Publishers Weekly
★ 08/22/2022
Lloyd (Over the Moon) puts character development center stage as a sixth grader who uses a wheelchair enters the spotlight thanks to a school play and small-town magic. After years of being homeschooled due to her osteogenesis imperfecta, 11-year-old birder Olive Martin enrolls in a Tennessee middle school to meet her “future BFF” and prove that she’s “more/ than bones and wheels/ and breakable parts.” Learning of her brittle bones, classmates initially treat Olive “like a stick of dynamite.” When she subsequently hears about a rare hummingbird that grants wishes to seekers who decipher its riddle, an uncomfortable new desire surfaces: “bones like steel.” Teaming up with entrepreneurial classmate Grace Cho, Olive races to crack the riddle while wrestling with thorny self-image questions—soon realizing that other classmates also have “a wish tucked deep in soul.” Olive’s sparkly personality roars to life through assured first-person narration, metaphors rooted in the natural world, and simple yet piercing free verse that distills her self-revelations. An author’s note acknowledges the diversity of disability experiences (“as unique as that individual’s heart or fingerprints”) and connects Lloyd’s lived experiences to Olive’s candid emotional arc. Protagonists cue as white; secondary characters represent multiple skin tones, ethnicities, and conditions. Ages 8–12. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Hummingbird:
* "With eccentric family members, a distinctive setting, and a supernatural element that is strangely believable within this otherwise realistic story, there’s a lot to love here." — Booklist, starred review
* "A must-have for any elementary school or middle school library, this magical and heartening novel will keep readers engaged until the end. A perfect fit for fans of realistic fiction and fantasy alike." — School Library Journal, starred review
* "Olive's sparkly personality roars to life through assured first-person narration, metaphors rooted in the natural world, and simple yet piercing free verse that distills her self-revelations." — Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The energetic first-person narration, interspersed with Olive's thoughts in free verse, is full of bold personality... Her grappling with fears and bold dreams offers a rare depiction of physical disability that is allowed to be both complicated and empowering." — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Over the Moon:
* "Strong themes of friendship and loyalty drive Lloyd's story, which soars under Mallie's heroic lead. Her fiery and bighearted nature pierce the Dust and deceit covering Coal Top, and her physical disability never holds her back. Rather, she bravely proves that questions have power and one’s story can be reshaped." — Booklist, starred review
Praise for A Snicker of Magic:
* "This tale offers all [the] earmarks of fine storytelling, including colorful, eccentric characters, an original, highly likable narrator and a mighty 'spindiddly' plot." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "From every angle, Lloyd's first novel sparkles and radiates warmth . . . Working in the folksy vein of Ingrid Law's Savvy, Lloyd offers a reassuring, homespun story about self-expression and the magic that resides in one's mind and heart." — Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "A delightful and inspiring debut... Mibs Beaumont and her magically gifted clan from Ingrid Law's SAVVY would feel right at home here. As Felicity loves to say, 'Yes...yes...yes!'" — School Library Journal, starred review
School Library Journal
★ 08/19/2022
Gr 5–8—In her latest novel, Lloyd calls on personal experiences to create a realistic and magical adventure for middle grade readers. Twelve-year-old Olive has been homeschooled her entire life. She has osteogenesis imperfecta (also known as brittle bone disease) and uses a wheelchair, and her mother has always feared for her to leave the nest—but Olive is determined to go to public school and make a friend. When her mother relents and Olive starts public school for the first time, she must deal with so much more than she bargained for. Then she hears about a magical hummingbird that grants wishes, and it seems like finding this creature will be the answer to all her problems. With a few new companions along the way, Olive tries to discover the secrets of the hummingbird. This is an uplifting story for readers who enjoy realistic settings with magical threads. Olive is developed beautifully as a main character, giving older elementary and middle school readers plenty to relate to and love. The authentic voice that Lloyd crafts in Olive shines throughout the book. VERDICT A must-have for any elementary school or middle school library, this magical and heartening novel will keep readers engaged until the end. A perfect fit for fans of realistic fiction and fantasy alike.—Elizabeth Pelayo
SEPTEMBER 2022 - AudioFile
Fans of Natalie Lloyd who have loved the written voice of her magical novels for years have a treat in store with her debut as narrator. Her warm Southern voice perfectly fits 11-year-old Olive, a character with whom she shares the disability of brittle bones and many other growing-up experiences. Lloyd makes clear homeschooled Olive’s deep wish to attend public middle school, find a BFF, and stop being seen as fragile. Being familiar with her own marvelous wordplay, Lloyd sets a flowing pace while illuminating the wonderful merger of magic and realism that her fans love. As Olive and others hunt for the hummingbird that will grant their cherished wishes, Lloyd's delivery is just right. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2022-05-10
Wildwood, Tennessee’s own Olive Miracle Martin is a girl of great, sparkly confidence and passions.
She loves her oddball family, church, writing, birding, her wheelchairs, and the idea of attending Macklemore Middle School after years of being home-schooled. Macklemore is the land of her hopes, full of potential friends and wild adventures, yet her osteogenesis imperfecta makes the prospect a challenge. While navigating new social mores and finding her niche within the quirky theater crowd, Olive and intrepid new friend Grace Cho hunt for the local hummingbird said to grant one fantastical wish. In a town where vividly described magic is taken as a point of fact and white feathers fall from the sky like snow, Olive’s fairy-tale wish is for bones like steel, not glass. Now she must contend with the question of whether she should—or even wants to—be anyone but who she already is. Olive can lean a tad pitch-perfect, and the world Lloyd builds is at times saccharine, but the energetic first-person narration, interspersed with Olive’s thoughts in free verse, is full of bold personality. Refreshingly, her obstacles don’t come from being a wheelchair user but from navigating an inaccessible world. Her grappling with fears and bold dreams offers a rare depiction of physical disability that is allowed to be both complicated and empowering. The book follows a White default; Grace is described as East Asian.
A spirited tale of self-belief. (author's note) (Fiction. 8-12)
