Great book. I can see this being a hit with the students. I have added it to my list of books to buy.

An enjoyable middle grade read filled with memorable characters, engaging storylines and a superb location highlighting the eclectic Kensington Market neighbourhood in Toronto. A bit slow to start, the novels picks up when the mystery of the missing mascot is introduced alongside main character Clara’s school newspaper assignment of writing horoscopes. The real gem of this novel is the authentic relationship between Clara and her mother. Middle grade readers are sure to connect and enjoy this entertaining story.

Clara moved to a new neighborhood recently and doesn’t really like it. The people here are too weird and it doesn’t help that all her mother is talk about herbs, ghosts and powers.
What Clara wants to do is stick to the fact and become a journalist. She actually writes at her school’s paper but the editor only gives her small articles to do until she gets her own column… The horoscopes. Everything she hates…

I found the plot pretty well done even though I didn’t like the way it ended.
Overall, I found it to be okay but the characters really annoyed me most of the times. And I do mean all the characters. The parents, as well as the students, the administration, everyone.
But still, the story took me by surprise from time to time and it was a short read...

5 Reasons To Read Clara Voyant

It's Such A Relaxing Book!

Oh gosh... I loved Clara Voyant so much! If you've been reading something that stressed you out (*cough* Obsidio! *cough*), then this will be like a soothing balm on a sunburn (me and my analogies.) It's a bright, hopeful, relaxing book, like many MGs are – and yet, it's also so colorful and dynamic. I loved it!

Colorful Cast

Which brings me to the next part. Clara's new neighbourhood is basically The Capital of Hippie. It was amazing! But even aside from that, the non-hippie part of the cast is also incredibly endearing, colorful and discernable. The wacky neighbours, the New Age mom, the happy go lucky best friend, the harsh but sincere school caretaker, the very proper and prim school newspaper leader... I could go on. They're all great! The cast is actually so colorful and lovely you won't be able to get enough of them. I would read a sequel. Or a spin-off. Actually, probably a spin-off would be best! (Keep dreaming, Evelina.)

Strong Girls Who Mean Business

Clara and her best friend Maeve are amazing lead girl characters to read about – I would have wanted to be just like them. Clara is an achiever – she knows what she wants, and that is to be a journalist, and she pursues that path. Maeve is also similar, although she's driven more by her talent rather than ambition. She's an actress and she must make the choice of whether she will audition for a male role, or challenge the director to change the role to a woman (hint: it's a manly character role as well). All of this sends messages to the reader – especially the way these girls are not afraid to challenge their superiors when they're in the wrong – both of them. Wonderful role models!

A Message About Counting Your Blessings

What Clara doesn't realize is that despite being a little bit too woo-woo and unusual, her mother is actually pretty cool, and the way she lives her life, be it in a dilapidated little apartment and an incredible lack of normalcy, is incredibly vibrant and full of true emotion, genuine creativity. As children, we often do not value what we have, prizing instead what is interior decorated, color coordinated, top of the line, as displayed on social media or TV. But that's not what life is about, most of the time, and not the way true life even is. And this is also one of the things Clara has to accept – that our lives and our own selves even are not always what we expect them to be. And maybe that's not such a bad thing after all?

It Talks About Loss And Change – In An Upbeat Way

...and not only that. I love it when MG books hide a deeper look at things, and the way you're supposed to work them out yourself because they won't be overexplained. The veneer of happy and bright sometimes hides serious problems children have to deal with emotionally – family breakups, changing your environment and lifestyle, standing up to authority and working out new ways to survive, or even thrive. This book was great at that – Clara is hard at work trying to pretend even to her own self that nothing is wrong, but it's plain obvious how much she misses her grandmother who had quite unexpectedly up and gone off to Florida, almost as if she didn't want to see them again. Clara must learn to live in a different environment, deal with the fact that despite her family being borderline destitute now, who she is doesn't change because of that. And she has to learn to accept life and learn to go with it. I think Clara does well.

I thank Penguin Random House Canada / Puffin Canada for giving me a free copy of Clara Voyant in exchange to my honest opinion. Receiving the book for free does not affect my opinion.

Thank you to Netgally and Penguin Random House Canada for the free advance readers copy for my honest review.

4/5 Stars! ( 4 stars because I really wish this was a graphic novel. hehe)

~~~Clara can't believe her no-nonsense grandmother has just up and moved to Florida, leaving Clara and her mother on their own for the first time. This means her mother can finally "follow her bliss," which involves moving to a tiny apartment in Kensington Market, working at an herbal remedy shop and trying to develop her so-called mystical powers. Clara tries to make the best of a bad situation by joining the newspaper staff at her new middle school, where she can sharpen her investigative journalistic skills and tell the kind of hard-news stories her grandmother appreciated. But the editor relegates her to boring news stories and worse . . . the horoscopes. ~~~



This was such a great read!!! A very popular concept (there has been a lot of witchy books out lately, but I’m not complaining). Clara was such a great strong character. Mind you this is a middle grade school book, and I ‘am not a middle grade school girl, but I loved this book. I will admit, Clara’s best friend Maeve was the type of best friend every little girl wishes she had!  

If you have a little girl in your life, who feels like she doesn’t quite fit in, give her this book! Just a reminder that you don’t need to fit in to be the cool kid. We love Clara, we wish she had her as a friend!  I also wish I had read this book in middle school, it would have helped with a lot of heart ache. I never felt like I didn’t want to continue reading this book, you will enjoy it! I will admit, I loved Clara’s Mom, she reminded me of my Mom, a free spirit, Hippie. I really loved her.



The book comes out tomorrow! Make sure you pick up a copy for the little girl in your life! I know my niece will be getting a copy when the book comes out!

Review 4/5 stars! And a total buy it now book!

Find my review here! https://wordpress.com/post/mostlybookreviewsandlife.wordpress.com/132

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Puffin Canada for gracing me with a copy of this light and breezing book. This was exactly what I needed on a Saturday morning filled with freezing rain!

This middle grade story stars Clara, a skeptic of the paranormal who is assigned the horoscopes column at her school paper. This in turn earns her the name Clara Voyant, much to her chagrin.
All she wants is her chance to prove her talent as a serious journalist and has now been saddled with something she doesn't even believe in? UGH, the humanities!
This is a cute story about friendship, self reflection, and a dash of mystery thrown in for good measure. The characters are extremely likeable and interesting without anyone stealing the spotlight completely. It was a fun and quick read that certainly brightened my morning.

P.S
People DO need their tacos!!!!

This is a cute middle grade story in which 6th grader, Clara has moved with her mother to a new town and her grandmother, who they had lived with, has moved to Florida. Clara misses her old neighborhood and friends, but is part of the school newspaper crew ( although most schools don't have newspapers anymore - they have broadcast journalism instead). The student leader of the newspaper, Wesley, assigns Clara to write a horoscope column although Clara would rather write about the school's missing mascott. In the book, Clara makes new friends while searching for clues and begins fitting in with her new neighborhood and her mom's new friends.

Clara can't believe her no-nonsense grandmother has just up and moved to Florida, leaving Clara and her mother on their own for the first time. This means her mother can finally "follow her bliss," which involves moving to a tiny apartment in Kensington Market, working at a herbal remedy shop and trying to develop her so-called mystical powers. Clara tries to make the best of a bad situation by joining the newspaper staff at her new middle school, where she can sharpen her investigative journalistic skills and tell the kind of hard-news stories her grandmother appreciated. But the editor relegates her to boring news stories and worse . . . the horoscopes, under the name Clara Voyant.

Worse yet, her horoscopes come true, and soon everyone at school is talking about Clara Voyant, the talented fortune-teller. Clara is horrified--horoscopes and clairvoyance aren't real, she insists, just like her grandmother always told her. But when a mystery unfolds at school, she finds herself in a strange situation: having an opportunity to prove herself as an investigative journalist . . . with the help of her own mystical powers. (via Goodreads)

I RECEIVED AN EARC OF CLARA VOYANT FROM NETGALLEY, COURTESY OF PUFFIN CANADA, IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.
Clara Voyant is a cute, but not stellar, middle grade novel. Clara is frankly a miserable little girl who always identified more with her straight-laced grandmother than her hippie mother. When her grandmother decides to move to Florida, Clara and her mother move to a little neighborhood called Kensington Park, where Clara finds her first best friend and a new skill - for telling the future.

One of the strongest themes in this novel is that no one is ever what they seem to be, which is a good lesson for kids this age. I liked that Clara eventually grew to enjoy her newfound powers, as well as actually getting to do her own investigative work. I was glad that she was able to see why her mother was the way she was. It was nice to see Gaby act like an actual mother every so often, instead of the airhead that her daughter saw her as. 

Maeve was a bright spot of a character in Clara Voyant, with her willingness to go along with any of Clara's plans, and helping her get out of trouble with them. I would be interested in seeing more from these two as they grow up. 

All that being said, I really never got into Clara Voyant. It never captured me the way it should have, since I actually work as a daily journalist. It was honestly disappointing, but there wasn't anything actually wrong with it.

Me now loved this story and I know 5th/6th grade-Stephanie would have *really* loved this story.

Clara is a practical girl that has to come to terms with her more bohemian mother/new lifestyle after they move to the colorful Kensington Market. She meets Maeve, who turns out to be a wonderful and supportive best friend and one of the best friend characters I’ve read in awhile. Clara and Maeve solve a mystery and discover some talents and themselves along the way.

This book has so many things I appreciate in a middle-grade book - a bright protagonist, good friendship, an interesting school setting.
Add in a quirky cast of characters (including some ghost-hunting neighbors), some paranormal aspects, and a vibrant market setting, and it really worked for me!
Plus - that cover!

I can’t wait to introduce some of my students to Clara Voyant.

I liked this story, I think it is sweet, and instructive for the younger readers. I miss the grandmother charachter, I think she shoud appear at the end.

This was a really enjoyable read!

Clara has dreams of being a journalist, but first, she needs to survive the school newspaper. She's not impressed when she's given the job of writing horoscopes, especially since she's not into any of that "woo" stuff that her mom likes. But as Clara begins to investigate the mystery of the missing school mascot, Clara discovers that there might just be more to her predictions and feelings than she expected.

I like Clara as a character, and how her practical side collided with her mom's spontaneous and carefree nature. I also liked that Clara was able to open herself to the possibility of actually having "powers", but that there was no resolution in this book. I think many young readers will enjoy this book, and it will be a good addition to a library.

I got an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Clara Voyant was a book about Clara Costa, a girl who didn't believe in things like magic or "woo" her grandmother, Elaine, would say. Unlike her grandmother, her mother Gaby, believed and liked these kind of things. Clara and Gaby just moved out to a new apartment in a new neighborhood called Kensington Market. While, Elaine moved out to West Palm Beach. Clara missed her grandmother and her "normal" things so much because Clara thought that her new life wasn't normal anymore.

Clara was a newbie newsie in the Gazette (her middle school newspaper). Wesley, the editor, gave Clara unimportant things to write about until one day she gave Clara to work on Horoscopes which one of the things Clara didn't believe in. Also, Wesley gave Clara a new name "Clara Voyant". Soon, she realised about her power, clairvoyant that was.

It told us about Maeve too, Maeve was Clara's best friend. Also, it told us about Clara's activities in discovering many things. Like what happened to Mrs. Major, Wesley, and herself.

The book is easy to read and the cover is so beautiful. I fall in love with the cover. 😍

Thank you for writing this book, Rachel!

Clara is a serious girl with serious goals. Her Mom is more of a "follow your bliss" philosophy. When her Grandma moves to Florida, the two are living alone, and Clara has some adjusting to handle as she is now without having her Grandma as a buffer. Although she would rather be writing hard-hitting investigative pieces for her school newspaper, she ends up writing horoscopes. They turn out to be pretty accurate which leads to a few complications. Her Mom thinks she has mystical powers, but maybe Clara is the one with the real supernatural skills?

Verdict- Buy

A cute story about a young journalist who knows she could rise to the occasion if given a chance, but is instead usually given stories like interviewing a school knitting club and having her stories shoved in at the end of the school paper. She wants to impress her no-nonsense grandmother, who recently moved to Florida, but ends up writing horoscopes like the kind her new age mother enjoys. But then things get interesting and she's able to do a bit of both as she figures out her own path.

Clara wants to be a great investigative journalist for her school newspaper. She doesn't know if she ever will be good enough to send her grandmother who has just moved to Florida a copy of the paper. Clara is going through growing pains dealing with moving into a new place with her mother a slightly exuberant hippy. When Clara starts writing horoscopes for the paper mysteries continue to pop up to be solved.
This middle grade book would have been a great read for my grown daughter who loved mysteries. Any little girl who is trying to figure out where their place is, likes to solve problems will want to read this book.
Clara is endearing, slightly reluctant to be in the eye of the school just like any girl her age, she learns to adjust to those things she never thought she could do. I really enjoyed reading Ms. Delaney's novel. I hope to read more from her soon. This is a book I will definitely read to my niece.

A fun fluffy read, with reluctant clairvoyant Clara adjusting to her powers and using them as part of being an investigative journalist to solve a mystery in her school. Some great characters (I especially liked Clara's best friend) and really witty in places.

Clara can’t believe it when her grandmother decides to sell her house and moved to Florida to live with other seniors.
Finally, Gaby Clara’s mom, feel free to follow her dreams. Moving and opening a healing herbal shop.and lives on top of it in Kensington Market. Clara far beyond the free spiritual soul her mother is, tries to make the best of her “normal, structure formality inherited by her grandmas’ genes. She joins the school newspaper perusing her dreams of becoming a journalist, but finding herself writing the horoscopes!
What she does not know her investigating skills plus her intuitive mystical powers make a suitable combination to unsolve a mystery within the walls of the school.
What I lovely story! A well-developed character with not a fantastic plot, but I do not think that is the main focus of this book. Being a teacher I cannot help reading between the lines. How Clara raised between the rigidness of her grandma and the free spirit hippie life of her mom and trying to conceal both. At first nice to mom but not understanding her, but as the story goes on we see how Clara evolves and sees the “normality” of the fanciful characters she is surrounded. Sweet, funny, and full of whimsical moments.
It made me smile. Thank you

I was able to read Clara Voyant by Rachelle Delaney for free from Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed the story/book. The story line has great characters. Clara want to prove herself and joins the school newspaper and gets assigned the horoscopes, which she hates. With all that Clara is able to achieve her goal and understand her Mother more. This is a great book for young adults to read.

Young Clara lives with her hippie-like mother and straight-laced grandmother (she calls her Elaine), and finds life balanced, at least, if not a little bit untraditional. But when Elaine decides sell the condo they are all living in and move to Florida, Clara's life is turned upside-down. She moves with her mother to another part of Toronto, to a small and strange apartment above an herbal store her mother where her mother will work. Clara finds herself in a new middle school, where she decides to join the school newspaper, and quickly becomes best friends with Maeve, a rising theater star. Clara wants to write investigative stories for the paper, but just when a strange theft occurs on school grounds, Clara is assigned to write the horoscope section. Permanently.

Missing her grandmother, and wanting to fit in, Clara resists the nickname fellow students give to her when her horoscope predictions start coming true: she is not "Clara Voyant"! Clara decides to make things happen for herself and begins searching for answers to the missing object, eventually turning to the very "powers" she didn't want to have to get her started. Of course, Clara isn't the only middle school student who is trying to keep her home life a secret -- and she learns some valuable lessons in the most unlikely places.

I felt like there were some continuity issues, but they were not integral to total arc of the story. This is primarily a story for girls, I think -- it is largely about female relationships -- but boys who are avid fans of realistic fiction may enjoy the story as well.

Clara Voyant "sang" to me -- perhaps not an aria, or even a song you would want to hear over and over and over again, but it has a sweet, clear, unique voice that is certain to resonate with its audience.

Really cute book with a solid message for the age range. I think many children will like the characters and descriptions and relate to the issues that Clara confronts.