Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green

October 22, 2012
Though it’s not science fiction, there’s more than a little A Wrinkle in Time in this ecological adventure from adult author Phillips (And Yet They Were Happy). Twelve-year-old Mad and nine-year-old Roo’s father has been gone for seven months, studying birds on the grounds of a lavish Central American eco-resort. Problem is, Dad should only have been gone a few weeks; when the school year ends, the family heads south to visit him under the smiling but strict escort of developer Ken/Neth, whose bumbling orders and transparent manipulations Mad pitilessly chronicles. Dad is there, but he is strangely changed and accessible only by appointment. Roo is convinced that there’s a secret code to break in her father’s odd gestures. Mad is willing to go along, admiring her sister’s candor and will even as she herself wrestles with more complex perceptions of what is happening. Mad’s observations (and exasperation) are entertaining and true, in stark contrast to the lies, benevolent or otherwise, that the adults around her tell. Ages 10–up. Agent: Faye Bender, Faye Bender Literary Agency.

October 1, 2012
When Madeleine and Ruby visit the supergreen rain-forest resort where their ornithologist father has been employed to find endangered species, they find him distressingly changed--and maybe contributing to a bird's extinction. The mystery of the Weirdness that began after their father wrote them with his REALLY GOOD NEWS deepens when the family arrives from Colorado. The luxury La Lava spa doesn't allow children, so the girls, 12 and 9, and their mother will be staying nearby at Selva Lodge. When they finally see their father, after six months apart, he doesn't seem to care about them at all. Their mother, after daily yoga sessions at the spa, is unbelievably calm and incurious. It is their 14-year-old baby sitter and Spanish tutor, golden-eyed Kyle, who teams up with them to explore their jungle surroundings and find and save the last of the Lava-Throated Volcano trogons, already formally declared extinct. In her first novel for young readers, Phillips demonstrates a keen understanding of sibling dynamics as well as love for the lush tropical setting. The girls are believably awed and attracted by the spa's lavish accommodations for the superrich, frightened by the hint of evil underneath and made uneasy but enchanted by the magic that surrounds them. More fantasy than magical realism, this eco-adventure maintains its mystery and suspense right up to the end. (Adventure. 9-13)

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January 1, 2013

Gr 4-7-After a disturbing letter arrives from their ornithologist father, 12-year-old Madeline (Mad) Wade and her younger sister, Ruby (Roo), head to Central America with their mother to find him. They are accompanied by Ken/Neth, a representative of the luxurious La Lava Resort and Spa, which hired Dr. Wade months earlier to document birds in the area. In reality, the spa, winner of numerous environmental awards, has made him a virtual prisoner so he can track down the nearly extinct Lava-Throated Volcano trogon (LTVT). The birds' bones can be transformed into a youth serum to make huge profits for the company. Mad, Roo, and their mother stay at a nearby resort run by a mysterious old woman who knows many legends, including one that predicts that the nearby volcano will erupt when the last LTVT dies. With the help of her grandson, Kyle, the sisters figure out their father's predicament, enlist the aid of an environmental-activist actress, and foil La Lava's plans. Although narrator Mad consistently and annoyingly disparages her own abilities while extolling Roo's talents, she is the one who ultimately saves the day. Roo's ability to understand Spanish without lessons and to bond immediately with the LTVT that the trio discovers require suspension of disbelief. Phillips doesn't clarify whether Ken/Neth is a villainous mastermind or a corporate dupe or explain how Mrs. Wade remains oblivious to her children's forays into the rainforest. The nascent romance between Mad and Kyle adds yet another element to the overburdened story. Offering plenty of action, the plot crashes to a rather abrupt resolution with hints of a possible return visit. An additional purchase for large fiction collections.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato

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