It's an exciting BOOK BIRTHDAY week and today, we're focusing in on a NEW TITLE available now via Walden Pond Press! It's a Middle Grade Fiction title that deals with so many issues that readers can relate to with a little dash of MAGIC. Curious? You should be...and I'm about to lift the proverbial veil on today's celebrant. Ready, set, here we go! All eyes on today's book of choice...
by
Laurel Snyder
Walden Pond Press
About the book...
Laurel Snyder, author of Orphan Island, returns with a story of one girl’s quest to answer the seemingly unanswerable questions about what makes us who we are.
Hi, whoever is reading this. I’m Zipporah Chava McConnell, but everyone calls me Zippy.
Things used to be simple—until a few weeks ago. Now my best friend, Bea, is acting funny; everyone at school thinks I’m weird; and my mom is making me start preparing for my bat mitzvah, even though we barely ever go to synagogue.
In fact, the only thing that still seems to make sense is magic.
See, the thing is, I’m a witch. I’ve been casting spells since I was little. And even if no one else wants to believe in magic anymore, it’s always made sense to me, always felt true. But I was still shocked the day I found a strange red book at the library and somehow...I conjured something. A girl, actually. A beautiful girl with no memory, and wings like an angel. You probably don’t believe me, but I swear it’s the truth.
Miriam is like no one else I’ve ever met. She’s proof that magic is real. And, it’s hard to explain this part, but I just know that we’re connected. That means it’s up to me to help Miriam figure out what she is and where she came from. If I can do that, maybe everything else in my life will start to make sense too.
Anyway, it’s worth a try.
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Okay, so a few things...
...no, the title is not missing a word; WOODLAND is the name of Zippy's street.
...no, you're not seeing double; the magical looking image just behind our leading little lady on the cover IS there!
...it's not a Fantasy novel despite having that dash of magic.
Now that that's all cleared up, let's get a little deeper....
Zippy is growing up, and aside from the normal biological changes, her world is practically turning upside down. She doesn't feel like she fits in pretty much anywhere. She's losing her best friend to another group of girls that are all the things she isn't. She's being tasked with having a bat mitzvah, and, for someone who doesn't know if she even believes the stories and practices it preaches, that's a tall order. Quite frankly, she's alone in a very large crowd, and just wants to find her way back to the safety of the familiar. The thing is...change is inevitable. It's a constant, and, just like time, marches on. We either go with it, or watch it leave us behind, but there is always a choice.
In this case, Zippy's choice comes in the shape of a girl with wings, with no memories, no name, and no idea where she came from. Could she be an angel? Maybe something malicious? Or is she simply a manifestation of the hopes and fears in one young girl come to life? Except, it's not so simple whatever the answer may be because now that Miriam IS...she can't bear to undo her into oblivion no matter the cost to herself. But Zippy isn't a girl who gives up. She may be scared, and unsure, but she'll find her way, and she's got a great support system waiting in the wings, once she's ready to let them in.
I loved how inclusive the story was! There were so many backgrounds, such a large variety of characters, beliefs that ran the gambit from secular to more otherworldly, and so many things in-between. All was treated with respect, while educating readers along the way. It was refreshing to see the open-mindedness of others in accepting things that were outside of their own comfort zone, in lieu of simply condemning it or ignoring it completely. I wasn't sure how Zippy's rabbi would go about navigating her pagan explorations, and yet the approach taken accepted her for who she was, shined a light on the fact that she belonged, and welcomed her with open arms. It reminds readers that things outside our personal boxes aren't wrong, just different, and everyone is entitled to their beliefs. The world would be a boring place if we were all the same, and, after all, variety is the spice of life. I liked the variety, the spice that Zippy added to the story. She wasn't afraid to be who she wanted to be, but by book's end, she owns that statement with confidence. It shines like the glittery girl she aimed to save, and sparkled like the light shining from all those pieces that remained when the "God-light" was split asunder (a story shared within the story).
When all is said and done, we've got a story that makes us think, invites us to learn, and reminds us to grow. It doesn't tell us that it'll be easy, but it does help us realize it's worth all the bumps in the road along the way...and those bumps make for some mighty good memories (or perhaps a story?) to be shared when the time is right.
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About the author...
Laurel Snyder is the beloved author of many picture books and novels for children, including the National Book Award nominee Orphan Island and the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner Charlie & Mouse. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she teaches in Hamline University’s MFA in writing for children and young adults program. Laurel lives in Atlanta with her family and can be found online at www.laurelsnyder.com.
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Special thanks to Debbie and the Walden Pond Press team for the chance to bring this tour to you as well as the ARC for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to snag your copy today, and be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!
May 16
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May 16
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May 17
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May 18
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May 22
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May 23
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May 26
@librarymama
May 30
@bethshaum
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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