Starred Review ALA Booklist

Starred Review While her mother is in treatment for leukemia, 11-year-old Ella goes to spend the summer with the grandmother she has never known. She is initially intimidated by the formidable relative she calls the GM (for grandmother or, alternately, general major). Despite worries about her mother, Ella falls into the rhythm of life in Albuquerque, befriends a few people, and begins to uncover family secrets. When the theft of a rare book, Kepler's Dream, upsets her grandmother, Ella and a friend attempt to find it and unmask the thief. However, the mystery always takes a backseat to the revelation of characters and relationships in past and present. Punctuated by the occasional letter to her mother, Ella's narration is fresh, distinctive, and full of dry humor. After she discovers that her grandmother is a stickler for correct word usage, Ella privately refers to the GM's home as the GGCF (Good Grammar Correctional Facility). One of the pleasures of the novel is Ella's gradual realization of what she has in common with her initially aloof grandmother. Two strong individuals under stress, they come across as fully rounded characters, and even the minor players here are distinctive, credible, and memorable. An impressive debut for Bell.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

With her mother off on a lunar mission--a last-ditch treatment for leukemia--Ella is left circling like astronaut Michael Collins awaiting the hoped-for reunion. She and her mom have always admired Collins' bravery, and it turns out the analogy has personal resonance. When no one else is able to take Ella, she is sent to stay with GM (Grandmother/General Major), a woman Ella has never met. Or has she? The family history is as difficult to navigate as GM's peacock-ridden, jam-packed hacienda. At "Broken Family Camp," Ella discovers that her grandfather was an astronomer who had been inspired by Kepler's work and met Collins. Grandfather's accidental death many years earlier is still keenly felt by GM, so when their valuable copy of Kepler's Dream is stolen, Ella resolves to find the thief. Every detail is relevant in this tightly plotted debut peopled with an unforgettable cast of characters. More family drama than mystery, the story is told in Ella's voice--compassionate, clever, preadolescent-snarky--allowing Bell to treat weighty issues with a light touch. Ella learns how blame can tear a family apart and how forgiveness and the things of which dreams are made can heal. The credibly realistic resolution leaves Ella firmly grounded with deepened family ties, a new friend and some hard-won horseback-riding skills. Utterly satisfying. (Fiction. 10-14)

Horn Book

While her mother is undergoing cancer treatment, eleven-year-old Ella is spending the summer with her kooky paternal grandmother. An obscure seventeenth-century astronomy book, Kepler's Dream of the Moon, weaves together the stories of Ella, her absentee father, and her grandmother as they creep toward understanding one another. Sensitive storytelling and a keen eye for family nuance enhance this debut.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

With her mother off on a lunar mission--a last-ditch treatment for leukemia--Ella is left circling like astronaut Michael Collins awaiting the hoped-for reunion. She and her mom have always admired Collins' bravery, and it turns out the analogy has personal resonance. When no one else is able to take Ella, she is sent to stay with GM (Grandmother/General Major), a woman Ella has never met. Or has she? The family history is as difficult to navigate as GM's peacock-ridden, jam-packed hacienda. At "Broken Family Camp," Ella discovers that her grandfather was an astronomer who had been inspired by Kepler's work and met Collins. Grandfather's accidental death many years earlier is still keenly felt by GM, so when their valuable copy of Kepler's Dream is stolen, Ella resolves to find the thief. Every detail is relevant in this tightly plotted debut peopled with an unforgettable cast of characters. More family drama than mystery, the story is told in Ella's voice--compassionate, clever, preadolescent-snarky--allowing Bell to treat weighty issues with a light touch. Ella learns how blame can tear a family apart and how forgiveness and the things of which dreams are made can heal. The credibly realistic resolution leaves Ella firmly grounded with deepened family ties, a new friend and some hard-won horseback-riding skills. Utterly satisfying. (Fiction. 10-14)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Writing as Bell, adult novelist Sylvia Brownrigg pens her first children's book, an affecting story about the complexities of family relationships and the value of imagination. Eleven-year-old Ella is spending her summer at what she calls "Broken Family Camp" in Albuquerque with her quirky estranged grandmother, Violet Von Stern (who Ella nicknamesGM, for "General Major"), while her mother undergoes treatment for leukemia. GM's peacock-populated property and sprawling adobe house offer an array of curiosities, but Ella feels trapped in a rigid household where even breakfast means undergoing a grammar drill. When an antiquarian book dealer and his team arrive to digitize GM's prestigious library, her prized astronomy book goes missing. Ella and her new friend Rosie form an amateur detective agency and trace the family's rocky history to recover Kepler's Dream and possibly repair damaged relationships. Ella's touching and dry-witted letters to her mother detail her adventures and lessons learned, lending the story emotional complexity without sentimentality. Despite her circumstances, Ella translates the world with a candid, sassy voice and a surprising amount of wisdom. Ages 10-up. Agent: Geri Thoma, Markson Thoma. (May)

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8 Ella's divorced mother has leukemia and her father is busy guiding trips for his fly-fishing-trip business so the 11-year-old is sent to stay with her grandmother. Neither of her parents gets along well with her father's mother, and Ella hasn't ever met her. She joins eccentric Violet Von Stern at her adobe home and names it The House of Mud. Under the brilliant Albuquerque's night sky, she wishes on stars for her mom's recovery. Her grandmother sternly corrects and lectures her, but Ella's stay is full of interesting surprises. One of grandma's books, Kepler's Dream , has been stolen from her extensive library, and it's worth thousands of dollars. Ella puts her detective skills to work to find the missing book while discovering the importance of family. Bell has created a fascinating cast of eclectic characters who are sure to capture and retain readers' attention. Smart and thoughtful, the story sparkles like Kepler's favorite stars in Bell's debut offering for children Helen Foster James, University of California at San Diego