[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Capstone in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Things seemed so much simpler in second grade. With her twin brother, Kyle, by her side, she could face anything. She didn’t need a ton of friends. But meeting Sybella was like fate. From their first meeting it was obvious Sybella had a great imagination and a sense of adventure. When Cora told her about the magical land of Aquafaba, Sybella “got it” right away. And for three years, Cora, Kyle and Sybella played and developed their magical, imaginary land.
By fifth grade, though, life is more complicated. Cora and Kyle’s mom is living in Belgium and going back to her maiden name. A new girl at school is trying to wedge herself into Cora, Kyle and Sybella’s trio. And Cora’s life is pretty consumed by her dad’s work in “garbagology.” Her school is even doing a Trashlympics competition later in the year.
When something fractures Cora’s friendship with Sybella, it’s the final straw. She’s lonely, she doesn’t have her mom close by to talk to, and she’s not sure if this fracture is something they’ll be able to mend or if their friendship is broken for good.
Review
What a terrific friendship story! This is a perfect story for upper elementary readers – an age group that often deals with growing pains in friendships. I think this would work especially well as a classroom read aloud. There’s a lot to discuss in the novel, and teachers can also help kids track the novel’s two timelines (“Before” and “now”), two perspectives (Cora’s and Sybella’s), and a 40-year-old story from a discarded diary.
Cora seems like a melancholy kid, even before the friendship drama. And I loved that Sybella and Kyle accepted her and never tried to “fix” her. The friendship fracture – like many conflicts – could have been solved with some clear communication, but that’s a great life lesson. There was an extenuating factor that wasn’t directly handled by the end (for good story reasons) that frustrated me. I think the impact of an outsider on the situation would make for a great discussion point for a book group or a class to dig into.
The garbology pieces of this were so fresh and creative – and quirky! Families or schools could use this as a starting point for further work on sustainability and environmental issues including recycling.
The Chestnut Challenge – [I received a review copy of this from the publisher. All opinions are my own.] This is book 4 in the Nocturnals series starring three friends – Tobin the pangolin, Bismark the sugar glider and Dawn the fox. In this story, the friends are playing a checkers-like game called Chestnuts when they meet a chinchilla named Chandler who says he is a Chestnuts champion. But is Chandler really that good at the game, or is he a cheater? This was a solid story about dealing with cheating among friends. I also liked learning a little about these different animals in the backmatter. Rating: ♥♥♥½
A Sea Otter to the Rescue – Part of the Tails from History series, this tells the story of Toola, a five-year-old sea otter rescued by a California aquarium in 2001. The aquarium also rescued a baby otter. The staff knew pups raised by humans don’t do as well when they are returned to the wild. They introduced the pup to Toola, and she treated him as if he was her own pup. She taught him to swim and eat and groom himself like otters do. And that pup did so well back in the wild, he had a family of his own. Toola ended up raising 12 rescued pups – and other aquariums used the same system to help rescue other pups. Kids can read all about Toola and the impact she had on orphan pups and other environmental issues for otters. This was a delight to read – cute illustrations and an engaging story! Rating: ♥♥♥♥½
