by Sheila Turnage ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 11, 2018
Lovers of the previous books will delight in the return of Mo, and if they can get through the end without welling up,...
In the fourth and final book in the series that began with Three Times Lucky (2012), “possible orphan” Mo LoBeau comes up against an adversary slicker than motor oil on a pond and discovers clues to the whereabouts of her long-missing Upstream Mother.
The search for Blackbeard’s treasure brings professional treasure hunter Gabriel Archer into Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, with a lot of oily talk and shady intentions. When Miss Lana and the Colonel give Mo a box that was set aside for her when she floated into their lives on a signboard 12 years earlier, Mo’s search for her Upstream Mother is reinvigorated with new clues. Soon Mo and her faithful cast of characters—Dale, Harm, Lavender, and Queen Elizabeth the dog, as well as the ever hateful though sometimes surprising Atilla—must juggle the search for worldly treasures as well as treasures of the heart. Turnage brings a lively cast rich with heartfelt emotion and quick-witted charm. Exceptional command of voices delivered with wit propels this fast-paced treasure-hunt tale into a pitch-perfect delight: “Stole is such a harsh word,” the mayor says when discussing how the cache came to Tupelo Landing. “Let’s say she set it free and it didn’t come home to him.” The book assumes a white default.
Lovers of the previous books will delight in the return of Mo, and if they can get through the end without welling up, they’re tougher than most—it’s absolutely worth the wait. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3962-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Kathy Dawson/Penguin
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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by Christina Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021
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
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by Christina Li
by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Mónica Armiño ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2019
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey.
Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.
Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-289593-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Kirbi Fagan
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by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Niki Stage
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by Rosanne Parry illustrated by Lindsay Moore
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