Gentle, if unexceptional, eco-fiction for the young mermaid lover.
For young merfolk, coming of age means assuming their roles as protectors of the ocean. (No pressure!)
In this series opener that was originally self-published in 2020, mermaids, who are described as light-skinned, start learning mer-magic in middle school. Lavender-haired sixth grader Brynn Finley can hardly wait to join the ranks of the sea guardians. But her new school presents challenges Brynn hadn’t anticipated: traveling by speed-current without her parents, getting lost in the halls between classes, and not being able to conjure as quickly as her peers. Luckily, Brynn has a community that’s there to support her—if only she could bring herself to ask for help. A series of poorly thought-out decisions leads Brynn to showdowns with classic underwater villains—a sea witch with lustrous skin (“like the inside of an abalone shell”), selkies (who have “dark faces”), and an evil, green-scaled dagon, or fish person—during which she finally learns the importance of honest communication. Nothing about the treatment of Brynn’s life lessons is subtle. Troubling incidents, such as Brynn’s trading her pet turtle for a dark magic talisman, unfold against a backdrop of familiar imagery, like kelp forests and friendly, helpful dolphins, and the dialogue often feels flat. The book works hard to reinforce widely accepted values, such as the importance of effective collaboration and being good environmental stewards.
Gentle, if unexceptional, eco-fiction for the young mermaid lover. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN: 9781464269097
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic.
A loyal black kitten’s boy is under supernatural attack.
Eleven-month-old Nimbus loves Fletcher, the boy who nursed her back to health following life-threatening injuries. When Fletcher becomes curious about a strange jar and opens it, releasing a terrible goblin, loyal Nim protects Fletcher, taking heavy damage in the process. But Fletcher’s aunt, who’s caring for him over spring break, believes Nim attacked Fletcher and dumps her far from home. Rhett, a stylish rat with star quality, befriends injured Nim and leads her to a witch’s house. While the witch cares for Nim, the witch’s cats (maternal Fern, bookish Rochester, standoffish Bianca, and openly hostile Abraxas) teach Nim important cat skills. She also discovers she has a supernatural ability: In destroying one eye of the nightmare demon in the fight to protect Fletcher, Nim gained its “dream sight.” But she also learns it might come back for Fletcher, who no longer has Nim to protect him, posing a time-sensitive, high-stakes threat. Even though the witch’s home is nice and magic itself seems to be telling her to stay put, Nim wants to find a way back to Fletcher. As a hero, Nimbus is as gritty and determined as she is adorable. Tear-jerker moments explore pet abandonment—readers may want their own pets on hand to hug—all the way through the magical, action-packed finale. Fletcher and the witch read white.
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780062680372
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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
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