May 19th 2020 by HarperCollins
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Abby's family runs McCourt Cabins in Moose Junction, but the resort is not going as well as they would like. An upcoming eclipse will hopefully mean an uptick in business, which is sorely needed, especially since Blair, Abby's oldest sister, is in a residential treatment program for anorexia. Blair, a talented ballet dancer, has struggled with the disorder for a while, but could not complete an audition for the Joffrey Ballet School Trainee Program, and spiraled downwards after that. Jade, Abby's other sister, is busy with work and boyfriends, and Abby gets involved with one of the customers, Dr. Leo Lacamoire, who shares her interest in astronomy. His assistant, Simone, asks for Abby's help locating a rare telescope that was buried in the town's time capsule in 2000, and Abby enlists her sister to help her. As the eclipse approaches, secrets come out about both the professor and Abby, and Abby's family deals with Blair's illness and recovery.
Strengths: Blair's interest in ballet and all of the details about her being homeschooled, driving to lessons, and trying out for Joffrey are all very interesting, and middle school readers are always interested in eating disorders. The family dynamic, and Abby's part in it, is well done. The mystery of the microscope rounds out the story, as does the eclipse and the family business problems.
Weaknesses: This bounced around in time a bit instead of being linear, and I always struggle with that. While Dr. Lacamoire's story was interesting, I found I didn't really care as much about it.
What I really think: Books about families dealing with anorexia or other eating disorders are always popular, and I haven't seen anything new in a while, so I will definitely purchase.
June 2nd 2020 by Yellow Jacket
I liked the first book so much that I am ordering the second without having read it-- there was no E ARC I could find. Since this just came out, though, I wanted everyone to know about it. The first one has circulated well, and this book involves a missing red panda!
No comments:
Post a Comment