March 11, 2024
Ransom (Only Margaret) takes cues from “Sleeping Beauty” in this story about an enchanted Southern town and the tween determined to revive it. Morning Glory, Va., has all but faded from maps since the Juneberry Blue soda factory closed. Only eight residents—including 11-year-old Andrea Jennings—remain. All that could change if Andie inherits her matrilineal family’s flair for crafting life-changing recipes that feature juneberries from the nearby magic-touched orchard: a new, charmed dish could reignite tourism, generate much-needed business for the Jennings’s failing diner, and maybe even bring Andie’s truck-driving father home for good. But when her recipe flops, Andie discovers a far greater gift within: she can communicate with ghosts. After learning that the local spirits need her help with a locked tower and a mysterious stranger, Andie and pragmatic friend Tanner unravel secrets “scabbed with mold,” and realize that anything worth doing needs intent, belief, effort, and faith. Sentient plants and otherworldly cats round out an amiable cast in this gently magical tale that centers nature, ecology, and connection. Characters read as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Victoria Wells Arms, HG Literary.