THE SECRETS OF UNDERHILL

Eleven-year-old Nick Sixsmith and her mother, Theo, pause their itinerant lives as arborists to return to Mistwood, the home of the ancient, magical ironwood trees. Frustrated by their inability to determine the cause of a rapidly spreading blight, Theo returns to the home she abandoned before Nick’s birth to look for clues in the ancestral Heart Grove. Nick and her 12-year-old cousin, Oliver, along with their friend Lizard, become enmeshed in disturbing mysteries surrounding the Forestry Company’s new mill. Soon, they must fight to protect not only these magnificent trees, but also the whole city. Aided by the maligned inhabitants of Underhill, including Lizard, whose underground homes in the caves formed by the roots of the ironwood trees are threatened, the extended Sixsmith family goes to battle, hoping to prevent an environmental and social disaster brought about by unmitigated avarice. This warmhearted fantasy set in a rich world of magical botany and strong family bonds will appeal to newer fantasy fans; more experienced readers may find the character development predictable and yearn for greater emotional depth and complexity, livelier dialogue, and more showing rather than telling in the narration. Fortunately, Nick is a likable protagonist, the plot is well paced, and the timely messages come across without too much heavy-handedness. Most main characters are cued white; Oliver has light-brown skin.