(2) 4-6 Cushman (The Ballad of Lucy Whipple) sets her WWII home front novel in 1941 San Diego, where feisty and headstrong Millie McGonigle is coping with...a lot. Grief at the recent death of her beloved grandmother. Gloom over the state of the world, "full of war and death." Jealousy of her sickly younger sister, who takes up all their mother's time and attention. Right before Gram died, she gave Millie a notebook and told her to use it to "remember the good things in this world...Things that seem lost or dead--keep them alive and safe in your book." Millie turns the journal into "The Book of Dead Things," recording every loss she hears about, every dead sand crab she finds on the beach, in an effort to avert disaster and keep her worst fears from happening. A new friendship, a growing warmth between Millie and her little sister, and a revised understanding of Gram's advice--not to obsess about death, but to recognize and embrace life--begin to ease Millie's pain. ­Cushman offers readers a sympathetic, spirited heroine and a vividly evoked setting, chock-full of ­sensory detail. "I...sniffed deeply of the rich, salty, fishy smell of the mud. Gulls screeched like rusty hinges as they soared above me, and flocks of curlews and sandpipers scratched for bugs for breakfasts. There was plenty of life on the bay but a peaceful stillness, too, that ­comforted me when I needed comforting." Hand this to fans of books such as Jennifer L. Holm's Our Only May Amelia (1999) and Turtle in Paradise (rev. 5/10).

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) 4-6 When her wise-woman mother morphs into a tree, Grayling gathers modestly gifted witches and wizards and sets out to find a book of spells to combat the evil force responsible. Ultimately, unmagical Grayling herself solves the problem and realizes her own strength in leadership. Down-to-earth, often comic language and an opinionated cast of characters enliven this historically based fantasy.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2016

(2) 4-6 After escaping the evil clutches of the innkeeper to whom his drunken father sold him, Will joins up with a magician, a blind juggler, and a troupe of "prodigies and oddities." Readers will connect with affable and quick-witted Will; by the end of this coming-of-age journey, he has a different take on those around him and has found a family and a place in life.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2012

(2) 4-6 Thirteen-year-old Meggy, who walks with the help of sticks, moves to London. Her alchemist father rejects then ignores her, leaving Meggy to fend for herself. Cushman creates a prickly, resourceful, and ultimately triumphant young woman. She incorporates specific details of daily life in Elizabethan England unobtrusively into the story; little funny touches help balance out the grimly realistic ones.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2010

(2) 4-6 This novel is set in 1949 Los Angeles at the beginning of anti-Communist fever and atom-bomb concerns. Francine, age thirteen, does her best to fly under the radar at her repressive Catholic school. Then she befriends nonconformist Sophie and learns about "free speech and improving the world and not being so afraid of trouble." Francine is an engaging and convincing character.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2006

(2) 4-6 When twelve-year-old Rodzina Brodski boards an orphan train heading west, her outlook is decidedly pessimistic. Like many a Cushman heroine before her, Rodzina is prickly, stubborn, and heart-sore, but she's also honest, likable, and smart. This presentation of the orphan-train saga is solid and thorough, and the story has enough unpredictability to nicely unsettle expectations.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2003

(2) 4-6 Before her arrival at the Bonesetter's abode where she is to take up residence and labor, Matilda's life with Father Leufredus was steeped in prayer, and her very seriousness accounts for much of the novel's humor. In an afterword Cushman reveals her concern that her research on the medicine of the day not overwhelm her story; the truth is, this information is just as interesting as Matilda's tale.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2000