Contemporary – Page 36 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: The Stepping Off Place

Title: The Stepping Off Place
Author: Cameron Kelly Rosenblum
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 28, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Every girl loves her best friend, but Hattie is more like Reid’s social oxygen. Hattie’s the badass, Reid’s the wingman; that’s how it’s meant to be. But when Hattie drowns off the coast of Maine while summering with her family two weeks before the start of senior year, Reid must confront the devastating loss and her own identity crisis, all while hearing and seeing Hattie everywhere.
The police declare that Hattie died by suicide, but it just doesn’t make sense. Hattie was one of the most enigmatic and joyful people Reid has ever known. Something just doesn’t feel right, and in her grief, Reid immediately begins to question the circumstances surrounding Hattie’s death—and the secrets kept by the person she thought she knew better than herself. This is the summer that Reid is forced to reexamine everything she knows about alphas and betas, truth and lies, the complexities of mental health, and what it means to step into yourself.

Review:

Hattie is Reid’s energetic and fun best friend. One day, when Reid is looking forward to Hattie returning from her summer at the cottage, she learns that Hattie has died. Reid is shocked to hear that Hattie’s death has been ruled a suicide. Reid can’t understand how someone as happy as Hattie could have killed herself. Reid embarks on an investigation of her own to find the truth behind Hattie’s death.

This was an emotionally heavy book. Some trigger warnings are suicide and sexual assault. Mental health and grief also played an important part of this story. Even though someone may not appear to have mental health problems, doesn’t mean they aren’t suffering. Mental health illnesses can be an invisible disease, which isn’t apparent from a person’s outward appearance though they may be suffering internally.

I felt so sympathetic towards Reid throughout the story. She felt like she had a hard life because she had to look after her autistic brother. Her family had to organize their life around her brother’s schedule. Though everyone could see Reid’s brother’s autism, Hattie’s mental health problems weren’t as apparent at first glance. Reid couldn’t understand how her friend, who appeared happy, could struggle so much with her mental health that she would take her own life. Reid’s theories behind Hattie’s death were so convincing, I was tempted to believe her. This story shows how Reid copes with her grief by being in denial about the cause of Hattie’s death.

This was an emotional and powerful story.

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour Review: The Kids Are Gonna Ask

Title: The Kids Are Gonna Ask
Author: Gretchen Anthony
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
Publisher: Park Row
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 28, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A whip-smart, entertaining novel about twin siblings who become a national phenomenon after launching a podcast to find the biological father they never knew.
The death of Thomas and Savannah McClair’s mother turns their world upside down. Raised to be fiercely curious by their grandmother Maggie, the twins become determined to learn the identity of their biological father. And when their mission goes viral, an eccentric producer offers them a dream platform: a fully sponsored podcast called The Kids Are Gonna Ask. To discover the truth, Thomas and Savannah begin interviewing people from their mother’s past and are shocked when the podcast ignites in popularity. As the attention mounts, they get caught in a national debate they never asked for—but nothing compares to the mayhem that ensues when they find him.
Cleverly constructed, emotionally perceptive and sharply funny, The Kids Are Gonna Ask is a rollicking coming-of-age story and a moving exploration of all the ways we can go from lost to found.

Review:

Thomas and Savannah have a podcast where they interview the eclectic people their grandmother brings home for dinner. One evening, they get the idea to create a new podcast to document the search for their biological father. Their mother died when they were thirteen years old, and they have lived with their grandmother since then. They work with a media company to develop their podcast to find their father, which is called The Kids Are Gonna Ask. However, it brings them a lot of attention that they weren’t expecting and they don’t know how to cope with it.

Though this story has two seventeen-year-old main characters, it’s an adult novel rather than a young adult novel. Some of the chapters were writing from the perspective of adults, which I don’t think young adult readers would be interested in. Since this story has both teenage and elderly characters, it could appeal to a wide variety of age groups.

I liked the mystery of this story that slowly unfolded as Thomas and Savannah learned more about their mom and their biological dad. The identity of their bio dad was revealed fairly early on in the story, which cut out the suspense of wondering who he could be. The pacing slowed down after they found each other, though there were still some surprising events to come.

This story shows the dangers of doing a public search for someone. Thomas and Savannah had to make some serious decisions about how much privacy they were willing to give up in the search for their father. They were also criticized for possibly revealing the identity of their father and affecting him and his family. It’s important to recognize that others can be affected when embarking on a public search for someone through a podcast.

I really enjoyed this story.

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

About the author:

GRETCHEN ANTHONY is the author of Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners, which was a Midwestern Connections Pick and a best books pick by Amazon, BookBub, PopSugar, and the New York Post. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, Medium, and The Write Life, among others. She lives in Minneapolis with her family.

Have you read The Kids Are Gonna Ask? What did you think of it?

Blog Tour Review: More Than Maybe

Title: More Than Maybe
Author: Erin Hahn
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 21, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Growing up under his punk rocker dad’s spotlight, eighteen-year-old Luke Greenly knows fame and wants nothing to do with it. His real love isn’t in front of a crowd, it’s on the page. Hiding his gift and secretly hoarding songs in his bedroom at night, he prefers the anonymous comfort of the locally popular podcast he co-hosts with his outgoing and meddling, far-too-jealousy-inspiringly-happy-with-his-long-term-boyfriend twin brother, Cullen. But that’s not Luke’s only secret. He also has a major un-requited crush on music blogger, Vada Carsewell.
Vada’s got a five year plan: secure a job at the Loud Lizard to learn from local legend (and her mom’s boyfriend) Phil Josephs (check), take over Phil’s music blog (double check), get accepted into Berkeley’s prestigious music journalism program (check, check, check), manage Ann Arbor’s summer concert series and secure a Rolling Stone internship. Luke Greenly is most definitely NOT on the list. So what if his self-deprecating charm and out-of-this-world music knowledge makes her dizzy? Or his brother just released a bootleg recording of Luke singing about some mystery girl on their podcast and she really, really wishes it was her?

Review:

Luke Greenly is the son of a former British rocker. He hosts a podcast with his twin brother Cullen. Luke has a crush on Vada Carsewell, a girl who works at the bar where they record their podcast. When Luke and Vada get paired up to work on a school project, with Luke writing a song to go with Vada’s choreography, they realize they both like each other. Luke’s secret talent for music is revealed when he is recorded while composing, and the song is released online. Everyone wants to know who the mystery girl is in Luke’s song, and Vada hopes it’s about her.

This was a cute romance. It’s set in the same music world of Erin Hahn’s first novel, You’d Be Mine. A song by Annie Mather, the main character from You’d Be Mine, was mentioned in the book. I liked that the books were connected in that small way, though it isn’t a sequel. I actually liked this book more than You’d Be Mine. I think that’s because I could relate to the rock music references in More Than Maybe more than the country music in the previous book.

The characters were well developed in this story. Even the parents of Vada and Luke had lengthy backgrounds that influenced their children. These backgrounds, that went beyond the story, made the characters seem like real people. The backgrounds of the characters added to the story.

I loved this story! It had an adorable ending!

Thank you Wednesday Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

About the author:

ERIN HAHN is the author of You’d Be Mine and More Than Maybe. She teaches elementary, would rather be outside and makes a lot of playlists. So many playlists in fact, that she decided to write books to match them! She married her very own YA love interest who she met on her first day of college and has two kids who are much, much cooler than she ever was at their age. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, aka the greenest place on earth and has a cat named Gus who plays fetch and a dog named June who doesn’t.

Have you read More Than Maybe? What did you think of it?

Review: 10 Things I Hate About Pinky (Dimple and Rishi #3)

Title: 10 Things I Hate About Pinky (Dimple and Rishi #3)
Author: Sandhya Menon
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 21, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The follow-up to When Dimple Met Rishi and There’s Something about Sweetie follows Pinky and Samir as they pretend to date—with disastrous and hilarious results.
Pinky Kumar wears the social justice warrior badge with pride. From raccoon hospitals to persecuted rock stars, no cause is too esoteric for her to champion. But a teeny-tiny part of her also really enjoys making her conservative, buttoned-up corporate lawyer parents cringe.
Samir Jha might have a few . . . quirks remaining from the time he had to take care of his sick mother, like the endless lists he makes in his planner and the way he schedules every minute of every day, but those are good things. They make life predictable and steady.
Pinky loves lazy summers at her parents’ Cape Cod lake house, but after listening to them harangue her about the poor decisions (aka boyfriends) she’s made, she hatches a plan. Get her sorta-friend-sorta-enemy, Samir—who is a total Harvard-bound Mama’s boy—to pose as her perfect boyfriend for the summer. As they bicker their way through lighthouses and butterfly habitats, sparks fly, and they both realize this will be a summer they’ll never forget.

Review:

Pinky is a rebellious, social justice warrior. She’s known for getting in trouble and dating delinquent boys. When the barn at their summer house burns down, her mom immediately thinks Pinky did it, rather than Pinky’s perfect cousin Dolly. To prove that Pinky didn’t do it, she tells her mom she couldn’t have been in the barn with a boy because she has a boyfriend. The only problem is that Pinky has to find a perfect boyfriend to keep up with the lie she told her mom. She invites Samir to stay with them for the summer, when she finds out he didn’t get the law firm internship that he applied for. In exchange for helping Pinky by being her fake boyfriend, Pinky promises Samir that her high powered lawyer mother will give him an internship next year. It all goes according to plan until Pinky and Samir develop real feelings for each other.

This is the perfect summer romance! Pinky was such a fun character. I loved her style, with her rainbow dyed hair. I imagined it as much more rainbow coloured in the story than is pictured on the cover. She was the opposite of clean-cut Samir, who was always dressed up. Even though they were opposites in looks and personalities, they made an adorable couple.

This is the last book in the “Dimple-verse” about these characters. Since Pinky and Samir were away from their hometown of San Francisco, the other characters from past novels didn’t appear in this novel, other than a brief appearance by Ashish. I usually don’t like it when books in a series don’t include all the characters, because they don’t feel connected. However, since Pinky and Samir were away from home in this story, it worked for the plot to not include their friends from home.

I loved this summer romance!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Other books in the series:

Have you read 10 Things I Hate About Pinky? What did you think of it?

Review: The Black Flamingo

Title: The Black Flamingo
Author: Dean Atta
Genre: Young Adult, LGBT, Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: May 26, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

I masquerade in makeup and feathers and I am applauded.
A boy comes to terms with his identity as a mixed-race gay teen – then at university he finds his wings as a drag artist, The Black Flamingo. A bold story about the power of embracing your uniqueness. Sometimes, we need to take charge, to stand up wearing pink feathers – to show ourselves to the world in bold colour.

Review:

Michael has always had a hard time fitting in. He doesn’t act like the other boys, who play with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and like to fight. He would rather play with Barbies and sing. He also doesn’t fit in at home, where he lives with his white mother, rather than his black father. When Michael begins university, he finds his identity as the drag queen The Black Flamingo.

This story is written in verse. This was such a great format to tell the story, since it takes place throughout Michael’s life from when he was a child to when he was a young adult. The verse format gives snapshots of important moments that affected his life. It also conveys more emotions in the short lyrical lines than it would have in prose.

There were many parts of the story that were so well written that I had to pause and read them over. Two scenes stood out to me and really made me think. When Michael was a child, he wanted a Barbie for his birthday, but he was given a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle because it is considered a “boy” toy. When his sister was a child, she was allowed to play with his ninja turtles and Barbies, and wasn’t criticized for playing with a “boy” toy the way he was when he wanted to play with a “girl” toy. Another part that stood out was when the characters were talking about what things they look for in a partner. When they talked about preferring people of certain races, a character brought up how racist that was. Race shouldn’t be a factor in finding a partner, but I have heard people say that before. I hadn’t thought of the racist implications of that, and the way it was explained in this story made so much sense.

I loved this book! I highly recommend it!

Review: Date Me, Bryson Keller

Title: Date Me, Bryson Keller
Author: Kevin van Whye
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Romance
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: May 19, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

What If It’s Us meets To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before in this upbeat and heartfelt boy-meets-boy romance that feels like a modern twist on a ’90s rom-com!
Everyone knows about the dare: Each week, Bryson Keller must date someone new–the first person to ask him out on Monday morning. Few think Bryson can do it. He may be the king of Fairvale Academy, but he’s never really dated before.
Until a boy asks him out, and everything changes.
Kai Sheridan didn’t expect Bryson to say yes. So when Bryson agrees to secretly go out with him, Kai is thrown for a loop. But as the days go by, he discovers there’s more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing. Kai knows how the story of a gay boy liking someone straight ends. With his heart on the line, he’s awkwardly trying to navigate senior year at school, at home, and in the closet, all while grappling with the fact that this “relationship” will last only five days. After all, Bryson Keller is popular, good-looking, and straight . . . right?
Kevin van Whye delivers an uplifting and poignant coming-out love story that will have readers rooting for these two teens to share their hearts with the world–and with each other.

Review:

At a New Year’s Eve party, Bryson Keller, the most popular boy in school, is dared to date a different person every week until Spring Break. The catch is that they have to ask him to date on Monday morning until Friday afternoon. When there are just a few weeks left to go in the dare, Kai Sheridan is paired up with Bryson for a drama project. On a whim, Kai asks Bryson to date that week. The rules said that a person had to ask him, not specifically a girl, though that was assumed. The problem is that no one knows that Kai is gay, so Bryson and Kai have to hide their fake dating for the week. Their new relationship becomes more than just a dare when they have to explore their identities.

I loved this story so much! Kai and Bryson were adorable together. The first two thirds of the story were filled with fun fake dating, where everyone was happy. In the last third, there was more conflict, but it was unavoidable with so many lies about the fake dating.

Kai and Bryson were so cute, but there was also a layer of lies since no one knew Kai was gay. He had to hide it from his friends and family, because he didn’t think they would accept him if they knew. He had a bad experience with a friend that he told when he was younger, so he was afraid to share his secret. The story addressed the way that everyone is automatically assumed to be heterosexual. Kai figures that any guy who he likes won’t like him back, because they are straight. Sexuality shouldn’t be assumed for anyone, but we often automatically make a decision based on how someone looks or who they date. Though Kai’s story is fictional and has a hopeful ending, it’s important to recognize that there are many people who don’t have such a positive life when coming out.

This is such a great story!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour Review: In the Role of Brie Hutchens…

Title: In the Role of Brie Hutchens…
Author: Nicole Melleby
Genre: Middle Grade, LGBT, Contemporary
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 30, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Introducing Brie Hutchens: soap opera super fan, aspiring actor, and so-so student at her small Catholic school. Brie has big plans for eighth grade. She’s going to be the star of the school play and convince her parents to let her go to the performing arts high school. But when Brie’s mom walks in on her accidentally looking at some possibly inappropriate photos of her favorite actress, Brie panics and blurts out that she’s been chosen to crown the Mary statue during her school’s May Crowning ceremony. Brie’s mom is distracted with pride—but Brie’s in big trouble: she has not been chosen. No one has. Worse, Brie has almost no chance to get the job, which always goes to a top student.
Desperate to make her lie become truth, Brie turns to Kennedy, the girl everyone expects to crown Mary. But sometimes just looking at Kennedy gives Brie butterflies. Juggling her confusing feelings with the rapidly approaching May Crowning, not to mention her hilarious non-star turn in the school play, Brie navigates truth and lies, expectations and identity, and how to—finally—make her mother really see her as she is.

Review:

When Brie’s mother almost catches her looking at photos of a naked woman, she tells her mom that she was chosen to crown the statue of Mary at the end of the school year. She told her mom that to distract her, but Brie wasn’t chosen to crown Mary, and she probably won’t be since that special role is given to one of the best students. After that moment, Brie realizes she may like girls more than boys, since she isn’t boy crazy like her best friend. Meanwhile, Brie really wants to be an actress. She wants to audition for the acting program at an arts high school, but her parents may not be able to afford the tuition. Brie is discovering herself and how to share her identity with her family and friends.

This story dealt with so many important topics in the life of a middle schooler. Brie’s family is going through changes. Her father lost his job, and got a job at her school to get a discount on tuition. The problem was that Brie was embarrassed for the other students to know he was her dad. Her father was also depressed, and Brie had a difficult time figuring out how to behave around him while he struggled. Brie also had some problems with her mother, who wasn’t completely supportive when she learned that Brie may like girls.

Brie was learning about her sexuality. She doesn’t like boys the way her friend does. She could relate to the queer characters in her soap operas, so she suspects that she is queer too. This was especially difficult because Brie’s family was religious and she went to catholic school. It was heartbreaking to see the way Brie acknowledged she had to hide her true identity because it wouldn’t be accepted at school or in her home.

This story was heartbreaking but also uplifting.

Thank you Algonquin Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

About the author:

Nicole Melleby is a born-and-bred Jersey girl with a passion for storytelling. She studied creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University and currently teaches creative writing and literature courses with a handful of local universities. When she’s not writing, she can be found browsing the shelves at her local comic shop or watching soap operas with a cup of tea.

Have you read In the Role of Brie Hutchens…? What did you think of it?

Review: Influence

Title: Influence
Author: Sara Shepard and Lilia Buckingham
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: June 30, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Get ready to delve into the world of teen influencers like you’ve never done before–from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS Sara Shepard and sixteen-year-old actress and social media personality Lilia Buckingham comes a twisty mystery that takes place in the fiercely competitive world of Internet stars.
After a video she makes goes viral, everyone knows Delilah Rollins. And now that she’s in LA, Delilah’s standing on the edge of something incredible. Everything is going to change. She has no idea how much.
Jasmine Walters-Diaz grew up in the spotlight. A child star turned media darling, the posts of her in her classic Lulu C. rainbow skirt practically break the Internet. But if the world knew who Jasmine really was, her perfect life? Canceled.
Fiona Jacobs is so funny–the kind of girl for whom a crowd parts–no wonder she’s always smiling! But on the inside? The girl’s a hot mess. And when someone comes out of the shadows with a secret from her past, it’s one that won’t just embarrass Fiona: it will ruin her.
Who wouldn’t want to be Scarlet Leigh? Just look at her Instagram. Scarlet isn’t just styled to perfection: she is perfection. Scarlet has a gorgeous, famous boyfriend named Jack and there’s a whole fanbase about their ship. To everyone watching online, their lives seem perfect . . . but are they really? The sun is hot in California . . . and someone’s going to get burned.

Review:

Sixteen-year-old Delilah enters the new world of being an influencer when she moves to L.A. with her family. She instantly joins parties with other top influencers and actresses Jasmine, Fiona, and Scarlet. When Delilah is caught flirting with Scarlet’s boyfriend Jack, Delilah learns just how mean the world of social media can be. Everything escalates until someone is murdered, and everyone is a suspect.

This book shows the dark side of social media. When a celebrity posts something, fans can take it to the extreme either loving or hating them. It’s easy to judge someone when you view their “perfect” life on social media, but what is posted isn’t the whole story. This story shows what can happen when online bullying is taken to the extreme.

This book reminded me of Pretty Little Liars. It had a lot of the same twists that that series had. I liked the suspenseful twists. I was surprised at who the murderer was at the end. I kept guessing who it was, but I was wrong every time. I love it when a book surprises me in the end.

This was a great, fast paced thriller.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour Review: She’s Faking It

Title: She’s Faking It
Author: Kristin Rockaway
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Graydon House
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 30, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

You can’t put a filter on reality.
Bree Bozeman isn’t exactly pursuing the life of her dreams. Then again, she isn’t too sure what those dreams are. After dropping out of college, she’s living a pretty chill life in the surf community of Pacific Beach, San Diego…if “chill” means delivering food as a GrubGetter, and if it means “uneventful”.
But when Bree starts a new Instagram account — @breebythesea — one of her posts gets a signal boost from none other than wildly popular self-help guru Demi DiPalma, owner of a lifestyle brand empire. Suddenly, Bree just might be a rising star in the world of Instagram influencing. Is this the direction her life has been lacking? It’s not a career choice she’d ever seriously considered, but maybe it’s a sign from the universe. After all, Demi’s the real deal… right?
Everything is lining up for Bree: life goals, career, and even a blossoming romance with the chiseled guy next door, surf star Trey Cantu. But things are about to go sideways fast, and even the perfect filter’s not gonna fix it. Instagram might be free, but when your life looks flawless on camera, what’s the cost?

Review:

Bree doesn’t know what she wants to do in life. She dropped out of college and works for a food delivery app, but she loses that job when her car breaks down. Then, her sister gives her a book by a lifestyle guru, which will help her achieve her ambitions. The problem is that Bree doesn’t know what her ambitions are. She makes an Instagram account, where she reposts images for her vision board. Things get more complicated when she starts a romance with a pro surfer, who has had his own social media scandal. Bree has to learn that things on social media aren’t always what they seem.

Social media is such an important part of life, yet it can also be fake. Things that are posted have been edited to look perfect, rather than reflect real life. In this story, Bree becomes a minor influencer. She gets offers to promote products, even though she doesn’t know or like the products. It’s so easy to get caught up in getting free products or promotions on social media. It’s important to stay true to yourself and your brand, rather than just gaining followers.

I liked how realistic Bree’s struggles were in this story. Bree was given opportunities in her young life, yet she didn’t know how to use them. She didn’t know what she wanted to study in college, which led to her dropping out. She struggled with debt and unemployment. This wasn’t a Cinderella story where she suddenly reversed her fortune at the end, but I liked how it reflected real life.

I really enjoyed this story.

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

About the author:

Kristin Rockaway is a native New Yorker with an insatiable case of wanderlust. After working in the IT industry for far too many years, she traded the city for the surf and chased her dreams out to Southern California, where she spends her days happily writing stories instead of software. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, and planning her next big vacation.

Where to buy:

Have you read She’s Faking It? What did you think of it?

Review: Music for Tigers

Title: Music for Tigers
Author: Michelle Kadarusman
Genre: Middle Grade, Fiction, Contemporary
Publisher: Pajama Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: April 28, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Shipped halfway around the world to spend the summer with her mom’s eccentric Australian relatives, middle schooler and passionate violinist Louisa is prepared to be resentful. But life at the family’s remote camp in the Tasmanian rainforest is intriguing, to say the least. There are pig-footed bandicoots, scary spiders, weird noises and odors in the night, and a quirky boy named Colin who cooks the most amazing meals. Not the least strange is her Uncle Ruff, with his unusual pet and veiled hints about something named Convict Rock.
Finally, Louisa learns the truth: Convict Rock is a sanctuary established by her great-grandmother Eleanor—a sanctuary for Tasmanian tigers, Australia’s huge marsupials that were famously hunted into extinction almost a hundred years ago. Or so the world believes. Hidden in the rainforest at Convict Rock, one tiger remains. But now the sanctuary is threatened by a mining operation, and the last Tasmanian tiger must be lured deeper into the forest. The problem is, not since her great-grandmother has a member of the family been able to earn the shy tigers’ trust.
As the summer progresses, Louisa forges unexpected connections with Colin, with the forest, and—through Eleanor’s journal—with her great-grandmother. She begins to suspect the key to saving the tiger is her very own music. But will her plan work? Or will the enigmatic Tasmanian tiger disappear once again, this time forever?
A moving coming-of-age story wrapped up in the moss, leaves, and blue gums of the Tasmanian rainforest where, hidden under giant ferns, crouches its most beloved, and lost, creature.

Review:

Louisa is sent to Tasmania to stay with her uncle for the summer when her parents go on a research trip. Her Uncle Ruff lives in a remote camp where he looks after a variety of wild animals. He gives Louisa a journal belonging to her great-grandmother, who rescued Tasmanian tigers. Even though Tasmanian tigers were thought to be extinct for centuries, Louisa’s family knows that they are secretly around the island. Now, Louisa is the only one who holds the secret to rescuing the remaining tiger.

I learned so much while reading this book. I realized recently that I have read books by Australian authors, but none that are set in Australia. I was so glad to discover that this one was set there. I loved learning about the different animals in Tasmania that I didn’t know before. The fictional mystery around the extinction of Tasmanian tigers was so great. It makes me wonder how many creatures that are thought to be extinct could be hiding out somewhere in the world.

This book was less than 200 pages, yet there was so much to the story. The important topic of animal extinction was discussed a lot. Louisa also had anxiety surrounding her performing music on her violin. She met a boy named Colin, who was autistic. Louisa was eager to learn about Colin and how to help him navigate the world of social interaction. These were relevant topics to be in a middle grade novel.

I loved this book!

Thank you Pajama Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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