The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair

Gwyn’s family has moved from New York City to the middle of nowhere — the small town of Crow, Iowa. It’s tough enough moving when you are ten, but to be doing it because your mother has suffered a traumatic brain injury and it’s a last-ditch effort to bring her memory back by being in her hometown and everyone there knows the whole story . . . well, it doesn’t get much tougher. Gwyn is busy raising her little sister, Bitty, practically by herself since her father is so distracted trying to get Gwyn’s mother better. When an old man who lives nearby mysteriously disappears, Gwyn, a future lawyer, makes it her job to solve the case, causing all kinds of problems for lots of people.

Author Amy Makechnie’s debut novel is rich and complex, filled with extraordinary characters and gorgeous writing. This is a book that will challenge young readers to examine their own thinking about many things and to open their hearts and minds to those who are different from them. There is a lot of truth and honesty about the important things in life in this lovely book. It deserves readership well beyond its targeted middle-grade audience.