Quintessence

"A wildly imaginative tale full of wonder and hope that is grounded in our everyday world and the very real problems that today's children face." ―Megan Frazer Blakemore, author of the Frankie Sparks series

A NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book
A Bank Street Best Book of the Year

Quintessence is an extraordinary story from Jess Redman about friendship, self-discovery, interconnectedness, and the inexplicable elements that make you you.

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's told her parents that they have. She's homesick and friendless and every day she feels less and less like herself.

But one day she finds a telescope in the town's junk shop, and through its lens, she watches a star—a star that looks like a child—fall from the sky and into her backyard. Alma knows what it's like to be lost and afraid, to long for home, and she knows that it's up to her to save the star. And so, with the help of some unlikely new friends from Astronomy Club, she sets out on a quest that will take a little bit of science, a little bit of magic, and her whole self.

This title has Common Core connections.

"A magical, wondrous book . . . The story is beautifully written and gave me chills almost constantly―with that magic-just-around-the-corner feeling." ―Gillian McDunn, award-winning author of When Sea Becomes Sky

"A fanciful adventure with a rich emotional core and a fairy tale flair . . . a clever, entertaining story with its own distinct identity." ―Publishers Weekly