Queenie in Seven Moves
by Zanni Louise
Intermediate    Candlewick    256 pp.
4/25    9781536235838    $18.99
e-book ed.  9781536242218    $18.99

In this Australian import, things are bad enough when stage fright keeps Queenie Jean Anderson from performing in the last concert before the end of sixth grade. But when she gets home, she learns that the beloved house she shares with her widowed mother has been sold and they must move out immediately. Housing in Queensland is in short supply, so Queenie and her mum move temporarily into the retirement home where Mum works. From there, they are taken in by another family, then try out a camper van, and then a communal farmhouse. Their next stop is with her mother’s new boyfriend, Dimitri, whom Queenie considers an unwelcome addition to their duo but gradually learns to appreciate. In the meantime, guitar-playing Queenie discovers a talent for songwriting, makes a new friend (and crush), learns that an old nemesis might not be such a threat, and has a chance to redeem herself onstage. The engaging, fast-moving story takes readers inside a not-uncommon experience of homelessness (one shared by Louise, as explained in the acknowledgments) without didacticism. Queenie’s occasional naiveté and petulance can be frustrating but also make her character more authentic. The happy ending is satisfying and realistic, offering hope without minimizing a broad social problem.

From the ">May/June 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.