(2) 4-6 This sequel to Newbery Honor Book Wolf Hollow (rev. 7/16) starts with a bang as ­protagonist Annabelle McBride is hit by lightning during a summer storm. That event leaves her in a state she describes as "senses wide open." In addition to gaining ­hypersensitivity to smells, sounds, and touch, Annabelle finds herself able to "read" the feelings of animals. However, the story never tips over into the paranormal, staying firmly grounded in concrete details of 1940s Pennsylvania farm life. The lightning strike ignites a series of four related mysteries. Who was the Good Samaritan who saved Annabelle's life by administering CPR and them disappeared? What's in the Edelmans' barn? Is that urbane stranger in town up to no good? And what has happened to Buster, the family dog? Common to all these threads is Annabelle's shifting relationship with Andy Woodberry, the hateful bully of the original book. This is historical fiction for middle-grade readers who relish a warm family story with an energetic plot; a character who comes into her own; and a fully realized, sensory-rich setting (including delicious descriptions of farm meals).

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

(1) 4-6 Since the Great Depression forced twelve-year-old Ellie's family to move from town up to Echo Mountain, she hasn't known how to interact with her mother and older sister; they miss their former life and blame her for the tree-felling accident that has left her father in a coma. Ellie doesn't know how to wake him up, though she keenly desires it, but there's a lot she does know: how to "hunt and trap and fish and harvest" as if she were born to it. Remembering her father's advice--"the things we need to learn to do, we learn to do by doing"--she takes it upon herself to find the answers to her problems, including persistent attempts to rouse her father using unconventional methods (dousing him with cold water, stinging him with bees). Meeting the injured Miss Cate, an elderly mountain woman, and Larkin, a solitary boy with a talent for wood carving, eventually helps Ellie figure out how to heal her broken family. Wolk's latest novel (Wolf Hollow, rev. 7/16; Beyond the Bright Sea, rev. 7/17) immerses readers in its 1934 Maine woods setting, folding myriad details about living off the land into Ellie's captivating and complex first-person narration. Free-spirited Ellie's affinity for her natural surroundings and her empathic connection with animals show an appreciation for the interconnectedness of life, as do several of the (well-earned) plot revelations. Wolk's poetic prose and enticing foreshadowing warrant savoring as they carry the reader through the narrative, which gracefully unfolds over brief, steadily paced chapters. Exemplary historical fiction.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2020

(1) 4-6 Crow washed ashore on a tiny Massachusetts island as a baby. A fire on another uninhabited island that once housed a leper colony raises her curiosity about her origins, which leads to fearful danger. An exceptional mix of historical fiction, physical adventure, and interiority; suspense, insight, and the natural world play equal parts. An author's note provides historical background.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017

(1) 4-6 In 1940s Pennsylvania, vagabond WWI vet Toby is falsely accused of attacks carried out by new-girl Betty. As the crimes become more serious, tension builds. The storytelling is dignified; the tone is memoir-ish, as narrator Annabelle (another of Betty's victims) remembers the story in the past. The portrait of sociopath Betty pulls no punches; unlikely hero Toby is a nuanced, poignant character.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2016