THE LUMBERING GIANTS OF WINDY PINES

A Jewish girl who uses a wheelchair faces demons when she and her mother move to a former mining town in Georgia.

Ever since Daddy died and they lost their house, 11-year-old Jerusha (Jerry) and Mama have drifted from motel to motel. Moving so often makes it hard to make friends, but Jerry finds kids her own age “overrated”—especially after a bully at her last school pushed her down the stairs. Now homeschooled, Jerry prefers spending time with her books—and with Paul, her imaginary dragon. At first, the Slumbering Giant seems like every other motel they’ve stayed in. But then the radio starts broadcasting eerie messages such as “THEY’RE COMING” and “ALERT THE REST OF THE GUARDIANS.” Plus, Mama’s being unusually cryptic about her new housekeeping job and has secretly been venturing into the woods—where loggers have been disappearing and Jerry’s forbidden to go. When Mama doesn’t come home one morning, Jerry resolves to find her…and discovers that the woods are full of demons. Can Jerry and her new friend, Chapel, evade their pursuit and rescue Mama? Netz, also a wheelchair user, offers a refreshingly authentic depiction of physical disability, vividly describing Jerry’s maneuvers, the obstacles she encounters, and the advantages of vanquishing demons while in a wheelchair. Readers will empathize with Jerry’s loneliness, while Paul’s droll, Yiddish-peppered commentary adds humor. Jerry and Mama are cued white; Chapel is Black.

An action-packed, heartwarming tale of friendship, family, monsters, and magic.