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
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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