Cover Image: Forever Glimmer Creek

Forever Glimmer Creek

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Member Reviews

A delightful coming-of-age story that I enjoyed immensely. Makes a great summertime read for fourth to sixth graders.

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Forever Glimmer Creek is a magical story about a small town that has mysterious Miracles happen every year. No one knows for sure how they happen, but movie filming enthusiast Rosie is determined to make an epic documentary about the Miracles. She is always making movies and wants to be a famous director some day. Part of her plan also includes meeting her busy Hollywood director father at her premiere.

Henry and Cam, Rosie's best friends have developed other interests and hobbies and Rosie feels like things are changing between them. When someone Rosie loves goes missing, she forgets about discovering the real reasons for the Miracles, or maybe she will solve it on this rescue mission.

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I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This is a great middle-grade book that I think kids will really like, though, the adult characters left something to be desired.

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This was an average middle grade for me. I'm not sure where it fell flat. I just didn't connect to any of the characters. I'll also admit the adults in this book just really frustrated me to no end. I will say I admire the perseverance, dedication and passion the main character had for becoming a director. Overall it was an easy middle grade and I would recommend for the directed age range.

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I loved the small-town setting, and this is another book that is getting me more into the magical realism genre. I enjoyed watching Rosie, Cam and Henry navigate the the rough waters of middle school and grow in their true friendship. I love that Rosie's beliefs did not falter throughout the story, and her realization of what made Miracles happen just made it that much more heartwarming.

I know my fourth graders would love this in our classroom library!

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This is a sweet mystical realism story set in a small town where one resident experiences a miracle each year and gains a special power. Half the town believes and half the town is skeptical. Rosie is determined to create a documentary that reveals the truth behind the miracles. She is a strong character who faces typical friendship troubles. She is also rebelling against her single mother who is dating the local sheriff whom Rosie has butted heads with.

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Authors are doing some really cool stuff with magical realism for middle grade, keeping us mostly in the world as we know it, adding only a single magical element and using that to explore some part of life. In this case we have a place where miracles seem to happen, leaving the person permanently and unpredictably changed. So we start with this odd concept and take three adolescents, kids at an age where they're beginning to question what they've always believed, to ask how the world works. Three kids with three different problems, whose interests are starting to diverge. They're suddenly at odds, each feeling as if what they're looking at is the most important, feeling let down by the others. While the magic is a vital element of the plot it isn't actually the central theme. It's a tool to ask us to consider how we interact with and treat each other. The message is a nit heavy handed but the plot is engaging and the characters have a reasonable amount of depth.

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Ever year someone in the small town of Glimmer Creek experiences a Miracle. Future film director Rosie wants to make a documentary about why. During this book Rosie must take a closer look at the relationships she has with the people in her life. Whether that is her friends who might be out growing her, her mother who may be starting to date, her father she has never met, or the many small town neighbors who feel as if they are apart of her family. A successful small town story makes you want to start packing. Rosie's view from behind the camera and the smaller story of a treasure hunt paired with the recipes at the end does just that. This book has it all.

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Rosie, with her movie-making obsession and determination to solve the mystery of the random Miracles that happen in Glimmer Creek, will warm the hearts of readers in grades 4-7. Themes of working hard to make dreams come true plus the value of friendship and family leap off the pages as Rosie, Cam and Henry navigate the sometimes turbulent waters of 7th grade and support each other as Rosie searches for her father, Henry worries about his mother and her fight against cancer, and Cam tries to fit in with her new soccer teammates. Author Stacy Hackney develops a whole town full of unique personalities and a set of reasonable complications that are all resolved, but not always perfectly. “Forever Glimmer Creek” is free of profanity, violence, and sexual content is is recommended for library patrons who enjoy realistic, feel-good stories similar to those written by Barbara O’Connor or Joan Bauer.

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Forever Glimmer Creek is beautifully written. I loved the message of believing in miracles, yet finding the power of miracles was really within yourself at all times. The characters in this story are relatable and real. It is one that a story that I would love to utilize in my classroom.

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Good choice for middle-grade readers who've enjoyed magical realism like Keith Calabrese's "A Drop of Hope" or Cassie Beasley's "Tumble & Blue."

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I enjoyed the story with the small-town feel and the little something extra in terms of magical realism. Although I felt there was a lot going on, the author was able to keep all the plot points moving forward and come to a successful ending as well. And honestly, any book that includes recipes at the end is so much fun!

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This is an engrossing and lyrical story of family, hope, and big dreams. It would pair well with The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane for their similar themes. Students who enjoy contemporary fiction will certainly love reading this book. The recipe section at the end is a phenomenal addition that enriches the reading experience.

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I received this ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Forever Glimmer Creek tells the story of Rosie, an aspiring film maker who has an idea to create a documentary about the town’s miracles. This book was just sort of okay for me. It didn’t grab me or move as quickly as I would have liked.

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