A family story that highlights environmentalism and personal connection.
The ghost of 12-year-old Basil’s grandfather has a message to share.
Basil Theriot is the only one who can see ghostly G’pere at his funeral. In this slow-burn story, she follows his vague directions, trying to determine what G’pere needs from her. Meanwhile, her family stresses over their restaurant’s signature dish, seafood-stuffed mirlitons; her father, taking over for executive chef G’pere, can’t figure out the secret ingredient. Basil chafes against expectation that she’ll take over the restaurant someday—she knows the sacrifices involved, and she doesn’t even like Cajun food. Basil uses her school’s upcoming Career Day presentations, some fibs, and the assistance of her Creole-Italian best friend, Tommy Spizale, as cover for reconnecting with her family’s Cajun roots through visits with G’pere’s friends (a swamp tour airboat captain, a shrimper, and a coastal scientist). The outings allow New Orleans and Louisiana’s Central Wetlands to shine as key characters. In the climax, Basil, who’s found her environmentalist passion, faces consequences for the lies she’s told and the ways she’s treated Tommy during her single-minded quest. The plot threads come together neatly, and the character arcs are thematically satisfying. The book oversimplifies distinctions between Cajun identity, which is framed as white, and Creole, which is described as Black or mixed race (but “considered Black” in the U.S.), a dichotomy that erases Indigenous heritage and real-world complexities. Indigenous peoples are mentioned in a high-quality author’s note.
A family story that highlights environmentalism and personal connection. (sources) (Paranormal. 8-12)Pub Date: March 24, 2026
ISBN: 9780063325432
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An exciting and thoughtful portrait inspired by a real animal who succeeded by being different.
A wolf cub charts his own path to pack leadership.
In this novel based on the life of a real wolf who was brought to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 as part of a conservation project, a young cub named Warm reckons with not being the biggest, strongest, or loudest at howling among his littermates. When an attack by another pack leaves him to care for a set of younger siblings—Leap, Snap, Quiver, and Yowl—Warm struggles to keep the cubs alive despite never having made a killing blow of his own. Even as his survival skills are tested, Warm develops a uniquely compassionate outlook that helps him navigate the recombination of packs and other dangers. Parry’s short sentences create a quickly moving story with deep emotional currents. The immediacy of Warm’s first-person voice and the abundant sensory descriptions pull readers right into the animals’ world, though the large cast of wolves can be difficult to keep track of. Armiño’s numerous, beautifully detailed black-and-white illustrations add ample emotion and dynamic movement. Environmentally conscious readers, animal lovers, and those with a taste for nonfiction will be thrilled by the extensive backmatter, which includes a darling hand-drawn map of Warm’s journey as well as photos and abundant information on wolf biology, recovery efforts, and the ecology of the American West.
An exciting and thoughtful portrait inspired by a real animal who succeeded by being different. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063415133
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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