Quintessence Review

Hello everyone! We've made it to Level 8 in 2020 and I'm looking forward to sharing my upcoming reads, reviews, and exciting news within the next few days.

To kick off August, we're featuring Quintessence by Jess Redman. This was such a charming story for middle grade readers that brought the nostalgia of The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy. Our twelve-year-old protagonist, Alma, is searching for a special kind of magic that comes from finding your place in this world. When her parents uproot her to Four Points, Alma experiences anxiety and isolation-that many youths can relate with- and tries to regain her sense of self. During a day of exploration, Alma visits The Fifth Point, where the shop keeper allows her to borrow a quintescope to view the stars. That night, she sees a falling star that takes the form of a child. She soon embarks on a quest to save the starling and finds that friendship, truth, and compassion are the elements that can change the fate of the stars themselves.

About the Book

Title: QUINTESSENCE

Author: Jess Redman

Pub. Date: July 28, 2020

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 384

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Three months ago, twelve-year-old Alma moved to the town of Four Points. Her panic attacks started a week later, and they haven’t stopped—even though she told her parents that they did. Every day she feels less and less like herself.

Then Alma meets the ShopKeeper in the town's junk shop, The Fifth Point. The ShopKeeper gives her a telescope and this message:

Find the Elements.

Grow the Light.

Save the Starling.

That night, Alma watches as a star—a star that looks like a child—falls from the sky and into her backyard. Alma knows what it’s like to be lost and afraid, to long for home, and with the help of some unlikely new friends from the Astronomy Club, she sets out on a quest that will take a little bit of astronomy, a little bit of alchemy, and her whole self.

QUINTESSENCE is a stunning story of friendship, self-discovery, interconnectedness, and the inexplicable elements that make you you.

Book Trailer

About Jess

Jess Redman is a therapist and author of books for young readers with FSG/Macmillan. Her first book, THE MIRACULOUS, was a Bank Street Best Children's Book of 2019, an Amazon Best Book of 2019, and was called "layered, engaging, and emotionally true" in a Kirkus starred review. Her second book, QUINTESSENCE, releases on July 28th. The book was featured in OwlCrate Jr.’s subscription box and was described as “a fanciful adventure with a rich emotional core and a fairy tale” by Publishers Weekly. Her third book, THE ADVENTURE IS NOW, is scheduled for publication in May 2021. Redman currently lives in Florida with her husband, two young children, an old cat named SoulPie, and a fish named Annie.