Mystery on Magnolia Circle

In this swiftly paced adventure inspired by Rear Window, active, overachieving, pale-skinned 10-year-old Ivy Crowden breaks her leg on the last day of fourth grade. Stuck in a full leg cast until August, Ivy must cancel her summer plans. “Think of this experience as an adventure. Capture the wisdom with paper and pen,” her doctor advises. These lessons close every chapter (“What I learned from that: It’s important to feel empowered so you don’t feel like a victim”), paired with boldly outlined b&w illustrations by Krampien that amplify atmosphere. Now mostly stuck at home, Ivy sits in front of her window, noticing mysterious events on her cul-de-sac, Magnolia Circle in St. Louis— including spying her redheaded white classmate, Melvin Moss, who disappeared before they started their Trojan War report. When a neighbor is robbed, Ivy and her best friend and neighbor Teddy Samuelson, who is Black, along with Ivy’s rescue sheepdog, set out to solve the case, help an agoraphobic neighbor, and rescue a pet. Klise’s (Don’t Check Out This Book!) diction captures age-appropriate cadence while drawing sympathetic characters in this multi-mystery novel. Ages 8–12. (Aug.)

Correction: A previous version of this review misstated the book's title.