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ANIMAL LISTENERS

THE AWAKENING OF QUINBY CLARK

Engaging multispecies characters headline a tale that’s both insightful and diverting.

An Australian girl’s newfound ability to converse with myriad animals turns her life upside down in Aveen’s debut middle-grade novel.

When a singing magpie suddenly belts out some English words, 11-year-old Quinby Clark is understandably taken aback. She finds she’s able to speak with a few animals, though to others in the vicinity, it sounds like she’s simply mimicking animal sounds. As an apparent “Animal Listener,” Quinby earns an invitation to a boarding school that caters to youngsters who have the same ability. She’s all too happy to escape a household with an abusive father, equally vicious older brothers, and a seemingly indifferent mother. At the school, Quinby attends familiar classes like French while “Exploring” which animals she can converse with. A problem arises when a local councillor wants a colony of flying foxes (aka fruit bats) to relocate to a national park. The flying foxes instead target councillors in a way that only aerial animals can, an action that some blame on Quinby’s alleged encouragement. Quinby vows to protect the flying foxes while identifying the actual Listener who’s stirring up trouble. Aveen steeps this narrative in an environmental message: The school’s exclusively vegan meals are obviously not meat-free just for health reasons, and the primary goal of some Listeners is “to save the planet from human destruction through climate change.” The animal cast is divine, featuring personable dogs, cats, hens, and alpacas as well as such lesser-known species as currawongs and superb fairy-wrens. The humans shine, too, starting with sympathetic Quinby; she’s ever-resilient in the face of hateful individuals at the school, including her own roommate. Accompanying Quinby are students and faculty members hailing from other countries and different backgrounds. While this lengthy novel certainly isn’t a quick read, it’s easy to rally behind the young hero, who also takes on a puppy farm.

Engaging multispecies characters headline a tale that’s both insightful and diverting.

Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2024

ISBN: 9798991128407

Page Count: 478

Publisher: Self

Review Posted Online: Jan. 6, 2025

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THE LION OF LARK-HAYES MANOR

A pleasing premise for book lovers.

A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.

When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)

A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Pub Date: May 2, 2023

ISBN: 9780316448222

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023

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BEYOND MULBERRY GLEN

An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.

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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

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