Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Quintessence

Author: Jess Redman

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: anxiety/panic attack rep!

Recommended For...: middle graders, anxiety/panic attack rep

Publication Date: July 28, 2020

Genre: MG Fantasy

Recommended Age: 10+ (some slightly scary moments, isolation, anxiety, panic attacks)

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Pages: 384

Synopsis: 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.

Review: I really liked this book overall. The character development was well done and the book is so sweet. The main character has anxiety, has panic attacks, and feels isolated and it makes you love her and want to hug her. The book also has great world building and the pacing is well done.

The only issue I really had with the book is that the fantasy aspect of the book took a bit for me to understand and get. It’s a little out there, but overall great.

Verdict: A well done novel!