Molly & Pim and the Millions of Stars

Both down-to-earth and ethereal, Murray’s (How to Make a Bird) novel introduces 10-year-old Molly, who lives with her mother in a house that “feel[s] like a Gypsy caravan” inside and has “not one proper corner or straight line.” Molly conceals the “not-quite-normal” parts of her life from her practical best friend, Ellen, including her “muddled and dreaming” Mama’s preoccupations with herbs, poetry, and other projects. So when Mama concocts a potion intended to grow a tree to block them from their horrid neighbors—but instead turns into a tree herself—Molly hides this turn of events from Ellen. Instead, she confides in Pim, a reclusive boy who believes in the interconnectedness of all living things, revealing that her sentient “Mama tree” rearranges its branches to create a bed for her and bears mysterious fruit to feed her. Murray’s gentle, image-rich narrative takes on gripping urgency as Molly and Pim try to protect the tree from her neighbors’ chainsaw. Tinged with fantasy, this is a thoughtful exploration of difference, as well as the ties between friends, parents and children, and humans and nature. Ages 8–12. (Jan.)