A Field Guide to Broken Promises
Leah Stecher. Bloomsbury, $18.99 (308p) ISBN 978-1-5476-1306-9
Now that seventh grader Evie Steinberg’s mother has secured her dream job in Southern California, the Steinbergs can finally settle into what Evie hopes will be her permanent home. She also sees this as an opportunity to help take care of her younger sister Talia so that Mom can focus on her new job and her cryptozoologist father can plan his second research trip to Idaho, an excursion he must take due to the “incident,” which Stecher (The Things We Miss) gradually reveals via Evie’s affable first-person POV. Evie is ecstatic to learn that Dara, her best friend from summer camp, goes to her new school—except that Dara pretends that she and Evie don’t know each other. Putting her cryptozoologist skills to the test, Evie determines to discover the truth behind Dara’s behavior. But with increasing pressure surrounding school, friends, and family, holding it together for everyone else becomes more
difficult than she anticipated. Though Evie believes adopting a can-do attitude is the only way to move forward, this earnest novel peppered with fast-paced mystery elements suggests grace and support can help individuals struggling with feelings of guilt and insecurity. Evie and Dara are white and Jewish. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sam Farkas, Jill Grinberg Literary. (May)
Details
Reviewed on: 02/27/2025
Genre: Children's