Twists and Turns

Janet McDonald. Frances Foster Books, $16 (135pp) ISBN 978-0-374-39955-9

Popular story lines continue in new novels this summer and fall. As in her previous novels, Chill Wind and Spellbound, Janet McDonald brings the dreams and personal battles of the Hillbrook Houses residents to life with Twists and Turns. This time, she focuses on Keeba and Teesha, two sisters who have just graduated from high school and have no solid plans for the future. When the girls decide to open a hair-braiding business, they discover that making a profit is more difficult than they had expected. The author offers an even balance of hardship and humor as the determined teens combat their many obstacles.

Featured Children's Reviews

Freya Finch

A fledgling teen Valkyrie tries to avert Ragnarök in Finch’s spirited, Norse mythology–inspired debut. Most assume Bryn Martel, her older sisters Prima and Reagan, and their Continue reading »

Deke Moulton

White-cued Benji Zeb—on the cusp of making his bar mitzvah—is struggling to keep many secrets as well as live up to the expectations of his kibbutz family. His first secret—he Continue reading »

Kristin O'Donnell Tubb

Contemporary Charleston, S.C., provides the backdrop for this cunning mystery by Tubb (Luna Howls at the Moon), in which a grieving tween’s often laugh-aloud misadventures in Continue reading »

Katherine Rundell

Writing in the tradition of rumbustious British children’s classics, Rundell (One Christmas Wish) introduces Mink, a headstrong city-dwelling child who “did not believe in Continue reading »