  | Junius Leak and the spiraling vortex of doom Author: Wolf, Allan | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
When thirteen-year-old Junius Leak-expert on waterbodies and creator of the encyclopedic Amazing Waterbodies of the World-steps foot on Uncle Spot's rickety dock on Lake Peigneur, the truth assails him: he may love waterbodies, but that doesn't mean they love him back. The latest in a long line of Junius Leaks, he's the first to be doomed to ten days of awkwardness and boredom on a houseboat with a relative he doesn't know while his parents "work on" their marriage.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG+ Reading Level: 5.50 Points: 16.0 Quiz: 554669 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (05/01/25)
School Library Journal (07/01/25)
Booklist (+) (12/01/25)
The Hornbook (00/06/25)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 07/01/2025 Gr 4–7—Twelve-year-old Junius, who is white, has had a rough go of it lately, from the unfortunate chocolate milk incident to his parents needing to work things out. The butterflies in his stomach are chaotic as his (step) dad drops him in small-town Louisiana with family for a few days, where his mom Junius (June) Leak grew up. The long line of Junius Leaks presents a parallel to the oft-untold pirate stories of Louisiana's shores throughout this shifting-time-line tale. Though this middle grade novel is on the longer side, the back-and-forth nature of historical events in this small Louisiana town pairs nicely with the 1980s setting. The narrator, a lake, provides a unique point of view as it has seen all the changes to the people and the town in the last 100 years, but the focus lies within the most current Junius Leak. A coming-of-teen arc allows Junius to find ways to exist with his anxiety, uncover some of his history, and step into teenhood in a healed state. The subtle representation of neurodivergence and invisible health conditions is well woven into quite a few characters and will provide a mirror to many. This swashbuckling story across time will pull readers in like a vortex. VERDICT Short list this title for middle grade library collections and recommend to readers, reluctant or not, with an interest in pirates, history, bodies of water, or atypical family structures.—Samantha Hull - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 05/01/2025 *Starred Review* Based on an actual 1980 event, Wolf’s latest weaves a dazzling tale out of environmental themes, historical backstories in a Louisiana community, buried pirate treasure, and a neurodivergent 12-year-old’s vertiginously life-changing stay with a loving but unfamiliar relative. Junius arrives aboard his uncle Spot’s houseboat on the shores of Lake Peigneur with a handle—mostly—on his emotional meltdowns but not his fear of being on water. Over the next dozen days, he works on both while meeting a colorfully engaging cast of local residents, experiencing the pleasures of their weekly fais-dodo, learning shocking facts about his family that his reticent mother never shared, and forming new friendships—notably, with teen eco-activist Victoria, who is protesting the oil well being drilled in the lake. Junius shares narrative duties with the lake itself, which, as a tongue-in-cheek alternate (“I am a lake, so let me be clear”) slips in historical flashbacks, including a surreptitious 1820 visit by pirate Jean Lafitte; and which, at what becomes a breathlessly suspenseful climax, describes how the oil drillers hit a tunnel in a huge nineteenth-century salt mine—and turned the whole lake into a colossal drain, then a sinkhole that led to a massive flood. Considering the vividly depicted events, the strong cast, and the young protagonist’s personal triumphs, there’s wow-worthy content aplenty here. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.
