Great Middle Grade Read

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I love childrens' and middle grade books that confront death and the afterlife. In this day and age, awareness of death and the cultural practices surrounding it are absolutely essential when so much is around us daily. Brigid Martin's book is a diverse take on a family of mediums and a young protagonist discovering her powers of communication with the afterlife. I found a lot of the lore in it really quaint, with cute details like putting on Ghostbusters the movie to banish spirits. Protagonist Paloma is a spirit medium with some particular powers; messages from beyond appear to her as flowers, whose symbolism she must then interpret as warnings or other communications, and I found this floral magic really cute.

The book addresses several significant "lessons" for its audience and target age group, from bullying, drawing boundaries with friends despite that urge to impress, handling the disappointment of older relatives, etc. It was interestingly modern, too, as Paloma sets up livestreams to broadcast her skills while doing readings for her classmates. But she begins to ignore signs she's seen, ignore her better judgment, and consequences soon come to call. The old "even if you can, should you" lesson rears its head.

Overall this was a really cute book full of heart, with a protagonist who has good intentions, and memorable family bonds grounding her along the way.