The Bluestockings

In this uneven debut from YA author Nunnery (The Next Best Thing), a girl goes on a crusade to save the family business. Twelve-year-old Eleanor Black has been raised by her father since she was six and her mother vanished after a day of work at the family’s small-town Georgia bookstore. Eleanor’s lonely life gets a boost with the arrival of Maggie, who’s visiting her reclusive aunt, Ruby, while her parents are settling their divorce. The girls become friends and Eleanor confesses to Maggie that she learned from “foreboding letters” found in her father’s desk that they’re about to lose the bookstore. The girls start scheming ways to save it, and as Eleanor spends time at Ruby’s mansion, the two form a kinship based on the fact that Ruby also lost her mother when she was young. When Eleanor discovers an old manuscript in a desk’s hidden compartment at the bookstore, she hopes it’s valuable enough to save the shop. Researching the book and its author, however, leads her down an unexpected path with supernatural implications. The fantasy elements are a jarring shift from the thoughtful character-driven story. Still, this tenderhearted tale has its moments. (Self-published)