January 7, 2025 by Random House Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Netgalley
After their amazing adventures in The Royal Conundrum, Olive and her band of Misfits are back at the Reforming Arts School near San Francisco. Olive's made her peace with the fact that her entire family has been secret agents and not told her, and she's enjoying her training. When Zeke, a rather cute classmate, confides in her that he has been receiving threatening notes, she tries to help him without bringing in her other friends, but when a very localized earthquake leads to a bank robbery, some of the information about Zeke's family's past ties in with the present threats to local safety. Researching the history of Zeke's great great uncle leads to finding a secret space under Foggy Manor and the history of golden and ships in California. A trip to Blight Beach to look into odd happenings at the Karbon art museum uncovers some interesting facts about local artist Birdie, who is an expert in replicating antique artifacts. In between investigations, which do involve the Misfits, there's lots of training, interesting adults helping the kids out (Rance Reed, the actor the children hire, comes into play), antique coins, a machine that causes earthquakes, and yummy treats from the Butter Bakery!
Strengths: This was a fun, upbeat romp, with plenty of goofiness and adventure. Santat's illustrations (which aren't shown in their full glory in the ARC) will make this even more appealing to younger readers. Yee, who frequently posts pictures of her walks on social media, gives us a good look at the area around Foggy Island, and I love that the students at the school are encouraged to travel around on their own to sharpen their spy skills. It also puts them in a better position to save runaway cable cars, visit museums, find hidden locations, and eat baked goods (and even heave internships!) at the Butter Bakery. There are bits of intriguing named spy gear, like the ComChomp retainer like device, Foggy Gogs, and the BoBu (boat bus, necessary from getting from the island to the mainland). I'm hoping to see some development with the relationship with Zeke, which reminds me a bit of the one that Ben and Erica have in Spy School. I am also looking forward to seeing a bit more of Olive's grandmother, Mouse!
Weaknesses: While I love that Olive is a fan of Agatha Christie, I can't say that I've been able to get a student to read any of her books in fifteen years. Of course, the reason to include older titles is probably to encourage students to pick them up, which I can't fault.
What I really think: a
Weaknesses: While I love that Olive is a fan of Agatha Christie, I can't say that I've been able to get a student to read any of her books in fifteen years. Of course, the reason to include older titles is probably to encourage students to pick them up, which I can't fault.
What I really think: a
September 3, 2024 by Union Square & Co.
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
Sylvie Stroud lives in an old industrial building in Soho in New York City in 1977. Her parents have created a loft to live in, as well as a studio, in an old button factory, even though the surrounding neighborhood isn't great. Her older brother Gray is at college, and Sylvie spends a lot of time at an Irish step dancing studio with her friends Marz and Mary Beth. The unusual things about Sylvie is that ever since she was young, she has seen visions of the past when she touches things. She's seen an analyst about it, but after she is besieged by visions of a young girl who has been shot, she tries to research this particularly invasive vision. She finds a name, and uncovers a lot of information about a particular house that has been derelict and rumored to be haunted. Sylvie starts to wonder if perhaps her psychic abilities were genetic, and asks her birth mother, Marilyn, about them. Marilyn has no clue, but does offer some interesting information; the girl that Sylvie is seeing, Rynn, used to babysit Marilyn. Things get stranger and stranger as the hot summer wears on. Gary comes home from college, as does his best friend, Ilan. Sylvie has long has a crush on Ilan, even though that's kind of awkward, and as he helps Sylvie with her research, the two become close. Before long, though, Ilan and Gary start to freak out. They don't want to be anywhere near Ilan's apartment, and the Stroud's dog barks and whines at both of them. Since New York City of the time has lots of issues like drugs and crime, Sylvie's parents don't want her out alone at night. After Sylvie and Ilan kiss on the rooftop, she's happy with their budding romance, but when he wants to have a romantic interlude at the creepy haunted house, she declines. When she returns home, her parents are worried, and ask why she put handprints all over the studio. She didn't, and know that this has something to do with the visions she has had of Rynn, as well as a black dog, and knows that this is also why Gary and Ilan seem to be having mental breakdowns. Gary eventually is hospitalized. After seeing a lot of horrible visions at the house, Sylvie consults a psychic, Delilah Marie, who tells her that early Dutch settlers had a violent history at the site, and in 1965, the city tried to tear the house down but were not able to. Since this is the year that Sylvie got her powers, she feels that this is all connected. When Sylvie tries to take the subway and finally deal with the house, a blackout descends on the city. Both Gary and Ilan are at the house, but a horrific battle with the forces of evil ensues and ends in tragedy. Sylvie manages to burn down the tree, and in 1978, the city bulldozes the house. Luckily, Sylvie's visions stop, and she and Gary are able to try to get on with their lives.
The feeling of being in 1977 New York City was so palpable and gritty that I started to wonder if the author spent a lot of time watching video footage after binging on repeat showings of The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby. This dark brown, hazy, smoke filled setting is a perfect background for a girl with psychic powers who is seeing a girl bleeding on the pavement, and is being followed by a black dog. The historical tie ins are great, and I loved that she went to the library to research local papers on microfilm. How else would you have found information?
There are a fair number of creepy, full page illustrations that accompany the text, which adds another level of creepiness to the book!
The inclusion of Irish step dancing is intriguing, even though there's not a lot of information. Clearly, this is an interest of the author's, and perhaps she could write a whole book about a character involved in this!
The historical details were really great, and Dvojack weaves them in perfectly. Short descriptions of what people are wearing, a mention of Barney Miller being on TV, current events in NYC at the time, and even the attitudes of the characters all rang true. Of course, since I was around in 1977, and I'm not picky about details, I have to say that Sylvie would not have pulled a water bottle out of her rucksack (but bonus points for knowing back packs weren't carried around) to throw under a fence as an excuse to go over it. Also, there is a mention of something turning in the microwave; I don't remember turntables in household microwaves until the 1990s, although they did exist. I'll give the historical research on this a solid A, thanks to the mention of knock-off Gunne Sax dresses!
This is a longer book, and has some colorful language, so a better choice for high schoolers than middle school students. The horror elements are fantastic, so this is a great choice for readers who enjoyed Wallach's Hatchet Girls, Stine's You May Now Kill the Bride, Otis's At the Speed of Lies, Johnson's Death at Morning House, or Worley's The Debutantes.
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