing commentary that smartly interacts with the prose. The cast of Break Through species—like Audiotooters, Galzorian, and Sanitizoria—have hilariously creative on-the-nose names with illustrations to match. Sky is coded biracial, with a White dad and Indian mom. Aliens appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors; Elvis shape-shifts but looks like a brown-skinned boy to Sky. Though the main mystery is neatly wrapped up, the cliffhanger ending promises more laughs.
Contagiously goofy and fun. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-42946-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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