Race for the Ruby Turtle

September 1, 2023
A boy with ADHD explores nature and himself. Eleven-year-old Jake Rizzi just wants to be seen as "normal"; he blames his brain for leading him into trouble and making him do things that annoy his peers and even his own parents. Case in point: He's stuck spending a week in rural Oregon with an aunt he barely knows while his parents go on vacation. Jake's reluctance changes as he learns about the town's annual festival, during which locals search for a fabled turtle. But news of this possibly undiscovered species has spread. Although Aunt Hettle insists to Jake that it's only folklore, the fame-hungry convene, sure that the Ruby-Backed Turtle is indeed real--just as Jake discovers is the case. Keeping its existence secret is critical to protecting the rare creature from a poacher and others with ill intentions. Readers will keep turning pages to find out how Jake and new friend Mia will foil the caricatured villains. Along the way, Bramucci packs in teachable moments around digital literacy, mindfulness, and ecological interdependence, along with the message that "the only way to protect the natural world is to love it." Jake's inner monologue elucidates the challenges and benefits of ADHD as well as practical coping strategies. Whether or not readers share Jake's diagnosis, they'll empathize with his insecurities. Jake and his family present white; Mia is Black, and names of secondary characters indicate some ethnic diversity. A wild romp that champions making space for vulnerable creatures and each other. (Adventure. 8-11)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2023
Grades 5-7 In a mix of personal and ecological issues, Bramucci places 11-year-old Jake, weighed down by his ADHD diagnosis, and his formidable great-aunt between a rare turtle and several avid specimen collectors. A mention of a red-shelled turtle in an old, locally published miscellany of reminiscences and folktales has gone viral, and so hardly has Jake been dropped off at his distant great-aunt Hettle's than the small Oregon town of Nehalem sees a rush of eager-to-believe cryptid hunters--plus one scary professional poacher. The efforts of Jake and Hettle, joined by a local mycologist's strong-minded daughter, Mae, to discourage the searchers lead to some reckless acts and suspenseful encounters, but Jake's inner struggles both to see past his disability and to manage dreams of finding the elusive creature (if it even exists) create equally compelling conflicts. At least one of those conflicts is resolved by the end, and in a comment by Hettle, the author also leaves readers with the priceless insight that "the only way to protect the natural world is to love it."

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 24, 2023

Gr 4-6-Eleven-year-old Jake Rizzi is stuck spending time in rural Oregon with his great-aunt Hettle, whom he barely knows, while his parents go on vacation. They say they are going to a workshop, but Jake is sure it's just an opportunity to get a break from him and his ADHD. The "rainiest town in the state," where Jake will be staying, is having their annual Nehalem Blackberry Moon Festival, based on a myth about a turtle with a ruby-colored shell. This year, it's more than the usual locals searching for the turtle-news of the animal has spread and strangers from all over, including a dishonest animal poacher and twin zoology students from Sweden, have hopes of being the first one to spot it. Aunt Hettle keeps insisting that the story is local folklore, but as strangers are getting closer to the truth, Jake, his new friend Mia, and dog Singer are racing to protect this potential rare creature and the land where his aunt resides. Readers will empathize with Jake as they learn how his brain works and the coping strategies he uses to overcome his challenges. A second narrator's sections, giving a voice to one unwelcome turtle hunter, are noted with a change in the appearance of the page background and font. VERDICT Readers will keep enthusiastically turning pages to continue this heartfelt adventure about nature conservation.-Sarah Polace

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