A delightful cozy mystery with sprightly young investigators at the reins.
Two girls from different social circles become unlikely sleuthing partners in Rouvalis and Wayman’s debut middle-grade novel.
Pittsburgh schoolmates Jane Strum and Ashley Strauss have very little in common. Whereas Ashley focuses a lot of attention on her social status, Jane is autistic, socially awkward, and prefers the company of her cat Lucy. But the two seem to be the only ones who are absolutely positive that their beloved sixth-grade teacher did not commit a crime. (Miss DiMicco allegedly tried to steal a bundle of cash during a local shoe store’s annual school fundraiser.) Ashley suggests to Jane that they form a secret investigative club to unmask the actual thief. Myriad challenges await, like Ashley being distracted by her best friend Isabel Kenney, who’s seemingly chosen another BFF. The fact that one of the duo’s suspects is another teacher presents another obstacle to maintaining their club’s clandestine operations. Jane and Ashley, however, are tenacious detectives who won’t let anything stop them from keeping Miss DiMicco out of jail. A terrific cast fuels Rouvalis and Wayman’s story—the tween gumshoes are truly remarkable and complement each other throughout. Jane has trouble empathizing, but she makes great efforts to be nice; when she yells for quiet in a moment of sensory overload, she quickly adds a “please.” While Jane has the book smarts and observational skills, Ashley proves to be quick-witted and wields a charm that puts people at ease. The text alternates between Jane and Ashley’s distinctive first-person narrations; Jane takes well-known expressions literally (she’d never put herself in someone else’s shoes, especially wedges) and is generally more mellow while Ashley hops into a “favorite spinny chair.” All the while, there’s an absorbing mystery (the girls gather enough clues for readers to piece together their own solutions among various suspects with plausible motives). While the novel delivers a satisfying wrap-up, readers would surely enjoy following these “super snoopers” as they tackle other unsolved crimes.
A delightful cozy mystery with sprightly young investigators at the reins.Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781949935936
Page Count: 242
Publisher: Orange Blossom Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
