A FIELD GUIDE TO BROKEN PROMISES

Michelle Weisborn vividly portrays Evie Steinberg. Weisborn's youthful tone reflects Evie's delight when she moves to Southern California and discovers that Dara, her BFF from summer camp, goes to her new school. Weisborn also captures the anxious yet determined feelings of the seventh grader who demands perfection from herself after messing up her father's cryptozoology work. Soon, Evie is shocked to learn that Dara has told her schoolmates that Evie is weird and a liar. Evie sets out to expel the cruel golem who surely must have taken over Dara and works to regain her father's trust. Weisborn evenly handles themes that range from bullying and expectations--one's own and those of others--to self-acceptance. S.W. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2025]