(1) 1-3 In her third adventure, Marisol (Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey, rev. 5/21, and sequel) helps her friend Felix learn to ride a bicycle, navigates her best friend Jada's jealousy that Marisol is spending so much time with Felix, and worries about a neighbor's scary-looking German shepherd, who has gone missing. (At bedtime, after learning that the dog has escaped, Marisol "wonders where he is. She wonders if he will be waiting for her in the morning with all his teeth.") Marisol is an anxious second grader, and her concerns are emotionally spot-on. The limited omniscient narration means that readers know what the protagonist is feeling and thinking while still viewing the world from outside of her head. The book design is approachable for young readers, featuring wide margins, plenty of white space, and an abundance of line drawings. Give this to fans of Dominguez's Stella Diaz Has Something to Say (rev. 5/18) or those ready to move on from Faruqi's Meet Yasmin!

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(1) 4-6 Fawn Creek, Louisiana, is such a small town that there are only twelve students in seventh grade. Even with such a limited pool, however, the kids manage to create discrete cohorts. The mean girls, the jocks, the goody-goodies, and the misfits have all known one another forever and are locked into their roles. All these dynamics are shaken up, however, with the arrival of Orchid. Orchid is beautiful, a bit off-kilter, and fascinating. She has lived in New York City, Paris, and Thailand. Or has she? As she interacts with her fellow students, they begin to notice inconsistencies and improbabilities in her story. What they are slower to notice is that in her combination of naiveté and sophistication, Orchid is acting as a subtle and effective catalyst for openness, honesty, and kindness. Kelly (Newbery winner for Hello, Universe, rev. 3/17; and honoree for We Dream of Space, rev. 5/20) does a brilliant job here with an ensemble cast. We are most often inside the heads of class misfits Dorothy and Greyson, but we take detours to visit other characters, with their fears and secrets. Carefully constructed protective public shields fall away as the various characters pop into fully realized three dimensions and realign themselves with family and friends. Orchid is the Stargirl of this generation, a borderline magical character who appears in town and effects startling change. The novel's hopeful denouement is entirely earned.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(1) 1-3 Marisol, the anxious heroine of Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey (rev. 5/21), makes lists of favorite and least favorite things, with gym class--specifically the kickball unit--topping the latter. Although she has never played before, she dreads it because she knows that "the spotlight shines on you when you kick. The spotlight shines on you when you pitch... Surely Marisol will burst into flames under all those spotlights." Her worries only grow as classmate Evie brags about her own kickball prowess. Kelly shows her deep understanding of the emotional lives of her characters. When Marisol is angry and embarrassed about Evie's unkind comments and her own poor skills, she lashes out at best friend Jada. "Marisol thought it would make her feel better to snap at Jada, but it doesn't. She only feels worse." The action takes place over two weeks, during which Marisol tries a variety of techniques to first avoid and then overcome (at least a little) her fears. ­Supporting characters--Marisol's father, away all week working on an oil rig; her athletic older brother, who teaches her the Ultimate Rule of Kickball; classmate Felix, who claims to talk to animals--are all fully developed and engaging contributors to the lively, realistic, and emotionally honest story. When ­Marisol finally kicks the ball and makes it to first base, readers will be cheering "way to go, Marisol" along with her classmates, teacher, and family members.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(1) 1-3 Kelly (Newbery medalist for Hello, Universe, rev. 3/17, and honoree for We Dream of Space, rev. 5/20) reaches out to a younger audience in an approachable chapter book about thoughtful worrier Marisol. Marisol has what everyone describes as the perfect climbing tree in her Louisiana backyard, but the list of things she fears is long, and the magnolia tree she's named Peppina (after a Mary Pickford character--she's a silent movie buff) is at the top of the list. She can't imagine giving a book report without quaking, or visiting her extended family in the Philippines--much less what it would feel like to be brave enough to climb the tree. The story covers several days during summer vacation when Marisol decides that she will, like her idol Pickford, face up to frightening things and climb Peppina. Kelly's writing has the unhurried pace of an unscheduled summer day (Marisol and her best friend Jada spy on Marisol's brother Oz, act out silent movies, and ride bikes around the neighborhood). The story's tension is built from the skillful accumulation of small moments and the strong character development. Frequent delightfully quirky line drawings by the author add humor and personality. Give this to readers of Dominguez's Stella Diaz Has Something to Say (rev. 5/18) and Henkes's Billy Miller books (rev. 9/13 and 3/21).

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(1) 4-6 In the foreground of this novel are three siblings. Twelve-year-old Fitch lives for video games and is angry through and through. His twin sister Bird is an amiable, peacekeeping engineering brainiac. Their older brother Cash feels he is a failure at school and everywhere else. In the middle ground is the toxic marriage of their parents, a couple given to sourness, sarcasm, and bickering. In the background, coloring the emotional tone of the book, establishing its historical setting, and propelling the plot, is the upcoming launch of the space shuttle Challenger in January 1986. With short chapters focusing alternately on each sibling, Kelly establishes distinct and original characters, doing an especially convincing job of re-creating, in Fitch, the physicality of rage. The form also emphasizes the emotional isolation of each member of the family. Middle school is portrayed in all its intensity, where a social misstep and an existential question about the meaning of life have the same weight. Tension builds until the shock of the Challenger disaster resets the relationship among the three children, releasing kindness in each one. Kelly creates a crisp, moving portrait of family dysfunction and the resilience of the young. Back matter provides information on the Challenger spacecraft and the seven crew members who died when it exploded, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe and mission specialist Judith Resnik (Bird's idol).

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Lian Cho. Lalani lives on an isolated island under the control of an all-powerful leader where gender roles are strictly defined and sailors tragically search for new lands and never return. She finds a foreign creature living on a sacred mountain and sets off on a journey, bringing about major changes to her village. Kelly does an excellent job of world-building and keeps the tale firmly in its environment magic and legends; characters deal with bullying, abuse of power, and other problems with resonance in the real world.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(2) 4-6 Two brainy middle-school outcasts--twelve-year-old Charlotte and eleven-year-old Ben--find companionship through a longstanding, long-distance online Scrabble rivalry while dealing with upheaval in their lives. Neither one confides in the other, but slowly they begin to communicate outside the game. With character-revealing prose, Kelly holds readers' attention as the narration moves back and forth between the fully realized protagonists and their intricately drawn home and school settings.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(2) 4-6 Virgil is bullied by classmate Chet, who calls him "retardo." Valencia feels like an outsider because she's deaf. Kaori is a self-proclaimed psychic. When Chet drops Virgil's backpack into an abandoned well, Virgil gets stuck trying to retrieve it; Kaori and Valencia investigate Virgil's whereabouts. Told in alternating perspectives of the three kid-heroes and one villain, the children's inner lives are distinctive.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2017

(3) 4-6 Sisters Sol and Ming, immigrants from the Philippines, live with their bitter stepmother in a rundown apartment, longing for their deceased mother, drowned middle sister, and absent father. Stories keep Sol afloat, but Ming is shattered to learn that adventurous Auntie Jove is only a myth. Funny and heartbreaking, this character-driven novel celebrates friendship and storytelling in all their diversity and complexity.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(3) 4-6 Louisianan Analyn "Apple" Yengko is tired of being different; she's ashamed of her mother and her Filipina American heritage. Things get worse when she's put on the "Dog Log," a list of the middle school's ten ugliest girls. Thankfully, Apple's passion for music allows her to transform herself and take flight. Kelly sensitively explores issues of bullying and friendship in her solid debut.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester