(2) 4-6 In the dead of night, seven children arrive in Slaughterville, a typically sleepy town supported by a single industry--the local slaughterhouse. Only Ravani, a friendless, bullied boy, witnesses their stealthy arrival. Who are these strangers and why are they so secretive? Guiding readers through this mystery, the omniscient narrator frequently employs direct address to emphasize various plot points and to ruminate on characters and their motivations. As literary strangers often do, this group of children will initiate change, but the question is: for whom? Numerous characters--from Ravani to the mysterious children, from Ravani's bully to the factory owner--are disposed (either knowingly or unknowingly) to transform lives. Sly dark humor nods at the slaughterhouse: Ravani lives on Offal Street; the factory owner is Mr. Skinister; and, as the narrator informs us, "Most of the town's visitors were cows and none of them were particularly happy to be there. They were even less happy when they left." Short chapters create a strong trajectory for the plot's arc, while the narrator's calm tone reassures readers that although danger lurks at several points, the conclusion will indeed be gratifying, perhaps even for the cows.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Coyote and her father, Rodeo, travel the United States in a retrofitted school bus. Five years earlier, Coyote's mother and sisters were killed; now Rodeo refuses to talk about them. When Coyote learns a park where the family once buried a memory box will be demolished, she decides to retrieve the box--without letting Rodeo know that's why she wants to travel cross-country. Every mile inexorably brings Coyote closer to confronting her past, and its inevitable sadness, but Gemeinhart tempers her grief with triumphant growth.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(3) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Jonathan is sent to the Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys--island-bound, with the feel of a nineteenth-century penal colony--for a crime he won't discuss. When a freak accident leaves all the adults dead, the boys turn their prison into a paradise until nature intervenes. A dash of Gothic atmosphere mixes with echoes of Holes and Lord of the Flies for a gripping read.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(3) 4-6 Joseph Johnson--an unfailingly optimistic twelve-year-old orphan--tracks his stolen beloved horse across the Pacific Northwest in this historical tale. Joseph's impassioned journey becomes a series of dangerous encounters that resolve quickly and in his favor. Readers won't worry too much about Joseph's ultimate fate, but a steady procession of colorful side-characters and a brisk pace maintain this earnest adventure's momentum.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) 4-6 When twelve-year-old Mark learns his cancer has returned, he runs away to climb Mount Rainier with his dog, Beau; the trip could be a chance to fulfill a dying wish or it could be a suicide mission. Mark's journey across Washington state unfolds dramatically to a harrowing climax, but the characters' tendency to philosophize can be grating at times.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald