Evie Brooks Is Marooned in Manhattan

Twelve-year-old Evie’s mother has died, giving custody of Evie to an uncle she barely knows in New York City. Evie is loathe to leave her home in Dublin, so she and Uncle Scott strike a bargain that Evie will spend the summer in New York and then decide if she wants to stay or return to Ireland to live with her godmother. This hook, along with a prologue that finds Evie stuck in a building’s trash chute after escaping a security guard, lend structure to an otherwise delightfully anecdotal plot that shifts between Evie’s adjustment to Manhattan (including her helping out at her uncle’s veterinary practice and her crush on an older boy) and flashbacks to her life in Ireland. Newcomer Agnew gives Evie an engaging balance of sarcasm, vulnerability, and humor, and the story’s secondary characters are equally well-developed and entertaining, save for her uncle’s girlfriend, Leela, who is a bit too callous to be believed. The cliffhanger ends the story on a gripping note, but readers would be clamoring for another Evie book even without one. Ages 9–up. (Nov.)