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
A real gem.
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice.
India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too.
A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
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