Young readers will enjoy this engaging mystery with a complex protagonist.
In Roberts’ middle-grade novel, a girl is uprooted from her North Carolina home to a small Midwestern town where she deals with a new middle school, new bullies—and a possibly haunted observatory.
Nine-year-old Cecilia “CeCe” Laurance’s excitement for her first day of sixth grade is interrupted by the news that her dad has just been hired for a new job at an observatory—and it’s not located in their home state. Instead of taking classes with her friends, being part of the soccer team, and trying out for “upper band,” CeCe is reluctantly moving to Forest Town, Missouri, a place so small that it doesn’t even have a movie theater. She learns upon arrival that the family is going to live in an old house connected to the observatory that’s rumored to have ghosts. When she meets some friendly soccer-playing kids who go to her new school—Analise, Gia, and Jaxon—she thinks maybe the move won’t be so bad. Soon, however, soccer goalie and resident mean girl Mercedes deals a blow to CeCe’s self-confidence, shoving her during soccer practice and spreading rumors about her house. Unwilling to be cowed, CeCe wonders where the idea of her house having a ghost came from; after she experiences strange chills and hears mysterious voices, she suspects there might be some truth to it. Roberts effectively captures the thought processes of a tween navigating the stressors of moving, making friends, and acclimating to a new school. CeCe is a well-rounded protagonist with a variety of interests that Roberts ably balances as the story goes on; her girls’ soccer league dreams comfortably sit beside her love of science, which she shares with her astronomer father. The rest of the cast members aren’t sketched out in such detail, but they still serve their narrative purposes well. The potential haunting makes for an intriguing mystery, although its resolution isn’t as intriguing as its setup. Overall, CeCe’s journey is one that many kids will find relatable, and it’s sure to grab and keep their attention.
Young readers will enjoy this engaging mystery with a complex protagonist.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2024
ISBN: 978-1959548294
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Solander Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Wildly funny, charming, and deeply heartfelt.
Miller, author of the award-winning memoir Know My Name (2019), makes her middle-grade debut with the story of a Chinese American girl working to reunite the lost socks of New York City with their owners.
Inventive but lonely Magnolia Wu, 10, is resigned to a summer stuck at her parents’ laundromat, but her fortunes change when she meets Iris Lam, a Vietnamese American girl who’s just moved to New York. In Iris, Magnolia finds a kindred spirit who’s game to share lychee Popsicles, play at making cocoons out of sheets, and give cockroaches silly names to make them less scary. It’s Iris who notices the collection of partnerless socks in the laundromat and decides that the two of them should track down their rightful owners. Each sock mystery takes them somewhere new as they meet the queen of crossword puzzles, a girl who stars in ice cream commercials, and a pancake chef with a passion for knitting. Thoughtful, creative, and compassionate, Magnolia and Iris are an enchanting pair. Miller’s pitch-perfect narrative voice balances humor and whimsy with harsher realities. While both girls struggle when they and their immigrant parents encounter racism, they’re buoyed by a cast of kind supporting characters as they process their emotions. Magnolia isn’t insulated from negative feelings; rather, her world is one where strength can be quiet, empathy can be learned, and community is critical. Final art not seen.
Wildly funny, charming, and deeply heartfelt. (author’s note) (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624524
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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