Name: The Adventures of the Sizzling Six
ISBN: 9780984277803

Claire Datnow

They thought it was going to be a boring summer. It wasn't! When six determined teenagers decide to save a magnificent old white oak their adventures begin. Can they save their tree and the animals living in it? Will they get to build their secret hideout in its great branches? What could go wrong? The Sizzling Six will have to reckon with a ticked off neighbor on the city council, an unusual teacher, a thickheaded bully and his ditzy girlfriend, a mysterious dreamtime eagle, and an awesome night bat.

The Lone Tree

The Adventures of the Sizzling Six

Briar's Reviews

If there's one thing you need to know about me in comparison to this book, I LOVE Monarch Butterflies. I have dedicated multiple gardens at my house to those little suckers, so this book drew me in with the title alone. The cover was also beautiful since it featured a diverse array of characters and butterflies! 

About this book:
There are six girls: Clara, Sarah, Alex, Rose, Sophie, and Grace and they are the Sizzling Six (that's an epic name, by the way.). Each girl has some stand out characteristics that sets her apart from each of the other girls in the group. The girls learn about Monarch Butterflies and how to protect them, during a wildly fueled drama fest. Court room drama, worrisome adults and lots of learning occur among the pages of this cute, little book.

My positives:
1. Cast of Characters Index. This is a positive, but it's also listed in my negatives. Since I have not read the past books in this series, I liked having that reference. Stay tuned for why I did not like it.

2. When I was reading this book, it felt like a great read aloud story. I could totally see this as a book parents (or educators!) read to their kids or as an audiobook. The story was made for middle grade and it read like that. I could almost hear the kid narrating the story. I don't typically get this feeling with middle grade books, so it felt like quite the whimsical experience.

3. Butterfly facts. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like a pinch of education in my middle grade novels. Oh, and milkweed! That plant is important to monarches and I have tons in my garden. Shout-out to protecting the butterflies natural habitat!

My negative:
1. I found the cast of characters at the front of the book to be confusing, mostly because I haven't seen that sort of index at the front before. I typically see them at the back of the book to help readers out. Mostly, my negative is about the location. It felt like a lot of reading that I might have been able to pick up in the story. Even having the setting listed at the front seemed... odd to me. It worked, but it just didn't fit in with my normal expectations (which could be a good thing for readers, don't get me wrong). 

Overall, this book was a sweet, little read that I'd highly recommend. It's great for middle grade readers who want an adventure with some environmental themes. 

Four out of five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Star Bright Books for allowing me an early copy of this book to review!

The Adventures of the Sizzling Six The Lone Tree