Smoke and Mirrors

June 15, 2018
A Wrinkle In Time-inspired adventure.Sasha and her family live at the Cirque Magnifique; they are different from the Islanders with whom they share their town. Formerly home-schooled, fifth-grader Sasha and her little brother, Toddy, are now starting public school. Sasha is responsible for making sure that Toddy isn't teased or mistreated--he's different from most other kids--but Sasha's being bullied herself. As if that's not enough, the Cirque's longtime enemy, the mysterious Smoke, is making an appearance, slowly billowing around it. Sasha, who is growing more and more frustrated with her family as she approaches adolescence, is not entirely unhappy about a dark, sullen force slowly overtaking the Cirque--that is, until it engulfs the Cirque during a performance and turns her parents into birds. Sasha and her brother struggle to subsist on their own before setting off on an adventure to rescue their parents. They solve riddles and defeat monsters along the way. Halbrook's writing is artful, and her portrayals of bullying and child neglect are pointed and troubling. The pacing of the novel is uneven, with the setup taking up disproportionate page space compared to the Where the Wild Things Are-esque seafaring rescue adventure. Sasha and Toddy are biracial, their father dark-skinned and their mother pale.The L'Engle inspiration is unmissable, but her fans will likely not be deterred; patient readers unfamiliar with her work may find it an entree. (Fantasy. 8-14)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 22, 2018
In Halbrook’s first middle-grade novel (following the YA novel Every Last Promise, as Kristin Halbrook), two siblings confront a magician’s ancient curse and try to rescue their parents. Fifth grader Sasha’s performing family lives in the colorful Cirque Magnifique, a circuslike show community full of pomp and plumage. When Sasha and her younger brother, Toddy, attend school for the first time, they’re thrust into the drab, conformist world on the other side of their island. After some particularly chilling bullying from fellow students, Sasha’s outburst about it at home unwittingly invites in a mysterious smoke that transforms her parents into birds. As Sasha and Toddy struggle to survive on their own, the narrative drags a bit, but it gains speed after they embark on a quest to the Edge of the World to find their parents and “destroy the Smoke for good.” The powerful sibling bond anchors the narrative on the island and during the journey, and propels this inventive fantasy. Ages 8–12.

September 1, 2018
Grades 3-6 A fairy-tale atmosphere wafts through Halbrook's story of magic, love, belonging, and circus. Sasha and her little brother, Toddy, are children of aerialists in the Cirque Magnifique, located on an isolated island. Their unusual but idyllic life is disrupted when Sasha and Toddy are forced to attend school with the other island children, who treat them with cruelty for being circus freaks. As Sasha struggles to be accepted, anger and bitterness cloud her mind?just as the sinister Smoke of circus lore creeps toward the Cirque settlement. It is said that Smoke is the dangerous creation of an evil magician, and it holds the power to transform those it touches into animals. When the Smoke claims Sasha's parents, she knows the only way to save them is by confronting the magician. The story centers around Sasha's inner turmoil, but its strongest aspect is her relationship with Toddy. Their love for each other keeps them afloat as societal and otherworldly dangers loom. Personal revelations and faith in magic lead to a happy resolution to this enchanting tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)