A savvy young gumshoe brightens this lighthearted mystery with charm and panache.
A tween uses her newly acquired ability to see ghosts to try to solve a 20-year-old murder in this debut middle-grade paranormal novel.
Kate Sablowsky doesn’t stay in a new city for long. Her mom, celebrity TV anchor Maria Silver, has a job that moves the family of two from place to place. Ravendale, Iowa, is the latest one, and Kate quickly settles in—except for her new recurring nightmare of being stuck inside a burning building. This dream/vision soon makes sense in an unexpected way once Kate realizes she shares her deceased grandmother’s psychic gift. The 12-year-old tween sees and even speaks with a ghost at school, a girl about the same age. This spirit died in a fire back in 1995 but, thinking it was no accident, asks Kate to investigate and unmask a killer. Resourceful Kate digs into the old case only to make someone nervous, as an anonymous note warns her to stop snooping. But despite the danger, she’s determined to uncover what happened that day two decades ago. Alexander delivers an entertaining series opener. The story boasts several chilling moments, all revolving around Kate’s potential proximity to a murderer. The paranormal bits center on Kate’s gentle, never-scary phantom friend, as this taut, relatively short book doesn’t overpopulate its cast. The story is likewise generally positive, especially when the tenderhearted and respectful young hero basks in her feel-good relationship with her doting mother. Kate’s daily check-in texts are a riot. She lets her mom know that she made it to school with “Followed a trail of candy to an old witch’s house” (Maria’s response: “YUM! Bring me some!”). While the mystery generates some suspects, Kate mostly works with “lackluster proof.” But this amateur sleuth doesn’t even have a driver’s license yet, and readers will surely relish watching her hone her skills in the sequel.
A savvy young gumshoe brightens this lighthearted mystery with charm and panache.Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781957656076
Page Count: 178
Publisher: Monarch Educational Services, L.L.C.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates.
Siblings decode familial and wartime secrets in 1940 England.
Headstrong 14-year-old Lizzie Novis refuses to believe that her mother, a U.S. embassy clerk who was working in Poland, is dead. After fleeing from her grandmother—who’s attempting to bring her back to America—Lizzie locates her 19-year-old brother, Jakob, a Cambridge mathematician who’s stationed at the clandestine British intelligence site called Bletchley Park. Hiding from her grandmother’s estate steward, Lizzie becomes a messenger at Bletchley Park, ferrying letters across the grounds while Jakob attempts to both break the ciphers generated by the German Enigma machines and help his sister face the reality of their mother’s likely fate. With a suspicious MI5 agent inquiring about Mum and clues and codes piling up, the siblings, whose late father was “Polish Jewish British,” eventually decipher the truth. Shared narrative duties between the siblings effectively juxtapose the measured Jakob with the spirited Lizzie. Lizzie’s directness is repeatedly attributed to her being “half American,” which proves tiresome, but Jakob’s development from reserved to risk-tolerant provides welcome nuance. The authors introduce and carefully explain a variety of decoding methodologies, inspiring readers to attempt their own. A thoughtful and entertaining historical note identifies the key figures who appear in the book, such as Alan Turing, as well as the real-life bases for the fictional characters. Interspersed photos and images of ephemera help situate the narrative’s time period.
A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates. (Historical mystery. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9780593527542
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
A page-turner that creatively explores resonant themes.
When Hurricane Jessamine assaults North Carolina, the Highground Home for Children is threatened by a once-in-a-lifetime flood.
Thirteen-year-old Sylvia Doe, who has brown skin and black hair, is a runaway who’s fled yet another foster home to once again return to Highground, a transitional institution that offers equine therapy for children awaiting foster placement. But this time her journey back to Highground is driven by different concerns. As the hurricane batters the valley, unprecedented flooding threatens the horses, home, and people Sylvia cares about. She secretly hitches a ride in a logging truck, risking her life to save her beloved horses. She also helps Jorna Grant, a mysterious 13-year-old Black boy. Jorna is strange, and Sylvia can’t quite figure him out, although he, too, seems “like a runner. And every runner has a reason.” Her social worker tries to figure out a new placement where Sylvia will stay put, but Sylvia longs to remain at Highground permanently, even though North Carolina state rules won’t allow it. She also has another goal: to find out where Jorna came from and help him return home. She’s also convinced there’s “something much more happening” with the flood. Adventurous and suspenseful, this story pairs environmental science content with a genre-blurring mystery. Field guide–style illustrations of the animals that Sylvia encounters on her journey add a valuable learning component that emphasizes the ecological themes present throughout the book.
A page-turner that creatively explores resonant themes. (author’s note) (Mystery. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781368007580
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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