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400 pp.
| HarperCollins/Quill Tree
| June, 2021
|
TradeISBN 978-0-06-300641-6$16.99
|
EbookISBN 978-0-06-300643-0$8.99
(2)
4-6
As Carl Sagan posits, "we're made of star-stuff." Here, Baldwin asks readers to move that fact one step into fantasy and accept that some individuals on this Earth are actually fallen stars who choose to take human form, individuals like Ivy Mae Bloom's mother and her two aunts. Their special status imbues them with magical powers; Mrs. Bloom can barter wishes to those who are troubled and repair slight tears in the Earth's magical fabric. Such responsibility requires constant travel from town to town. And therein lies Ivy's problem. More than anything, Ivy wants a forever home, not the cramped RV her family of five takes on the road 360 days a year. She steals nine of her mom's wishes and requests her "One True Place"--but these wishes have consequences, landing the family at Aunt Agatha's home on Whistling Ridge. Something is wrong there; the town is decaying, its magic weakened. Ivy's self-absorbed twelve-year-old voice is spot on, as are her frustrations with her sisters, but so is her concern for Whistling Ridge. There are multiple plot threads, but a believable young girl emerges as she tries, sometimes awkwardly and sometimes gracefully, to find her place.
(3)
4-6
North Carolina twelve-year-old Della tries everything to cure her mama's schizophrenia, even asking the Bee Lady for her magic honey that supposedly cures all kinds of problems. Della slowly realizes she can't change Mama's illness, but she can change how she feels about it. The subject matter of this story is heartbreaking, but Baldwin leavens the mood with an affectionately rendered setting, strong female characters, and plenty of hope.