A page-turning mix of science, science fiction, and mystery that will empower readers to pursue their own STEM passions.
Eleven-year-old Ruby Finley is a gifted science student who loves bugs.
Ruby, who presents as Black on the book’s cover, often stores insects in mason jars under her bed, but the latest one she finds has her stumped, especially when it melts holes in its jar and then the window screen to escape. Ruby posts pictures online and asks for help identifying the bug, but the pictures are deleted, and several White men calling themselves “agents” show up asking questions. They claim to have captured the bug, but strange things occur, including metal thefts. The town’s recluse goes missing, and on a Discord channel, Ruby picks up chatter about aliens and government coverups. In an underlying story, tension escalates between Ruby and her White science teacher, who deems Ruby’s proposed science fair project too ambitious and tries to punish her for not agreeing to an easier project. Luckily, Ruby’s parents, the principal, and her former science teacher have her back. Ruby, with the help of her friends, applies the scientific method and figures out what’s going on. Bradford challenges readers to keep up with Ruby to solve this intriguing and absorbing mystery. Bradford also addresses, with sensitivity and nuance, the ways in which Black students are marginalized in STEM fields. The author depicts a tightly knit, supportive community of color, where kids roam freely and an older neighbor is always outside to keep an eye on things.
A page-turning mix of science, science fiction, and mystery that will empower readers to pursue their own STEM passions. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-374-38879-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
Entrancing and uplifting.
A small dog, the elderly woman who owns him, and a homeless girl come together to create a tale of serendipity.
Piper, almost 12, her parents, and her younger brother are at the bottom of a long slide toward homelessness. Finally in a family shelter, Piper finds that her newfound safety gives her the opportunity to reach out to someone who needs help even more. Jewel, mentally ill, lives in the park with her dog, Baby. Unwilling to leave her pet, and forbidden to enter the shelter with him, she struggles with the winter weather. Ree, also homeless and with a large dog, helps when she can, but after Jewel gets sick and is hospitalized, Baby’s taken to the animal shelter, and Ree can’t manage the complex issues alone. It’s Piper, using her best investigative skills, who figures out Jewel’s backstory. Still, she needs all the help of the shelter Firefly Girls troop that she joins to achieve her accomplishment: to raise enough money to provide Jewel and Baby with a secure, hopeful future and, maybe, with their kindness, to inspire a happier story for Ree. Told in the authentic alternating voices of loving child and loyal dog, this tale could easily slump into a syrupy melodrama, but Pyron lets her well-drawn characters earn their believable happy ending, step by challenging step, by reaching out and working together. Piper, her family, and Jewel present white; Pyron uses hair and naming convention, respectively, to cue Ree as black and Piper’s friend Gabriela as Latinx.
Entrancing and uplifting. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-283922-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
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