Quintessence
I think at one time or another, we all feel like we are missing part of ourselves...like something's wrong and we just can't put a finger on it. We feel unlike ourselves and don't know how to fix it.
That's how Alma Lucas feels, in Quintessence by Jess Redman, once she has moved to a new town--Four Points. She had to leave behind all of her friends and the things she loved and now she doesn't feel quite like Alma. She starts experiencing panic attacks, often, and she keeps it from her parents because she doesn't want them to worry. It keeps getting worse and worse.
Until one day, she meets the shopkeeper in the mysterious Five Points store in the middle of town. He gifts her a telescope and charges her with a mission: Find the Elements. Grow the Light. Save the Starling. And she has no idea what he is talking about until she is watching the night sky and sees a star falling from the sky. There's something unusual about this star--it looks like a small person. And crashes to the ground right near her house.
Alma wants nothing more than to help the Starling--she knows just what it's like to be far from home and feel so lost. Circumstances continue to bring her to the people that will help her accomplish the mission and she connects with new friends in an Astronomy club. While they figure out how to find the elements and grow the light, Alma begins to feel more and more like herself and embrace her new home in Four Points. But will they be able to get everything they need to send the Starling home before it's too late?
I love this group of kids so much. The characters were super fun and relatable. They reminded me a lot of my students in 7th grade and how unsure of themselves they are sometimes. Alma and her new friends are really the ones that kept me coming back to the book as I read it.
This middle-grade book is another great one that addresses problems that some might think are too deep for kids to handle. But I have students all the time that are overwhelmed by having to move to a new place or anxiety or deal with panic attacks--students that feel lost and unlike themselves after things change in their lives. And it is so important that these kids have a chance to read about people that are dealing with the same problems so they have people to relate to.
I have not read it but Jess Redman's other book The Miraculous also sounds like a great book that deals with hard topics in the lives of kids. But in both books there is also this element of magic that elevates the story and brings a little faith into things.
I would highly recommend Quintessence to anyone who loves astronomy, magic, and middle-grade books as well as anyone who needs to know that they aren't alone in the world or that it's okay to not feel like yourself sometimes. This book is expected to be published July 2020 and I can't wait for you all to read it. You can pre-order a copy here or from your local independent bookstore.
Until one day, she meets the shopkeeper in the mysterious Five Points store in the middle of town. He gifts her a telescope and charges her with a mission: Find the Elements. Grow the Light. Save the Starling. And she has no idea what he is talking about until she is watching the night sky and sees a star falling from the sky. There's something unusual about this star--it looks like a small person. And crashes to the ground right near her house.
Alma wants nothing more than to help the Starling--she knows just what it's like to be far from home and feel so lost. Circumstances continue to bring her to the people that will help her accomplish the mission and she connects with new friends in an Astronomy club. While they figure out how to find the elements and grow the light, Alma begins to feel more and more like herself and embrace her new home in Four Points. But will they be able to get everything they need to send the Starling home before it's too late?
I love this group of kids so much. The characters were super fun and relatable. They reminded me a lot of my students in 7th grade and how unsure of themselves they are sometimes. Alma and her new friends are really the ones that kept me coming back to the book as I read it.
This middle-grade book is another great one that addresses problems that some might think are too deep for kids to handle. But I have students all the time that are overwhelmed by having to move to a new place or anxiety or deal with panic attacks--students that feel lost and unlike themselves after things change in their lives. And it is so important that these kids have a chance to read about people that are dealing with the same problems so they have people to relate to.
I have not read it but Jess Redman's other book The Miraculous also sounds like a great book that deals with hard topics in the lives of kids. But in both books there is also this element of magic that elevates the story and brings a little faith into things.
I would highly recommend Quintessence to anyone who loves astronomy, magic, and middle-grade books as well as anyone who needs to know that they aren't alone in the world or that it's okay to not feel like yourself sometimes. This book is expected to be published July 2020 and I can't wait for you all to read it. You can pre-order a copy here or from your local independent bookstore.
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