05/01/2023
Emma Murry has lived all 13 years of her life in Black Mountain, North Carolina, a vibrant multi-ethnic community with strong Cherokee roots, ample green space, and an internationally acclaimed monarch butterfly garden. (That’s not to mention the local werewolf.) But now all that is in danger, because movie star Chester Scott is looking to build a ski resort. Emma’s crush on Chester’s son, skateboarding social-media star Jeb, threatens to tear her away from helping her best friend Sophie protect the butterflies, but when Emma’s father is suspected of sending Chester death threats, it’s up to Emma to find a way to save her town, her father, the butterflies, her friendship, her crush... and solve that pesky werewolf mystery.
Writing teenagers who sound like teenagers is hard, but Laxton, drawing on her teaching experience, achieves this with aplomb. It’s easy to cringe along with Emma when she gets tongue-tied in front of her crush, worries if she’s a good enough friend, or faces her nerves over public speaking. She’s alive on the page, as is Black Mountain itself, painted in vivid detail like local soda names and a raucous town hall meeting. Less compelling is the local werewolf, who, despite some moments of convincing suspense, never proves as engaging as the depiction of a battle involving zoning laws, bite-sized celebrity environmentalism, and the real plight facing those butterflies.
As the title suggests, themes of change form the heart of the book, and any metamorphosis is going to be a bit messy. But the supernatural mystery, which involves elements of Aztec culture, and the vibrant coming-of-age drama seem at odds, with everyday passages about friendships, skateboarding, and Emma’s art journal proving the novel’s most urgent. While the narrative may at times be muddied, the richness of Black Mountain is more than worth stopping and taking a closer look.
Takeaway: An engaging novel of youthful activism, friendship, and a small town’s werewolf.
Comparable Titles: Celia C. Perez’s Strange Birds, David A. Adler’s Cam Jansen mysteries.
Production grades Cover: B+ Design and typography: A Illustrations: A Editing: B Marketing copy: A-
2023-02-26
In this debut middle-grade novel, a teenage girl fights an environmentally destructive development in her hometown, where a werewolf roams.
Thirteen-year-old Emma Murry loves nature and animals. She and her best friend, Sophie, are proud members of their middle school’s Environmental Club in Black Mountain, North Carolina, a place renowned for its monarch butterfly population. So they, like other locals, are horrified by the news that a ski resort is in the works. Its environmental impact will be devastating, starting with tearing down the community’s monarch butterfly garden. Some Black Mountain residents support the development, seeing it as an economic boost. The girls brainstorm ways to protest, and even act on some of them, before learning that action movie star of yesteryear Chester Scott is the one planning the resort; Emma’s been crushing on Chester’s teen son Jeb via Instagram. She forces herself to look past Jeb’s indisputable cuteness and sells him on Black Mountain’s natural beauty, hoping the boy can change his father’s mind. But when they discover a bizarre set of paw prints, Emma and Jeb become convinced that there’s a werewolf on the loose. Identifying the lycanthrope gives Emma another great excuse to spend time with Jeb and, while she’s at it, try to scare the resort developers away. There’s not much time, as the zoning meeting to greenlight the project takes place in only a week. It’s an uphill battle for Emma, but she knows her beloved environment is worth it.Rebecca Laxton delivers a diverting, environment-friendly mystery. The werewolf subplot focuses more on investigation than scares; Emma first has to prove that a werewolf even exists before identifying its human counterpart. Further engaging plot threads emerge from the narrative as well, including a death threat against Chester, a wrongfully accused townsperson, and a character who turns up missing in the final act. Emma is an appealing young hero who shares a subtle romance with Jeb. She quickly sees him as more than a social media idol; the two connect over their love of skateboarding and their utter belief in the existence of a legendary shape-shifting creature. At the same time, there’s potential trouble between Emma and Sophie. Sophie doesn’t hide her animosity toward Jeb, and her perpetual negativity spoils some of the book’s lightheartedness. Descriptions are colorful; Emma, a painter, equates people’s traits with soothing hues (e.g., “buttery yellow”). Rebecca Laxton’s prose, meanwhile, engages multiple senses: “At lunchtime, the crowd flocked to the restaurants. The street smelled like hot bread, tangy oregano, and warm tomato sauce, making my stomach rumble.” There’s educational value, too, as Emma not only praises nature, but also notes for Jeb (and readers) things that harm the environment. Gracie Laxton’s black-and-white minimalist artwork prefaces each chapter. These unembellished illustrations and silhouettes leave lasting impressions of such things as a howling wolf and a wheels-up skateboard.
A smart, riveting environmental tale with a laudable adolescent cast.
