School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Seventh grader Beatrix Lee puts a lot of faith in haiku. Since her family and friendships are changing dramatically, Bea abandons her love of free verse poetry and takes solace in the haiku's dependable five-seven-five rhyme scheme. After an embarrassing incident at a pool party causes a painful rift with her longtime best friend, Bea writes most of her poetry in invisible ink, a reflection of the loneliness she feels at school and at home, where her parents are happily preparing for a new baby. Bea's love of words starts to reemerge with the encouragement of a supportive librarian who introduces her to the kids at Broadside, the school newspaper. During lunch time, Bea takes refuge in the Broadside office, where she meets Briggs, the paper's editor, who makes her feel like a valued member of a team, and Will, who is obsessed with labyrinths. When Bea decides to show Will a labyrinth that belongs to a wealthy and mysterious local resident, she learns the identity of the person who is leaving notes for her in a secret spot near her house. As Bea works her way through the maze of new friendships and a new role in her family, she begins to see herself and her friends more clearly. Readers will connect with Bea's first-person narrative of her winding path toward discovering her strengths. VERDICT This character-driven story is a winning combination of humor, heart, and redemption. Recommended for all libraries.-Shelley Sommer, Inly School, Scituate, MA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
At the end of sixth grade, avid poetry writer Beatrix "Bea" Lee had close friends, but she's starting seventh grade as a social outcast after embarrassing herself at a pool party. Bea tries to fly under the radar, but as the school newspaper's new poetry editor, she starts making friends who embrace her as she is: Briggs, the Broadside's exuberant editor in chief, and Will, an autistic student who hangs out in the newspaper office. Will is obsessed with walking the hedge labyrinth on a nearby private estate, and Bea decides to help. She's also having a secret correspondence: someone has begun reading and responding to the poems Bea writes in invisible ink and hides on school grounds. Yeh (The Truth About Twinkie Pie) homes in on the pain of not fitting in and of being discarded by a trusted friend (in a telling detail, Bea's narration avoids even saying her former friends' names, using only their initials). Bea's social missteps will be excruciatingly relatable to many readers, and her slow journey to self-acceptance is moving and wise. Ages 8-12. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.