SUKEY'S UNFINISHED MISSION

A young girl’s otherworldly quest to find her grandmother continues in this middle-grade novel by Agauas, one in a series.

This novel begins with a quick recap of Grandma’s Sock Drawer(2020), the previous volume in this series: Sukey Durand’s grandmother disappears, having left a note asking Sukey to come and find her. Sukey’s grandmother also left her a key to a bureau drawer, which held three pairs of socks, each of which took her on different adventures (transporting her to different worlds) when she put them on. The action picks up with Sukey returning to find her father prepping her grandmother’s belongings for an estate sale. Sukey has a conversation with two talking leaves from a tree who vow to help her rescue her grandmother and complete her unfinished mission. Moments later, the trio is swept up in a windstorm that sets the new story into motion. Sukey and her traveling companions encounter talking animals, a mysterious water wall, and many other mystical entities. Her quest unearths a family secret: a rift between mother and son that must be repaired for her grandmother to return. Though the text contains no illustrations, the author does a wonderful job of creating vivid imagery with her words (“Her eyes darted to the crystal waterfall crashing onto the rocks, pouring its clear water into the pool of ink that formed the dark lake”), particularly in the moments when Sukey is being transported to other worlds. The story can get convoluted, particularly near the end, but the action moves quickly enough to keep things from ever getting dull. (This book has obvious references to the first one, but a knowledge of it is not required to enjoy Sukey’s new adventures.) Agauas knows her young audience, so nothing gets too scary. The narrative reaches a satisfying conclusion, but it’s pretty clear this isn’t the last readers will see of Sukey.

Young readers will be mesmerized by the magical elements that Sukey encounters in this supernatural adventure.