A clever, uplifting, and entertaining story.
A sharp middle schooler with sky-high aspirations solves a mystery while navigating new friendships, sisterhood, and chronic migraines in Reed’s middle-grade novel.
For 12-year-old budding astrophotographer Quinn Knight, a family move from Ohio to Texas isn’t totally awful. Sure, the weather is a trigger for her migraines, and her older sister, Vivica, has already claimed her throne as eighth grade class president and star of the school musical. But her eldest sister, Georgie, with whom she’s close, has moved out of her college dorm to live with them, and their new town, Hill Springs, has very little light pollution (perfect for stargazing). Her new bedroom has a skylight, a high-powered telescope, and a great view of the star cluster Pleiades. In the early morning before her first day at her new school, Quinn tries to ease her nerves by taking some photos, only to be shocked by two things: The stars appear to her to move “like a swarm of crazed fireflies that inhaled a box of Pop Rocks,” and she sees someone sneaking up to their house and leaving a note; it turns out to be a threatening missive for Vivica—the first of several. Quinn is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and protect her sister. With her new friends Xavier and Tiya, she exercises her passion for scientific reasoning to analyze evidence, look for clues, and compile a list of suspects—all while honing her astrophotography skills, coping with chronic pain, and navigating middle school. Reed’s well-paced mystery is imbued with comedy and heartfelt moments. Quinn is a smart and spirited protagonist and narrator whose wry humor and can-do attitude will make her relatable to young readers. Throughout, Reed depicts Quinn’s struggles with migraines, as well as other characters’ health concerns, including epilepsy, asthma, and food allergies, with honesty and sensitivity. Quinn and her family are depicted as white, and there are numerous supporting characters of color, including Xavier, who’s Latine, and Tiya, who’s South Asian. The novel’s positive portrayal of young, STEM-inclined female characters is refreshing as well.
A clever, uplifting, and entertaining story.Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9781632997838
Page Count: 285
Publisher: River Grove Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Quirky and imaginative—postmodern storytelling at its best.
Friendly curiosity and a gift for naming earn a polar bear an assortment of (mostly animal) friends, adventures, mishaps, and discoveries.
Arriving at a northern ocean, Duane spies a shipwreck. Swimming out to investigate, he meets its lone occupant, C.C., a learned snowy owl whose noble goal is acquiring knowledge to apply “toward the benefit of all.” Informing Duane that he’s a polar bear, she points out a nearby cave that might suit him—it even has a mattress. Adding furnishings from the wreck—the grandfather clock’s handless, but who needs to tell time when it’s always now?—he meets a self-involved musk ox, entranced by his own reflection, who’s delighted when Duane names him “Handsome.” As he comes to understand, then appreciate their considerable diversity, Duane brings out the best in his new friends. C.C., who has difficulty reading emotions and dislikes being touched, evokes the autism spectrum. Magic, a bouncy, impulsive arctic fox, manifests ADHD. Major Puff, whose proud puffin ancestry involves courageous retreats from danger, finds a perfect companion in Twitch, a risk-aware, common-sensical hare. As illustrated, Sun Girl, a human child, appears vaguely Native, and Squint, a painter, white, but they’re sui generis: The Canadian author avoids referencing human culture. The art conveys warmth in an icy setting; animal characters suggest beloved stuffed toys, gently reinforcing the message that friendship founded on tolerance breeds comfort and safety.
Quirky and imaginative—postmodern storytelling at its best. (Animal fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3341-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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
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