March 1, 2018
Gr 4-6-Impetuous and mischievous, sixth grader Guinevere (Gwyn) relocates from New York City to the small Iowa town where her parents grew up. Her dad recently moved them in the hopes of finding a cure for her mother who has struggled with memory loss since Gwyn was very young. When her only friend, Wilbur, goes missing, Gwyn suspects her next-door neighbor, a giantess named Gaysie Cutter. Gwyn's detective work is complicated by Gaysie being the mother of Guinevere's new friend Micah. Gwyn and her little sister Bitty soon find all kinds of trouble, mostly in attempts to prove Gaysie's crimes. In the background, but well integrated, is the story of Vienna's own daredevil ways. Gwyn is on the wrong track from the first and her determination blinds her to what readers gradually begin to see. The underlying mystery keeps the pages turning, and the strength of plot and characters overcomes the somewhat stereotypical portrayal of a small town. VERDICT A promising debut and a strong secondary purchase for middle grade collections seeking realistic fiction.-Carol A. Edwards, formerly at Denver Public Library
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 16, 2018
This spirited and layered debut follows the move of 10-year-old narrator Guinevere (Gwyn), a feisty aspiring lawyer, from New York to her parents’ rural hometown of Crow, Iowa, in the hopes of jarring her mother’s memory. Makechnie sensitively sketches Gwyn’s complicated feelings toward Vienna, “formerly known as my mother,” who suffered a traumatic brain injury when Gwyn was four. Now Vienna cannot remember anything that happened to her since she was 13, and she vacillates between youthful ebullience and stubborn meanness. For Gwyn, Iowa offers “an exciting and fresh start, like the witness protection program,” and she forms fast friendships with two local boys. She also becomes curious about the disappearance of a local man and the secrets surrounding her parents’ enigmatic friend, Gaysie. Gwyn’s dentist father, obsessed with the brain and devoted to his ailing wife, proves a distracted, preoccupied parent to Gwyn and her sister Bitty, allowing other memorable characters to take on greater significance. Ultimately, Makechnie’s novel is a big-hearted adventure about coming home. Ages 8–12. Agent: Zoe Sandler, ICM Partners.
Starred review from May 1, 2018
If Scout Finch had had a sister, she would be future "world-famous lawyer" Guinevere St. Clair.When Guinevere, now 10, was 4, her mother, Vienna, lost all memory of her life after the age of 13, and now, believing she is 13, often acts like a difficult older sister. Jed, Gwyn's father, has relocated the family to Crow, Iowa, where he and Vienna grew up, hoping that the familiar surroundings will help her regain her memory. Iowa is a world away from Gwyn's beloved New York City. People greet one another on the street, it's always quiet, and it smells like cows. And speaking of cows, Guinevere gets her very own registered bovine, whom she names Willowdale Princess Deon Dawn. (Sadly, her plan to ride Willowdale like a horse doesn't work out.) Not long after the St. Clairs arrive, Gaysie Cutter tries to bury Guinevere alive--at least that's how the imaginative Gwyn sees it. When a local farmer goes missing, Guinevere puts on her lawyer hat to investigate. She's certain short-fused, unpredictable Gaysie murdered him. She just has to prove it, but it won't be easy, because it seems as though everyone in seemingly all-white Crow has a secret. With the same nostalgia-tinged humor as Dead End in Norvelt and A Long Way from Chicago, Makechnie's debut will have readers in stitches. Gwyn's voice is distinct and likable, carrying readers through the eventful narrative with ease.Guinevere St. Clair is indeed 100 percent unforgettable. (Fiction. 8-13)
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Starred review from June 1, 2018
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* I was 10 when Gaysie Cutter tried to kill me. The me here is Gwyn St. Clair, who, along with her first-grade sister, has been moved to Crow, Iowa, by her father, Jed, so their mother, Vienna, can be cared for where they grew up. Vienna, who had a medical emergency, losing oxygen to her brain, has lost many of her memories, but Jed, who reads voraciously about neural connections, thinks she can rediscover them. Gaysie, big, loud, and often one step away from blowing her stack, grew up with Jed and Vienna, and together, they endured a traumatic sledding accident in which another child died. Now, on her ramshackle farm, Gaysie parents her son, Micah, and Jimmy, an abandoned boy. Gwyn is befriended by the boys, but after a traumatic introduction to Gaysie, Gwyn is wary of her. When an elderly farmer goes missing, Gwyn is determined to prove that the volatile Gaysie murdered him. The smart dialogue and flowing description, catching the beauty of corn and cows, highlights the eccentric, yet wholly believable characters. This is part mystery, part study of the human heart, and pierced with rays of hope. Everyone here, adults and children, have lessons they need to learn, and first-time novelist Makechnie offers them those paths in startling ways.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
July 1, 2018
Guinevere St. Clair's family moves from NYC to her parents' small Iowa hometown in hopes of alleviating her mother's memory loss from a traumatic brain injury. There ten-year-old aspiring lawyer Guinevere investigates a neighbor's disappearance and learns details of her family's past. Even when she's misguided, self-assured Gwyn is a winning heroine in this story with a creative premise.
(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)