The Secret of Honeycake

Change is difficult for the protagonist of this endearing tale by Fusco (Tending to Grace), set in 1930. Following her mother’s death and her older sister Bronte falling ill, 11-year-old Hurricane and her Irish setter Brody-Bear are uprooted from Hurricane’s beloved seaside home where she grew up with her mama and late Army lieutenant father to live with her widowed great-aunt Claire. As a quiet girl who loves to write, life in the city is very different. But not everything is negative. She soon meets kindly Mr. Keats, a war veteran who does all manner of work for Aunt Claire and who helps Hurricane befriend the scraggly silver stray cat in the basement. Hurricane also encounters Theo, a young fish seller roaming the streets with his dog. This swiftly paced novel is filled with strong life lessons about embracing change, using writing as a coping mechanism, and learning how to find one’s voice. Short chapters and frank text entreat to young readers and challenges them to forge their own paths. The main characters read as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. (Jan.)