Quintessence Book Review

This has been a summer! I’ve been busy searching for a school librarian position. Anybody who has ever been job hunting knows that it takes a lot out of you. I am constantly nervous for the past month as I hop from interview to interview. I have not yet found the right position for me.

I have however read several REALLY amazing books lately! Quintessence is one of them! I gave it a 5 star review on Good reads, which I rarely do.

Quintessence

by Jess Redman
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux 
Release Date: July 28, 2020

Alma moved 3 months ago and has had trouble adjusting. She’s been having anxiety attacks and doesn’t really feel like herself.

She finds a telescope and through it sees a star fall. This is not a normal star though; it looks like a girl. Alma joins an astronomy club to learn more about this. She and her new friends begin a journey of self discovery and healing like none I’ve ever read.

The Writing

The story begins with a description of Four Points (Name of the City) and the shop at the center of town called the Fifth Point–a shop that never sold anything. So already we begin asking ourselves a million questions about the quirky little shop at the center of Four Points.

Alma talks in the story about feeling like herself, what she calls her Alma-ness. It makes her sound young and small, which worked well for this book. Throughout the book you can see her change bit by bit in a very realistic way.

The other characters in the story are fun and interesting. Well crafted with their own back stories and unique motivations for being there.

I am not going to spoil the ending, but it was very well done and included something that surprised me (which is uncommon).

Who Will Like This Book?

As a person with anxiety, I could really identify with Alma. This would be a good book for a child with anxiety, a child whose friend has anxiety, or anybody! Honestly, it is very like that we will all know somebody who struggles with anxiety, so it really is a good book for everyone to gain empathy and understanding of this disorder.

A child who likes astronomy would also like this, although obviously a star girl falling from the sky is not scientifically accurate. It is still fun and there are astronomy tidbits to glean in here.

I highly recommend this story for everyone!