A vividly rendered, evocative story about the power of connection and maintaining hope through despair.
A story of fellowship and finding oneself against the backdrop of climate change, told from the perspectives of two Australian girls and featuring one extra-special pine tree.
Nyx and Bea live in West Hobart, Tasmania, and they’re both lonely. Nyx has lost her mother, and because her father’s met someone online, she faces the possibility of moving away from everything she knows. Neurodiverse Bea, who has hearing loss and loves The Lord of the Rings, is regarded as weird and is bullied at school. The two girls form a friendship through letters they leave in a pine tree that’s close to both their houses and that they both find comfort in climbing. The image-rich writing is clever, offering puzzles for readers to untangle alongside the characters before the action truly begins and the pace picks up. When Nyx’s neighborhood faces extreme fires and then flooding, Bea finds it within herself to speak up and bring her school community together to help. Lim and Gordon powerfully explore themes of climate change and working together, showing how one young person can jump-start big action. This genre-blending book will appeal to many, including readers who love grappling with real-world problems, those who appreciate speculative fiction, and anyone seeking a thoughtful, character-driven coming-of-age story. Nyx has brown skin and black hair; Bea is cued white.
A vividly rendered, evocative story about the power of connection and maintaining hope through despair. (authors’ note) (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781760659417
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Walker Books Australia
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
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
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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