(2) 4-6 Returning to her literary roots in Florida (see: Because of Winn-Dixie, rev. 7/00; Raymie Nightingale, rev. 3/16), DiCamillo again explores bonds of family, friends, and community. Ferris Winkey finds the summer before fifth grade a puzzling one. Much turbulence surrounds her immediate family, her best friend, and some townspeople: her beloved grandmother, Clarisse, sees a ghost; her uncle leaves his wife and takes up residence in the Winkey basement; her younger sister aspires to be a famous outlaw; and her piano prodigy best friend plays "Mysterious Barricades" exclusively and repeatedly. Thanks to her fourth-grade teacher, who now cries constantly, Ferris has the words for these characters: formidable, unfathomable, unrepentant, quixotic, and bereft. Foreboding is another word Ferris contemplates as Clarisse's health gradually fails. But having the words to describe people and understanding them is not the same. In a glorious climax in which all the book's characters gather to appease the ghost, Ferris discovers that obstacles between individuals can disappear if they have the courage to believe in, rather than simply define, a word she knew all along: love. The limited third-person narration glimpses other lives but never dwells on them, thus leaving Ferris's honest, pre-adolescent perspective to drive the story line. As Clarisse tells Ferris, "Every good story is a love story." Here, DiCamillo adeptly proves this axiom.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) 4-6 In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, middle schooler Lalo Lespérance is doing his best to adapt to virtual school and make social connections in his Florida apartment complex. Lalo struggles with severe short- and long-term memory loss, triggered by childhood trauma. He is also frustrated by others' inability to accept him as both Mexican and Haitian American. Diederich's descriptive writing stimulates all five senses as Lalo learns about Mexican culture from his neighbor Vivi's abuela and finds ways to manifest some of his key missing memories with a little help from a seemingly magical vintage radio and belief in traditional Mexican spiritualism. Lalo's character offers an important portrayal of Afro-Latin identity for contemporary readers. His story provides an example of how discrimination can come from outside and within the Hispanic/Latin community and how traumatizing that can be for a young person trying to form a sense of self. By framing Lalo's memory issues positively as a reason for "accommodations" in school, Diederich elevates and supports the character's unique life journey. He is a young man who can help others see the best in themselves.

Reviewer: Nicholas A. Brown | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) YA Proud of his family's heritage--which includes a great-great-great-great-great grandfather who salvaged shipwrecks--fifteen-year-old biracial Valdez Jones VIII has adopted the nickname Wrecker. A waterman in his own right, he has his own boat and fishes near his home in Key West. It's because of his knowledge of the area that he ends up an unwitting and unwilling accomplice to a dangerous smuggling operation. "Silver Mustache," as Wrecker dubs him, and his organization traffic in fake CDC vaccination cards, much in demand at the time by "ballplayers, movie stars, airline pilots, [and] Silicon Valley millionaires" who are out to avoid vaccination requirements. Hiaasen's writing is lively and full of sensory details: e.g., "The night's gummy and hot, a honey-colored slice of moon peeking through the wispy clouds." The satisfyingly complex plot includes grave robbers, the perils of the pandemic, a mammoth cruise ship threatening ecological disaster for the Key West coastline, the violent legacy of the KKK, a budding romance, Wrecker's high-spirited and loving family, and, best of all, locals who stand up for the place they adore. A beautifully told mystery with plenty of action and heart.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(1) K-3 Books for a Better Earth series. Illustrated by Gordy Wright. In 1976, after approximately twenty-five years of service, the massive aircraft carrier USS Oriskany was decommissioned. Rather than being sold or relegated to retirement, "chained to a pier. Rusted, empty, and without purpose," the "Mighty O" had a different future. Conservation scientists and Navy engineers converted it into an artificial reef, sinking it about twenty miles off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. The great strength of this account is that Stremer creates a dual focus. She first details the destruction of natural reefs and the benefits they provide for marine life. A full-bleed gouache and acrylic double-page spread shows the ocean floor teeming with life around a natural reef, contrasting with a subsequent reef-less scene devoid of fish and plants. Second, Stremer outlines the scientific planning involved in converting the massive ship into an artificial reef--including stripping the ship of copper (and selling that to help pay for the reconstruction) and removing paint toxic to the ocean environment until the ship is "nothing more than a shell of its former self." Wright's striking art outlines the entire process of the Mighty O's makeover, as well as detailing a careful plan for sinking the ship in such a way that storms and tides would not alter its position. This clear, logical, and fascinating combination of natural and industrial science concludes with information about reefs and the Mighty O, a bibliography, and an index.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) 4-6 In Christmas's debut graphic novel, Bree and her dad are moving to Florida from Brooklyn for his new job. Bree is excited for the first day of school until she finds out swim class is the only available elective. Bree doesn't know how to swim but is too embarrassed to tell the teacher. When her neighbor, Ms. Etta, finds out Bree's secret, she offers to give her private lessons. The lessons pay off, and Bree joins the swim team to improve her grade. When arguments among team members threaten to break them up, Ms. Etta and her friends step in to help them pull together, and when Bree finds out her dad can't swim, she teaches him. Like Johnson's Twins (rev. 11/20) and Craft's New Kid (rev. 1/19), this enjoyable graphic novel deals with familiar and ­middle-grade-appropriate themes of friendship, perseverance, and overcoming fears. The accessible illustrations add to the humorous (and sometimes serious) moments within the text. The book also introduces readers to the history of Black people being denied access to public pools, which limited their ability to learn to swim.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) 4-6 "Why doesn't the world have a pause button?" eleven-year-old Peter Harrison wonders. A lot is happening in his world: he's on Official Caregiver Duty for his beloved grandfather who has Alzheimer's; his best friend, Tommy, is moving away; he's nervous about starting middle school in the fall; and he's trying to save the manatees in the Indigo River near his central Florida home. Spending their days playing along the canal, Tommy and Peter are the founding (and only) members of the Discovery Club, constantly in search of animal species to document in their "Discovery Journal." Their biggest find is a huge manatee near mean old Mr. Reilly's dock. It's injured, with long scars on its back, indicating that it's been hit by a motorboat, and Peter blames Mr. Reilly. In fact, Peter's angry finger-pointing accusation of Mr. Reilly is caught by the local news, and the story goes viral. Peter's attempts to save Zoe (his name for the manatee) become the heart of the novel, and debut author Griffith adroitly weaves in the other threads of the tale around it. Peter grows up that summer and finds an apt metaphor for his life in his love of nature. His story is full of sadness, adventure, and beautiful scenes on the Indigo River. Any writer who can make readers cry about "a gray, rubbery island" of a manatee has done his job well.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(2) YA Hutchinson's latest offering (The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried, rev. 3/19; Before We Disappear, rev. 11/21) is another engaging blend of realism with fantasy and absurdity. Bleeding profusely from the wounds of a monster attack, Virgil Knox staggers into the small town of Merritt, Florida, where he and his father have recently moved after his parents' divorce. Gradually, we learn that Virgil has attended a party, rebuffed a sexual advance from the mayor's son, blacked out, and come to in the swamp, where he is attacked. Despite the physical evidence, nobody believes him about the supernatural encounter--not the police, his family, or his classmates. The gaslighting takes a toll on Virgil, who worries that the creature may come back--or that he will turn into a monster himself. Hutchinson is an accomplished storyteller, drawing readers in with Virgil's narrative voice, an appealing mix of angst and insouciance; the small-town Florida setting; memorable secondary characters, including Virgil's paternal grandmother and a theater classmate; and a plot that slowly unravels its mystery. The monster attack is a clear metaphor for sexual assault (see also Arnold's Red Hood, rev. 5/20) and, in its aftermath, for victim-blaming, proving once again that Hutchinson is not afraid to explore the darker corners of the adolescent experience.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old narrator Mallory is distressed to learn that her neighbor and sometime-friend Jennifer Chan has disappeared. Having recently moved to town (deemed "Nowhereville" Florida by Mallory), Jennifer--who is Chinese American; lives with a young, single mother; and wholeheartedly believes in aliens--doesn't fit in at snobby, homogenous Gibbons Academy. Socially insecure Mallory (whose own mom is "half Korean") and her two mean-girl besties had bullied Jennifer. Alternating between "Now" and "Then," and with heavy foreshadowing of something known as "the Incident," Mallory slowly, guiltily, reveals what happened, and how she's determined to make things right. Occasional interspersed journal entries from "Jennifer Chan's Guide to the Universe" provide the missing girl's thoughts on family, friendship, and the inevitability of extraterrestrial existence, plus how to make contact; the story's climax leaves room for interpretation regarding her success. Keller (Newbery Medalist for When You Trap a Tiger) writes with uncommon compassion for all of her characters--even the cruel-seeming ones-­-addressing such issues as peer pressure, individuality, identity, and microaggressions from a variety of perspectives. A ­heartfelt and hopeful appended note provides further details about the author's ­motivation and methodology.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) 4-6 Six years ago, Alice's mother, a cultural anthropologist, disappeared in a boating accident near Aviles Island off the coast of Florida. Now twelve, Alice pores over her mom's books and notes, looking for clues and hope, while her father and younger sister contend with grief in their own ways. Alice desperately wants to learn more about the island's tradition of "tidings," or communications with the dead, that her mother was studying when she disappeared, and she pushes for a trip to Aviles Island. Her father plans to interview the Mercury family, the island's lighthouse keepers, for his radio show; Alice sets her sights on finding out more about the tidings. The story alternates between the first-person narratives of Alice and the Mercury family's oldest son, Leo, who's protective of the island's traditions in memory of his beloved grandfather. Alice and Leo have an antagonistic relationship at first, but an unusual tidings message causes them to join forces. Over the course of a weekend on the island, the tidings come and go, the Jones family members finally begin to process their grief, and a risky boat trip nearly finds history repeating itself. A few of the story's fantastical elements (as well as some of its realistic ones) may rankle some skeptical readers, but the narrative's heart and energy, as well as its portrayal of the many ways one can be isolated and paralyzed by grief, feel true and meaningful.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(1) 4-6 The final installment of the trilogy (beginning with Merci Suárez Changes Gears, rev. 9/18) opens at the start of eighth grade, with Merci disappointed not to be assigned any classes with her close friends. She does have homeroom with some soccer teammates, but will these popular girls want to be friends with her off the field? Merci worries about her family, her grandfather Lolo's failing health, and her changing feelings for Wilson; but she also has plenty to look forward to, including soccer tryouts and the eighth-grade sleepaway field trip. When the soccer girls ask if she wants to be their fourth roommate on the trip, Merci, tempted by the invitation, fails to tell them she has already agreed to room with her friends, which puts everyone in an uncomfortable situation. This story's strength lies in the authenticity of Merci's character and her refreshingly sincere responses to the world around her, even and especially when self-conscious or misguided. Her home among her Cuban American family may not always be the refuge she wants, but it is full of love, support, Cuban traditions, and, occasionally, something delicious made by or with Abuela. There are subtle indications throughout that suggest what dreams Merci and other characters might pursue in the future, and the book closes on a note of promise as Merci leads her team out onto the field for their first game.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(2) 4-6 At the start of this thought-provoking sci-fi novel, Abby, twelve, is unhappy and pessimistic: she misses her old life in Pennsylvania (her family has moved to Florida's Space Coast for her physicist mom's job) and obsesses about societal and environmental ills. Then she meets Adam and Bix, who tell her they've come "from a long distance away" and are on an urgent mission to find Adam's lost sister, Vanessa; in fact, they're from the twenty-third century. Adam allows Abby a glimpse of that future, a world of "creation, possibility, exploration, and abundance," and Abby instantly decides that she wants to live there. She promises to do all she can to help Adam and Bix if they agree to take her with them when they go. The tension of the boys' quest will keep readers invested (the future isn't totally perfect; if they don't find Vanessa ASAP, an alien pathogen will be released into Earth's population). But Abby's situation is equally engrossing: should she stay, or should she go? She considers all she'd be leaving behind--friends; family; the community she's just starting to feel at home in; and, most of all, the chance to make a difference in her own time. The twist at the end may not be the most original, but it allows for a happy ending readers will embrace.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) YA In this powerful story set in the fictitious Florida city of Mermaid Cove, Sylvester blends the compelling struggle of a young woman trying to find her voice with the effects of living with a serious medical condition. When Verónica swims in her apartment-complex pool, everything else disappears; the water blurs the pain and the scars of her many hip surgeries and helps her forget that doctors, nurses, and others seemingly have more control of her body than she does herself. The water is as much her home as it is for the mermaid performers she admires in Mermaid Cove's tourist attraction. But her Peruvian immigrant parents are ­serious only about work, academics, and being model citizens, and they insist that mermaid tales are a childish obsession she needs to forget. When a lucky opportunity presents itself, Verónica will have to decide what--and who--defines her. Peruvian folklore and facts about Florida are seamlessly integrated into the skillful first-person narration, and each chapter begins with a term's dictionary ­definition followed by Verónica’s definition. An appended author's note tells more about the real town on which Mermaid Cove was based, the condition of hip ­dysplasia, and the Peruvian legend of Huacachina.

Reviewer: Alicia K. Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(3) K-3 Welcome to series. Illustrated by Åsa Gilland. Gilland's lively compositions, which have a retro-cartoon vibe, offer lots of eye-pleasing details on every page of these state profiles. The chatty texts provide basic facts: state capitals, nicknames, mottos, birds, mammals, flowers; regional foods, pastimes, and traditions; mentions of famous landmarks, both geographic (Grand Canyon, redwood forests) and man-made (giant squirrel statue, Kennedy Space Center). Notable populations (Cubans in Florida, Mexicans in Texas, Indigenous groups in Arizona) get their own spreads. Each book opens with an illustrated map of the US emphasizing the featured state. Brief, pleasant visits. Review covers these Welcome to titles: Welcome to Arizona, Welcome to California, Welcome to Florida, and Welcome to Texas.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ibon Adarne & Rachel Yew. An early-twentieth-century eco-advocate and an abundant natural wonderland come to life in this picture-book biography. Patterned, poetic language tells two intertwining stories: the first of Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890–1998), a journalist who used poetry, literature, and on-the-ground activism to prevent development of the Florida Everglades; the second of the Everglades themselves, a "trickle of water" that, over generations, became the sprawling home to nine different habitats. Striking jewel-toned illustrations capture the grandeur of the Everglades' ecological landscape, as well as show off the myriad critters that live there. A tribute to the remarkable persistence of an unconventional centenarian and the wetlands she advocated for and adored. Four concluding pages provide information about some of the Everglades' flora and fauna, more about Douglas, ideas for readers to help, and sources.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Savanna Ganucheau & Lark Pien. Here is a graphic novel adaptation of Holm's 2011 Newbery Honor Book of the same title (rev. 5/10). Turtle arrives in Key West to stay with her aunt and cousins after her mother gets a housekeeping job for a wealthy woman who cannot tolerate children. Because the United States is in the midst of the Great Depression, work is scarce, but Turtle's cousin Beans leads the Diaper Gang, a cheeky group of preteens who cares for babies and their irritated bums with its exclusive formula for fighting diaper rash. Turtle never experiences a dull moment with this crew, and they initiate a variety of mostly harmless antics. Holm's (Sunny Side Up, rev. 9/15, and sequels) novel lends itself easily to a graphic format: its short chapters translate well into paneled illustrations, and the great bits of fun in the novel now get full-color treatment (highlights being big ocean adventures and tick-tocking––a naughty prank). Ganucheau shines when drawing the tropical scenery and setting of the Florida Keys, and colorist Pien catches the eye with soft pastels and skillful mood-setting. The titular paradise is not always sunny, but all visual efforts reinforce the brightness and buoyancy of this idiosyncratic place.

Reviewer: Niki Marion | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Ekua Holmes. American Beach in northeast Florida is now a protected part of the National Park Service, but it began as a private beach bought by African American millionaire Abraham Lincoln Lewis in 1935 to allow Black people a respite from segregated beaches (where "there was even a rope in the ocean" to keep the races separate). It was a childhood haven for future opera singer (and Lewis's great-granddaughter) MaVynee Betsch, who found a second career in saving the beach, which fell into neglect after civil rights gains had made it redundant. Author and illustrator work in exceptional harmony here to bring MaVynee and the beach to life, with Holmes depicting in acrylic and collage the beauty of the "ocean paradise where [­Lewis's] family and other black people could swim, picnic, and build sandcastles." Even later, when MaVynee returns to the now-abandoned beach, nursing her own depression, Holmes finds beauty in the sadness, using the long horizontals of the spreads to glorious and poignant effect. Author and illustrator notes along with sources provide and point to further information about MaVynee Betsch.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) K-3 Colombian American author-illustrator Lilly takes readers along on a family road trip in this "tale of two kitchens" (and two cultures) that goes from the mountains of West Virginia to "a little orange house on a patch of scratchy grass" in Florida. Once a year, our young narrator and her family (parents, siblings, and dog) pile into their minivan and drive "for hours and hours" to visit the two sides of their extended family. First stop: Mamaw and Papaw's house, where they share sausages and ­blackberry jam on toast for breakfast and make banana pudding together. When they arrive at Abuela and Abuelo's place three days later, it's a midnight feast of arroz and tostones with all the relatives. ­Alongside annual traditions, everyday rituals reconnect each parent to their family of origin--in Mamaw's kitchen, Papaw and the narrator's father drink their coffee the same way, out of matching cups; in Abuela's kitchen, we see "my mom and her mom, cooking and chatting together"--so that when the week is over, the family heads back to their home in the city with "tummies full, hearts fuller." Layering color and shadow over a loose pen-and-ink line, Lilly's ­illustrations convey warmth, ­atmosphere, and a wealth of detail. Front and back endpapers trace the landscape of the journey and spotlight special items from each of the two homes, some of which, readers will note, find their way into one more kitchen: this blended family's own.

Reviewer: Anamaría Anderson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(1) 4-6 Merci navigates the troubles of home and seventh grade--and the gap between the two--with her irresistible combination of spirit and heart in this follow-up to the Newbery-winning Merci Suárez Changes Gears (rev. 9/18). Though she seems more self-assured these days, Merci resents the many changes taking place around her: her brother Roli away at college, Lolo's deteriorating condition, ­Hannah's growing friendship with Merci's archenemy, and the growing confusion surrounding new friend Wilson. At the annual "Heart Ball" school dance, Merci only wants to participate from the place she has the most confidence and control--behind the camera--but even that goes awry. Vibrant and insightful, the novel explores the complexities of friendship and family as well as first romance. All the while, Merci stays busy getting herself into trouble and finding her way out of it again. Her relationships at school strengthen, to mirror the bonds she has with her family at home, and when school and home lives merge, Merci discovers the best way to manage change is with a bit of bravery, a welcoming attitude, and people you trust. And by the end of this funny, heartwarming book, Merci does dance--with family and friends, on an intimidating stage at her exclusive private school in the first performance of the new Suárez School of Latin Dance.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(3) 4-6 This biography of the Black Seminole chief, set against the background of the Seminole Wars and Indian removals of the nineteenth century, relates John Horse's role in trying to find a safe homeland for his people and shares some of his exploits and feats of daring. Subjects such as chattel slavery and the Fugitive Slave Act are handled matter-of-factly. Pre-Civil-War-era paintings, engravings, and photos show the major players and give a sense of the time period and culture, while maps help readers follow the events of the narrative. The extensive back matter includes a timeline, author's note, endnotes, selected bibliography, and index (not seen).

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(2) YA This final entry in the Zora and Me trilogy (most recently, The Cursed Ground, rev. 9/18) is the darkest, with "an epistolary prologue" noting the year in which the novel is set, 1905, as one of "grief and loss"; the book opens with a chain-gang escapee hunted down and lynched by white vigilantes and closes with fourteen-year-old Zora Neale Hurston leaving Eatonville, Florida, forever. This installment is a departure in that it focuses less on the mystery plot and more on Zora's personal story: tensions between Zora and her self-aggrandizing preacher father escalate to the point where, after her mother's death and her father's remarriage, she leaves the family and moves away. But before that, there is a mystery for Zora and best friend/narrator Carrie to investigate--and as always in this series, it's one tied to the realities of life in the Jim Crow South. After elderly resident Chester Cools dies, his grave is desecrated and his body goes missing. Several clues lead Zora and Carrie to believe he might be a zombie, and in fact the troubled man had referred to himself that way. The girls eventually learn that he had been lynched as a youth and survived: "Chester Cools understood perfectly what he had become: a zombie, which by another name meant the victim of trauma who'd never really healed." An epilogue flashes forward to describe (fictional) Zora's later life and (real-life) accomplishments; back matter fills in the story even more completely, with a biography, timeline, and bibliography.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020