Seventh grader Veronica discovers that her parents, and thus she herself, are not at all what she’s been led to believe throughout her short and protected suburban life. Abruptly all her angst-ridden middle school grade concerns are dropped and she finds herself propelled into new psychic territory. She must redefine her relationship with her parents and absorb some unimaginable family history as she’s sent on a crucial mission to an alternate world.

I thoroughly enjoyed Echo of the Sun, which straddles the odd borderland between juvenile fiction and young adult fiction. As far as I can tell, the book consistently nails the viewpoint of the twelve-year-old protagonist. (Important disclaimer: I have never been a twelve-year-old girl, though I’ve read my share of books written in young adult first person, so I extrapolate from there.)

The novel creates a mood of mystery and drama with undercurrents of wry humor. Imaginative monsters, crises, and plot reversals cycle throughout the book, keeping up the suspense through the novel’s final pages, by which time Veronica has gained new perspective and maturity and must make a final bittersweet choice.

However, I certainly can foresee that this choice may be modified in subsequent books in the series, which I’m very much looking forward to!

Michael D. Smith ( )