  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 01/01/2015 Gr 4–7—Olivia, 11, and her seriously ill mother have moved to Alabama to live with Olivia's grandmother, who she barely knows. A new city and school have left Olivia disorientated, and she finds herself friendless and uncertain of the future. When she begins to see cryptic messages in bathrooms all over town, they prove a welcome distraction. Then Gran sets Olivia up on a "playdate" with a girl from the same school, and she not only finds a friend but also someone eager to solve the mystery with her. The puzzling messages are introduced at the beginning of the book, but as the story unfolds, the emphasis shifts away from a traditional mystery and more to a gentle tale about family, friendship, and facing the future with hope. The ending is unexpected—finding the message-writer does not result in the exciting discovery the girls (and readers) had hoped for. It is, however, life-affirming, and all the loose ends are tied up. The book features believable characters in challenging situations and would best suit readers who are ready for something requiring a little reflection. While unlikely to fly off the shelves, this is still a useful addition for young teens who are not emotionally ready for more serious issue-driven YA fiction.—Michelle Anderson, Tauranga City Libraries, New Zealand - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 04/01/2015 In the follow-up to her children’s debut, The Hidden Summer (2013), Phillips stays in the same vein with another emotionally charged, contemporary coming-of-age story set in Alabama. Olivia still hasn’t settled into her life in Birmingham, a move prompted by her mother’s cancer treatment, but when a strange message posted on the bathroom wall about “Plantagenet” catches her eye, she opens herself up to some exciting possibilities. What is Plantagenet, after all? And why are intriguing messages about it scrawled over all sorts of walls? Despite Olivia’s search for answers about Plantagenet, the pacing of this book never quite matches up to its mystery-heavy premise. Instead, it settles into a more contemplative space, as reluctant Olivia is softly prodded outside her comfort zone and into the world where not every possibility includes a scary twist. Phillips deftly explores how a parent’s illness can so easily shatter a child’s sense of comfort in the world, even after the parent is healed. Hand to fans of Cynthia Lord and Linda Urban. - Copyright 2015 Booklist. Bulletin for the Center... - 05/01/2015 “We are Plantagenet. We are chosen,” says the bold writing on the bathroom wall of Olivia’s favorite coffee shop, and eleven-year-old Olivia is instantly intrigued. Soon she sees the message elsewhere in town, and she’s determined to find out its meaning. This pursuit provides a welcome distraction for Olivia, who’s ill at ease in her new school and her new home (she and her mother have moved in with her grandmother) and who’s worried about her mother’s recovery from recent illness and surgery. Phillips (author of The Hidden Summer, BCCB 7/13) writes with clarity and understanding of Olivia’s struggle to reboot herself in a new situation; it’s refreshing that Olivia is neither star nor outcast, just somebody who can’t remember the skills that got her friends before, so once she does get some age-mate contact she makes friends fairly readily. The Plantagenet explanation doesn’t live up to its initial mystery, but then that’s the almost inevitable fate of any such tantalizing hint; the underlying story of Olivia’s anxiety about her mother and difficulty in letting go of her caretaking role spools out subtly underneath the main plot and deftly intersects with it. Offering both accessibility and originality, this will enrich the middle-elementary shelves-and bump up the interest in restroom graffiti. DS - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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