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Tyng, Taylor

Clara Poole and the Long Way Round

384 pp. | Pixel+Ink | July, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9781645951599 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 9781645951605 $10.99
(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Clara Abigail Poole causes quite a scene when she hurtles across the skies of western Michigan in a plastic lawn chair attached to hundreds of balloons. After she crash-lands and is grounded by her father, Clara's stunt captures the attention of one Harold Habberdish, who arrives from Paris with a proposal: join "the most ambitious and breathtaking adventure race ever conceived," a hot-air balloon race around the world. Against her father's wishes, Clara runs away from home--and from the guilt she feels for the accident that killed her mother--and flies to Paris to join the race. Because she is so young and inexperienced, she is partnered with seasoned aeronaut Greta Gildersleeve and her monkey copilots. What ensues is a madcap tale with oddball characters, intrigue, and new friendships made. Tyng's prose is appropriately light and action-verb-driven, complete with sound effects ("Thwack! Pop! Poppity-pop!"). Beyond all the excitement, though, this is, at its heart, a father-daughter story and one about the long road--or flight--toward acceptance and forgiveness. Told with a light touch--lighter than air, you might say.
Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

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