Skip to main content

Quintessence

Image
By

 


Quintessence 
By Jess Redman 
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2020. 361 p. 

Alma has moved to a new town with her parents. Her brother has gone off to university. Alma feels less and less like herself. She feels like she is losing her “Almaness” and is constantly having panic attacks, though she lied to her parents and told them that they had stopped. When Alma meets the mysterious owner of what looks like a junk shop and discovers what is kind of like a telescope, Alma starts to feel like herself again. The shop owner tells Alma to “Find the elements. Grow the light. Save the starling.” Alma doesn’t know what that all means, but she is determined to figure it out—and hopefully discover herself again along the way. This is a fun little fantasy book that doesn’t shy away from strong emotions (like panic attacks) and how helping others (like a fantastical being like a starling) can in turn help yourself. Readers who like light fantasy with a good-hearted character (and some good side-characters that Alma has to learn to trust) will enjoy reading Quintessence. Hopefully this will be the first of many in this world.
Labels:

Comments

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction said…
I agree that this book is perfect for kids who like light fantasy!
February 7, 2021 at 10:23 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick

By
If there's one book today's kids need to read, it is Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) . The authors provide a fun format for teaching etiquette to children. They discuss proper behavior at home, at school, at other people's homes and in public places. The information is completely up-to-date with cellphone manners and netiquette included. Fun, cartoony illustrations are on practically every page giving the book great visual appeal. This book is perfect for boys and girls in the fourth grade or older. WARNING: Bodily functions are discussed.
Post a Comment
Read more

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

By loo
Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin Illustrated by Leslie Evans Charlesburg; 2009; unpaged Faces of the Moon is a short nonfiction book that describes the different phases of the moon and why the moon appears like it does on certain nights. This book is short and sweet so even the youngest of moon lovers will enjoy it. The layout is simplistic and easy to follow. I don’t know much about the moon so I found it very interesting.
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Factory

By
The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...
Post a Comment
Read more