Quintessence is such a wonderful book full of magic realism with a positive message that everyone has a bit of magic inside. And that bit of magic is quintessence. I loved the dynamics between the children, each having their unique strengths and supporting each other's weaknesses to save the fallen star. (I was reminded of the Mysterious Benedict Society kids). Highly recommend!

Quintessence is a magical Middle Grade novel about a young girl named Alma. She and her family have recently moved to a new town, and the transition has given Alma feelings of anxiety and isolation. Until, that is, she receives a flyer for a new astronomy club in her school. While she and her new friends attempt to save a fallen star, they also make important discoveries about being true to yourself and finding your “quintessence”.

This adventure story has inspirational themes about learning to love yourself and open up to new experiences. The depiction of Alma’s anxiety felt real and heartbreaking. It is important representation for younger readers who might have similar feelings and not know how to express them. I loved the diversity of the characters, and how they related to their elemental forms. The idea of “quintessence” inside each of us that makes us who we are is really heartwarming. I think we can all use the reminder to do things and surround ourselves with people who grow our inner light! The astronomy/magical realism aspect of the story was interesting, but I would have liked more information about fallen stars and the Shopkeeper character. I think this book will appeal to readers of all ages who are looking for a sweet adventure story with a beautiful message.

Thank you to NetGalley for this free review copy in exchange for an honest review!

I liked several aspects of Quintessence. The surprising friendships between Alma, Shirin, Hugh, and another character that we don't even see coming were very sweet. I also liked how Alma learned that appearances could be deceiving. Alma wrote Shirin off as one of the "popular" girls, but quickly realized that there was much more to Shirin than just sitting with the cool kids at lunch. And as Alma was learning this, the reader learns it too. The overall story was good, although there was a lot going on, and I didn't feel that the explanations and exposition were always sufficient to help the reader truly understand. I also liked that Alma was a main character with anxiety, but I felt that could have been done a little better. It bothered me that Alma's panic attacks were at first labeled as "episodes". I gathered that was what was happening, but I wish the actual term had been used sooner. I also did not like how much Alma was lying -- to her friends, her parents, her doctor. It was a little disturbing. Fortunately, Alma finally realizes that telling the truth is much better. I am glad it was made obvious that Alma learned that lesson. I look forward to adding this book to my library when it is published.

Wow, this book has SO much to love! I loved Jess Redman's book The Miraculous, and could not wait to read this new book - I was not one bit disappointed. Quintessence is a friendship adventure, a redemption story, a book about anxiety, opportunities, embracing our uniqueness, taking risks, making things right, and learning how to truly love one another. The characters are fascinating and appealing, and each has an important arc that fits into the big picture through twists and turns. It is suspenseful, emotional, and magical. Perfect for the whole range of middle grade readers., Jess has a writing style that is both accessible to the younger end of middle grade (8-10 year olds) but still compelling for 10-12 year olds.
I will definitely be adding this book to my classroom library, and recommending it for our school library. Thank you to #NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital ARC of this book!

This book is full of science and magic with strong themes of friendship and self-discovery. Highly recommended to middle grade readers. I see this being used in an astronomy unit of study, too.

Quintessence is an imaginative and magical journey in novel form that captured my interest from the summary. Since Alma has moved to Four Points 3 months ago, she has not only been having panic attacks, she has been feeling that part of herself, which she calls her "Alma-ness" is missing. One day, she meets an odd old man who gives her a telescope-like device called a quintescope. That night, she sees what she thinks is a falling star with what seems to be a child in it, land behind her house. Alma, along with the help of some friends she makes along the way, attempt to Find the Elements, Grow the Light and Save the Starling. This is a wonderful story I definitely will recommend to students who love stories about friendship and finding yourself with a little bit of magical help.

Alma is struggling to adjust to a new town after a move when a special telescope, some new friends, and a fallen star lead her to a magical adventure that may be just what she needs.

There is much to like about this book. Alma is a likable and relatable main character, and her struggle with anxiety is well-written in a way that’s accessible to middle grade readers. I also really enjoyed the genuine feel of the relationships between characters.

Unfortunately, the plot moves quite slowly and tends to drag in spots. For the determined reader, it is worth it to stay with the story, but I think that some young readers may not be willing to stick it out.

Quintessence was an absolutely masterpiece. Jess Redman hit this one out of the park. As I was reading this story, I found myself in complete awe of the world Jess Redman created in this story. How she ever thought of the elementals and saving a star is beyond me. I would love to just sit and chat with Jess Redman someday on the process she went through to write this novel. In my opinion, it should be in the running for many awards this year... including the Newberry.

Quintessence by Jess Redman explores the life of 12 year old Alma who has moved to a new town and feels lost and alone. Not wanting to let her parents know how unhappy she is, she doesn't tell them about the panic attacks she is having and lets them think she is making friends and fitting in. This book is great for young people dealing with their own anxiety and panic attacks. It will hopefully help them see themselves and know that they aren't alone and you can conquer anything with a few friends working together. Alma sees a falling star through a type of telescope and asks members of the Astronomy club to help her find a rescue this fallen Starling. Working together the new friends help not just the fallen Staring but also themselves along the way

Thanks Net Galley for the advanced copy for review.

Alma has just moved to the town of Four Points, a small town that has a mystery in a place called "The Fifth Point". Even the names of these places had me intrigued. Alma struggles with panic attacks and not fitting in at a new place. While these types of problems are the center of many middle grade stories (as they should be), Quintessence brings a unique story and mystery surrounding them. I was rooting for Alma to save the starling and connect with something bigger than herself, while also hooked on the outcome of her relationship with her family.

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

I loved Miraculous, and was excited to read Jess Redman’s Quintessence, a book I’ve heard so much about. Alma is new to Four Points and is struggling to fit in. She’s been having panic attacks and can’t seem to “acclimate” the way her parents keep hoping she will. When she happens upon an open door at the Fifth Point, she heads in and finds a strange looking telescope. That telescope turns out to be a Quintescope and sets Alma on the adventure of a lifetime.

There was a lot in this book that readers will like. Alma’s adventure, the unexpected trio of friends who join her, and the mix of science and fantasy that weave this tale will be exciting for many middle grade readers. For me, unfortunately, it just moved too slowly. I wasn’t as engaged as I wished I was, and found myself pushing through some pages.

Jess Redman delivers another touching and engaging book that young readers who are fans of quieter books will thoroughly enjoy. Redman explores the issue of anxiety in a real and age-appropriate manner. Lyrical and moving, I recommend this book.

Journeying with Alma as she embarks on a big adventure in a new town keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. Searching for quintessence, the essence that makes each of us unique, Alma begins to discover life truths among unlikely friends. As she continues on an adventure she feels compelled to complete, Alma realizes that by trusting herself and those who love her, she can accomplish impossible goals! While searching for the classical elements needed to accomplish their task, this group of unlikely friends teach each other important truths of friendship and surviving middle school.

If your middle-schooler prefers fiction laced with adventure and science, this is the book. Spread throughout the pages are the typical middle school perils with a sprinkle of fantasy. Sprinkled throughout the book are quirky characters, beautiful imagery, and scientific antidotes. More importantly, the style and topic of the book mimic the most cool concepts of the day: superpowers and quartets of unlikely heroes. My daughter and her friends are going to Love this book!

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

This book kept me wanting more, wanting to not put it down. It was a beautiful story of friendship and family. The character building was done extremely well, I could almost feel what the characters were experiencing. The book brought four very different kids together and built a friendship that wasn’t perfect but that was realistic. The subject was so complicated but was told in such a way that was completely relatable.

This book is definitely a five star for me. It will stay with me for a long time.

Twelve-year old Alma has moved to a new town. Unhappy, friendless, and experiencing panic attacks, she discovers a quintescope in an old shop in the center of town. While looking through the quintescope one night, she sees a star fall--and she knows that it is up to her to save it.

This book certainly has some strong aspects. The idea of the plot is creative and interesting, and watching the friendship emerge between the four children is very satisfying. The idea of finding the four elements and having to do so by engaging in teamwork also adds to the strength of the work.

While I would not recommend this book for reluctant readers, I would suggest it as a title for avid readers who enjoy fantasy and for those who enjoy Trenton Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Quintessence by Jess Redman

Summary

Alma Lucas has anxiety. She doesn’t talk to people about her troubles with anxiety; in fact she doesn’t really talk to people at all. Her parents often ask her to put herself out there and make friends so they are quite pleased when she finds a flyer for an astronomy club and decides to attend.

Alma finds herself chasing after fallen stars, and learning about the world around her with her three new friends.

Thoughts

This was a very thoughtful novel that dealt with anxiety in children. I think Redman created something beautiful for children and adults alike. She gives children the power to deal with their own anxiety, and provides adults with some clarity about anxiety in children. She did all of this while creating a beautiful fairy tale like story.

Even as an adult I felt a connection to these characters. They are all so imperfect and human. Alma secretly struggles with panic attacks and anxiety for fear of being a disappointment to her parents who believe she's gotten better since their move to a new town. She is having a hard time acclimating and making friends until a poster draws her attention. She joins the Astronomy Club and meets some new people. Together they embark on a journey to save a fallen Starling. They are guided by the mysterious shopkeeper of the Fifth Point, who helps them all realize their true spirits and their irrefutable human need for community and understanding. Alma is able to embrace her true nature and accept that her parents have never been disappointed by her, they simply were trying their best to help her.

E ARC provided by Netgalley



Alma and her family have moved to Four Points for her parents' work as real estate lawyers. She has always struggled to make friends and feel comfortable at school, but the moved has upended her so much that she has started to have increasingly common panic attacks. After the first one, she has hidden them from her parents, who are always trying to be helpful and encourage her to get out and try new things. When she gets a mysterious note, she discovers a Astronomy Club at school attended by only Shirin and Hugo, and also gets a "quintescope" from the oddly mystical Five Points Shop and the Shopkeeper, who gives her the mission "Find the Elements. Grow the Light. Save the Starling." Shirin and Hugo help her figure out how to go about doing this, and help her a little in dealing with school. Dustin, a dysfunctional but somewhat misunderstood bully, doesn't at first but is somewhat useful in the end. Will Alma be able to get the elements gathered in time to save the Starling, and will she also beableto handle middle school and manage her anxiety?

Strengths: This was on trend in the treatment of a tween with an anxiety disorder. The parents are fairly, although not entirely, aware of this, and both supportive. Near the end, they do suggest a therapist. Shirin and Hugo are good friends to Alma and help her with her quest, even though it is one that is hard to believe. The quest is well developed and aidedby the magical ShopKeeper.

Weaknesses: This type of magical realism is a hard sell with my readers, who like their problem novels, but prefer their magic to be more fun.

What I really think: I revisited this because so many people enjoyed it, and I can see it being popular with an appreciative audience. Alma's story has an Ingrid Law, Wendy Mass, and Natalie Lloyd vibe as does this author's The Miraculous. This is also somewhat similarto Haydu's Eventown or Staniszewski's The Wonder of Wildflowers.

"Find the Elements. Grow the Light. Save the Starling."

With these words, middle-grade author Jess Redman begins to take us on our journey with 12-year-old Alma, who is more of a hero than she can possibly realize and who instantly becomes a young girl whom you want to follow for the rest of her life.

When her parents bought a small law practice in the town of Four Points, Alma's stable and joy-filled life was upended and the instability she felt emotionally as she struggled to adapt physically and emotionally became expressed as "episodes" of panic, dread, negative self-talk, and increased isolation. After a few weeks, she convinces herself, and mostly her parents, that these episodes are gone.

She knows the truth. Alma is losing her Alma-ness and doesn't know how to get it back.

The fact that I sit here having written that last sentence with a tear in my eye likely gives you some indication of just how emotionally honest I found "Quintessence" to be, a sublimely written emotional and physical adventure that elicits laughter and tears, memories and reflection.

One day, a still struggling Alma ventures into the mysterious shop at the end of Four Points called The Fifth Point, a rambly and shambly junk shop of sorts where the Shop Keeper loans her a kinda sorta telescope, okay it's a quintescope, and through that quintescope she spies late one night a falling star that, upon landing, presents itself as a rather magical looking child who appears lost and searching for home.

Alma understands that feeling.

Man, I'm crying again.

Determined to somehow help this lost Starling, Alma fearfully steps into her school's Astronomy Club where she meets those who will become essential to her journey - a delightful and seemingly always happy Shirin and a smart and seemingly always smart Hugo.

Originally scheduled for a May release, "Quintessence" has been pushed back to July 28, 2020 in a move that, at least hopefully, frees it from the the challenge of being released amidst the anxiety-inducing pandemic currently impacting daily life. It's a move that one hopes will bring the attention deserved to this delightful, intelligent, and incredibly entertaining novel from Jess Redman.

A therapist who returned to her childhood love of writing with her first middle-grade novel "The Miraculous," Redman writes with a perfect weaving together of clinical insight and a child's eye view of the world that surrounds them.

Redman doesn't show her cards early in "Quintessence," instead allowing us to experience the journey of a 12-year-old who has experiences for which she has no words. By not frivolously tossing in clinical language, Redman also allows us to experience the wonderfulness of Alma and the building of the adventure about to unfold. "Quintessence" may tackle a serious subject, but it does so in a way that is childlike and filled with a sense of wonder and awe at the humanity of all of us and the ways in which we are inherently and irrevocably connected.

Alma is a joy, though for much of "Quintessence" she feels more like an "other." She doesn't feel like Alma and Redman wonderfully captures how that feels for a child. She also wonderfully captures Alma's parents, well-meaning but occasionally misguided in their parenting. With tremendous wisdom, Redman doesn't paint a story of a young child who suddenly becomes everything she needs but instead paints a story of a child who suddenly becomes aware that we all need each other.

The same is true for Hugo and Shirin, delightful children with human foibles and little imperfections in their own lives. "Quintessence" captures the brilliance of their strengths and weaknesses and how they become healthier and happier human beings when they work together.

Dustin, as well, is a bit of a mystery in the book. A bully of sorts with conflicted relationships with all three of our main characters, there's little doubt early on where his story arc will go but it's still a joy watching it unfold naturally and honestly.

And so it is.

"Quintessence" is a magical reading experience that possesses the vulnerable humanity of a child and the magic of the world in which these children live. It tackles serious subject matter, but it does so in a way that is developmentally appropriate, accessible, incredibly entertaining, and destined to create opportunities for conversation and reflection. Redman has constructed a world of creativity and vivid imagination, a celebration of humanity, friendship, the universe, and the myriad of ways in which our lives are better when we are together.

Scheduled for a July 28th release, "Quintessence" will be a valuable read for every middle-grade reader and it would be beneficial for adults to read so that they can answer questions and initiate valuable opportunities for honest conversations. Beyond the obvious value of its subject matter, "Quintessence" is simply a truly enjoyable book with characters you will love and appreciate, a story with which it's easy to relate, and an adventure that will inspire.

The characters are multi-dimensional, the setting is just magical enough, and the plot keeps the reader engaged. As Alma searches for her lost Alma-ness, she discovers that the search for self is part of being human. Recommended for those who enjoyed Snicker of Magic or The Wishing Tree.