Review_CHILDREN’S68 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ SEPTEMEBER 9, 2019
Review_CHILDREN’S Review_CHILDREN’SWonders series) captures the diversity of
New York throughout the decades, and
Corey’s own heritage (his mother is Puerto
Rican and father is Greek-American) plays
a small but important role along the way.
The narrative works best when it focuses
on the personal stakes; elements of the
worldbuilding—such as the long-term side
effects of time travel—are less successful,
while related subplots are left dangling
for future installments of the planned
trilogy to address. Nevertheless, the
thought-provoking concept and Corey’s
own heartbreaking attempts to prevent
tragedy should easily draw readers. Ages
8–12. (Oct.)The Year We Fell from Space
Amy Sarig King. Scholastic/Levine, $16.99
(272p) ISBN 978-1-338-23636-1
King (Me and Marvin Gardens) capably
tackles the complexities of divorce and
depression in this multifaceted novel.
When 12-year-old narrator Liberty’s
parents announce their separation, the
budding astronomer—who creates star
maps featuring new constellations—
plunges into a difficult new reality. Familial
change is further impacted by confusing
social dynamics at school, where Liberty is
outcast from a group of friends; the intense
responsibility she feels toward her younger
sister Jilly, who ceased going outside fol-
lowing their parents’ separation; and her
father’s absence. Anxious Liberty proves
keenly observant, piecing together her
father’s new relationship and often consid-
ering what she has in common with him
and how his depression manifests (“It
makes him do things like snap or yell or
stare into space or drive away for a few hours
or sit in a room with no lights on for a day”).
The running internal dialogue she con-
ducts with a meteorite that falls to the
woods near her home offers insight into
her struggles and fears but can break the
narrative pace; still, strong character
interaction and Liberty’s engaging, often
humorous voice make the difficult slice-
of-life topics relatable. Ages 8–12. (Oct.)Banjo
Graham Salisbury. Random/Lamb, $16.99
(224p) ISBN 978-0-375-84264-1
Salisbury (Hunt for the Bamboo Rat) sets
his latest novel in Oregon ranch country,
where he explores themes of loyalty,face while paying tribute to their individ-
uality. Ages 8–12. (Oct.)A Tale of Magic...
(A Tale of Magic... #1)
Chris Colfer. Little, Brown, $18.99 (496p)
ISBN 978-0-316-52347-9
In this entertaining fantasy series opener,
billed as a prequel to Colfer’s Land of Stories
series, a girl pursues her destiny, defying
the rigid gender roles and draconian laws
of a kingdom that has outlawed magic and
forbidden women from reading. Diehard
bibliophile Brystal Evergreen, 14, is dis-
owned by her family after she manifests
magical talents and is sentenced to a work-
house; shortly afterward, the enigmatic
Madame Weatherberry rescues her to study
at her newly established Academy of
Magic, in an attempt to reverse public
prejudice against benevolent magic users,
whom she calls fairies to differentiate them
from very real, very wicked, witches. At
the Academy, Brystal learns to embrace
her inner self, achieve her full potential,
and reconcile the disparate parts of her
identity. When a deadly conflict brewing
in the north forces Madame Weatherberry
to leave, it’s up to Brystal and her new-
found school friends to harness their
powers and save the day. With its focus on
chosen family, accepting one’s true self,
and changing public perception through
normalization, it’s easy to spot Colfer’s
gentle, if unsubtle, metaphors for margin-
alized experiences (“Someone’s existence is
never a choice, or a fault, and it’s certainly
not a crime”). Strong characters and an
engaging story line make this a thoroughly
satisfying adventure that can stand alone
for Colfer newcomers. Ages 8–12. (Oct.)Throwback
Peter Lerangis. HarperCollins, $17.99 (352p)
ISBN 978-0-06-240638-5
After learning that he is a Throwback,
who can travel back in time and alter
the past, Corey Fletcher, 13, vows to do
what his grandfather couldn’t: prevent
his grandmother from dying in the
September 11 attack on the World Trade
Center. Things go awry, though; he ends
up robbed and stranded in New York City
in 1917, and he must retrieve his posses-
sions and avoid myriad dangers if he
wants to return to his own era. With this
exciting adventure, Lerangis (the Seventiger going—and what is the chair for? A
white bird sometimes flies above the
tiger, a friendly companion. In the spreads
that follow, the tiger hikes, climbs, swims,
and rows through magnificent stretches of
wilderness labeled with geographical
descriptors usually relegated to textbooks.
The tiger journeys from atoll to alpine lake
to the badlands, stopping to gaze at the
northern lights before it arrives at its des-
tination—a spot whose name sounds just
like the feline’s own. Eggers (What Can a
Citizen Do?) and newcomer Chang
imagine a wild world emptied of humans,
their buildings, their vehicles, and their
trash—landscapes that make the tiger’s
expedition gloriously free and startlingly
beautiful. Ages 5–8. (Nov.)Fiction
Hazel’s Theory of Evolution
Lisa Jenn Bigelow. HarperCollins, $16.99
(336p) ISBN 978-0-06-279117-7
Eighth-grader Hazel, who is white,
isn’t happy about being redistricted to a
new Michigan middle school. Although
classmates at her old school teased her
about her family’s goat farm, where she
lives with her interracial mothers (one
African-American and one white) and
brother Rowan, at least she had a best
friend, Becca, who understood her.
Starting somewhere new without Becca
isn’t Hazel’s only concern, however. After
enduring two miscarriages, one of her
moms is pregnant again, and Hazel is
afraid that history will repeat itself. She
wishes she could hibernate, but then two
other outsiders befriend her: transgender
girl Carina and Yosh, who sports a green
Mohawk and uses a wheelchair. Meanwhile,
Hazel feels increasingly distanced from
Becca, who is busy with her new cheer-
leading friends, including the bully who
dubbed Hazel “goat girl” in kindergarten.
This tale traces Hazel’s inner metamor-
phosis as she navigates change at home
and at school. Drawing parallels between
Hazel and the misunderstood creatures she
reads about in her beloved set of animal
encyclopedias, Bigelow (Drum Roll, Please)
celebrates intersectional diversity with her
cast of well-drawn characters. Through a
relatable first-person narrative, she also
addresses universal conflicts adolescentscontinued from p. 64