A well-rounded and magical story that explores nature and mental health.
A family holiday goes awry when a British girl discovers something threatening goldfinches.
Twelve-year-old Erin’s mother has struggled with depression ever since Aunty Sophie, Mum’s beloved sister, passed away. Erin herself battles fairly severe OCD; her symptoms—including compulsively checking things and counting—can be isolating. An ordinary summer trip to stay in a “static caravan” near a place in the countryside that was special to Mum and Aunty Sophie leads Erin to meet Bess, a mean-spirited yet magnetic girl. Following Bess’ lead, Erin ventures beyond the fence enclosing the caravan park and into the forest. When she climbs a tree to look at a goldfinch’s nest and falls, the goldfinches, fantastically, do more than heal her—they pass on some of their bird nature. Erin experiences a shift in her sense of time, develops the ability to fly, and can understand the speech of a particular goldfinch who strongly resembles her most precious childhood comfort object, Fable, a cuddly toy goldfinch. As Bess and the real Fable lead Erin to realize that something sinister is happening to the goldfinches, they find themselves in the crosshairs of a dangerous situation. The plot covers a lot of ground quickly, and though her abilities are mysterious, Erin is a compelling character whose OCD is part of her but does not define her. Well-placed illustrations appear at powerful emotional moments (final art not seen). Main characters present white.
A well-rounded and magical story that explores nature and mental health. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781802586848
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Cadno/Graffeg
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals.
Is dolphin-assisted therapy so beneficial to patients that it’s worth keeping a wild dolphin captive?
Twelve-year-old Lily has lived with her emotionally distant oncologist stepfather and a succession of nannies since her mother died in a car accident two years ago. Nannies leave because of the difficulty of caring for Adam, Lily’s severely autistic 4-year-old half brother. The newest, Suzanne, seems promising, but Lily is tired of feeling like a planet orbiting the sun Adam. When she meets blind Zoe, who will attend the same private middle school as Lily in the fall, Lily’s happy to have a friend. However, Zoe’s take on the plight of the captive dolphin, Nori, used in Adam’s therapy opens Lily’s eyes. She knows she must use her influence over her stepfather, who is consulting on Nori’s treatment for cancer (caused by an oil spill), to free the animal. Lily’s got several fine lines to walk, as she works to hold onto her new friend, convince her stepfather of the rightness of releasing Nori, and do what’s best for Adam. In her newest exploration of animal-human relationships, Rorby’s lonely, mature heroine faces tough but realistic situations. Siblings of children on the spectrum will identify with Lily. If the tale flirts with sentimentality and some of the characters are strident in their views, the whole never feels maudlin or didactic.
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-67605-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Light in tone and satisfyingly heavy on therapeutic wish fulfillment.
Chills and cheers ensue when a bullied middle schooler’s dark side rears up and exacts a fiendish round of revenge.
Led by hulking eighth grader Logan Haggis and a widowed mom from hell, the cast of DiTerlizzi’s latest is stocked with bullies of various sizes and ages. They all get what’s coming to them when sixth grader Timothy Quibble at last permits the Wump, the glowering monster he’s begun to glimpse in mirrors and reflections, to take control of his actions. Though the metaphorical essence of the premise is obvious from the outset, readers are as likely to be thrilled by the jagged, shadowy, truly terrifying Wump as by the sweet, sweet revenge it goes on to exact. Having inflicted pain but no permanent harm, Timothy, realizing he’s gone overboard, remorsefully takes back control. The author himself goes overboard in a portrayal of his narrator’s unloving, self-absorbed mother, who’s so savage that the dab of redemption he allows her at the end comes off as perfunctory at best. Still, there are supportive characters, too—including, as a nice surprise, a former tormentor who turns out to have similar struggles of his own and who has savvy life advice to offer. The students at the slyly named Jeffrey P. Kinney Middle School display racial diversity in the gallery of yearbook portraits. DiTerlizzi’s expertly crafted grayscale illustrations with pops of bright green are a highlight.
Light in tone and satisfyingly heavy on therapeutic wish fulfillment. (Supernatural. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9798217004911
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
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