SPARROW BEING SPARROW by Gail Donovan; Atheneum Books, 2023; 178 pages, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-6659-1669-1.
SPARROW BEING SPARROW
What does a little girl do when she impulsively promises to take care of her elderly neighbor’s seven cats? Well, young Sparrow Robinson does not know anything about cats, but she will soon prove to everyone that she is more capable than anyone thinks.
“Sparrow Being Sparrow” is Maine coast author Gail Donovan’s charming story of how a little girl makes mistakes, solves problems, makes friends, wins over doubting adults and becomes a cat lover. Donovan writes fiction for middle-grade readers, books like “Finchosaurus” (2018) and “In Memory of Gorfman T. Frog” (2009). This is a fun story, loaded with humor, drama and life lessons for kids and adults.
Sparrow is an energetic, impressionable, curious and sensitive fourth-grader, in a new town with a new school, a new church, new friends, and a delightful old lady living next door. Mrs. LaRose lives alone with seven cats. She are Sparrow are pals, so when Mrs. LaRose falls and breaks her hip, Sparrow volunteers to take care of all the cats. Sparrow tells a few fibs to new classmates (which she will regret later), has to put up with the goofy antics of two boys, and worries about Mrs. LaRose and the cats.
Sparrow’s parents are supportive, as their daughter overcomes her own doubts, earns the trust of her chums, and comes up with a brilliant plan to save the cats when Mrs. LaRose has to move away without them. Sparrow’s tender consideration of Mrs. LaRose and the cats is heartwarming, and her solution for cat homes satisfies everyone — even the cats. And Sparrow’s reward for her honesty and kindness? Donovan lays out a wonderful conclusion that readers will truly enjoy.
TRAPPED: DEEP WATERS, DARKER SECRETS
Growing up as a teenager is hard: pimples, hormones, thinking they know everything — and then the stark, painful discover that they don’t.
TRAPPED: DEEP WATERS, DARKER SECRETS by Brook Merrow; Maine Authors Publishing, 2023; 250 pages, $19.95; ISBN 978-1-63381-363-2.
“Trapped” is the excellent debut coming-of-age mystery by Bass Harbor, Maine author Brook Merrow. A former journalist, Merrow has captured teenage angst, confusion and tenderness beautifully with a carefully crafted young-adult mystery set in fictional Punch Harbor,
Maine. She not only offers an intricate plot, she presents teens and adults in convincing and engaging roles. Readers will believe the characters.
Seventeen-year-old Ethan Olsen is a good student, an athlete, and all-around good kid in a loving, supportive family of lobster fishermen. And he worships his older brother Ben. The brothers are inseparable until the summer when Ben graduates high school and Ethan enters his senior year, and their relationship goes off the rails.
Ethan carries a 10-year-old guilt and Ben has a secret he can’t tell anyone, not even Ethan. When Ben suddenly disappears without explanation and a dead body is found, the sheriff starts looking for Ben, and Ethan is frantic with worry and questions. Navigating through small town gossip and rumor is bad enough, but harassment of the Olsen family begins with escalating threats, vandalism and serious property damage. Someone might get killed.
Fortunately, Ethan’s parents are solid and so are most of his friends, but somebody has targeted the Olsens for destruction. Ethan is determined to find his brother, solve the mystery of the dead man, and find out why his family is being attacked. And he knows he needs help.
Merrow smartly blends suspense and humor with the complexities of small-town life, budding teenage romance, bitter revenge, brotherly devotion, and an appreciation of a family’s love.
Bill Bushnell lives and writes in Harpswell.
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