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ONCE UPON A FAMILY

A modern blended family story with a sprinkling of magic.

Winnie and her mom’s “two girls against the world” life changes when Mom decides to marry Jeff, giving Winnie a stepdad and a younger brother she doesn’t want.

Eleven-year-old Winnie sees the world through a fairy-tale lens thanks to her mom’s job as a literature professor. Writing in her notebook, Winnie casts herself as a princess and her mother as a queen; she does not want an evil stepfather. But Winnie’s anxiety—which she’s named Eustace Clarence Scrubb—causes her to see monsters where there are none, and her fear often turns to anger and causes her to lash out at Jeff’s son and even new friends like her neighbor and schoolmate Abigail. But when Winnie discovers magic in their neighborhood, she shares the secret with Abigail, who tries to help her craft the perfect wish to fix her situation. Hill enables readers to see deeply into Winnie, including her past, fears, anger, wishes, and the way she perceives her own story. Though the book is told in the first person, other characters’ true natures are clear through their words and actions, and secondary characters, such as grouchy older neighbor Tom Bailey, have their own stories. Hill’s writing is full of poetic references readers will recognize, as when Winnie feels “like the oldest sibling in a fairy tale where only third children ever win.” The few physical descriptions present point to a White cast.

A modern blended family story with a sprinkling of magic. (Fiction. 9-12)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023

ISBN: 9781635923179

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Astra Young Readers

Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023

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I AM REBEL

Heartwarming fare for young pet owners who feel the love and loyalty going both ways.

Devotion permeates this tale of a small dog who’s swept up in a peasants’ revolt against a greedy king.

Inflamed with righteousness in the wake of yet another tax hike, 12-year-old Tom has defied his parents to slip away and join the revolutionary Reds. Stoutly declaring that he’s a good dog, 5-year-old Rebel chases after him to bring his beloved boy back—and discovers a wide new world beyond the farm, fraught with dangers but also rich in animal friends offering help and advice. Just as beguiling as the furry narrator’s dog’s-eye view of events are his ongoing arguments with Jaxon, a gruff feral hound he meets along the way, who urges him to find his wild inner True Dog. Jaxon’s refusal to be bound by emotional attachments ultimately clashes with Rebel’s big, uncomplicated heart. Following a brush with death, Rebel encounters a mystical Companion, who offers him glimpses of dog heaven; when the climactic battle arrives, Rebel declares, “I get to decide what I do with my one and only life. And if I use it for anything, I’m going to use it for love.” The author brings the odyssey to a satisfactory conclusion with one last, pure affirmation of love. In this story set in an alternate Britain reminiscent of its 17th-century Civil War, Rebel distinguishes humans in the cast by their voices, smell, and dress.

Heartwarming fare for young pet owners who feel the love and loyalty going both ways. (Fiction. 9-12)

Pub Date: May 27, 2025

ISBN: 9781536246797

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025

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CLUES TO THE UNIVERSE

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

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