The Secret Tree

Starred review from March 12, 2012
Filled with summertime warmth and a neighborhood full of characters that readers will wish lived next door, Standiford’s (Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters) story delights and satisfies. The summer before middle school, Minty and her best friend, Paz, plan to master some roller derby moves, annoy their older sisters, and stay away from the bothersome Mean Boys down the street. But then Minty discovers a secret in the nearby woods—a tree where her neighbors leave anonymous, heartfelt, and sometimes heart-wrenching secrets (“Im so stoopid. Im affraid something is rong with my brane,” reads one). Then Minty meets enigmatic Raymond, who has a connection to the “Witch Lady” who lives on the other side of the woods. Raymond knows about the mysterious tree, too, and he enlists Minty’s help to figure out who the tree’s secrets belong to. The intimate neighborhood setting—with its mysteries, superstitions, and traditions—the authenticity of Minty’s voice, and her worries about the transitioning nature of her life and friendships give Standiford’s story a richness that will stay with readers. Ages 9–12. Agent: Sarah Burnes, the Gernert Company.

April 1, 2012
Middle-school dynamics, pesky sibling relations, a rumored haunted house, some truly heart-wrenching situations and a mystery all combine to make this coming-of-age novel an engrossing read. When 10-year-old Minty discovers a hollow tree in the woods that seems to be literally buzzing with secrets, actually finding a secret written on a scrap of paper stashed inside, it sets the stage for a slightly creepy, good old-fashioned mystery. Whose secret is this? What does it mean? Who is running around in the woods, taking pictures of neighbors? Solving these riddles only leads to more questions, and while Minty tries to figure out what's going on, she's also struggling with the fact that her best friend, Paz, seems to be growing up faster than she is. Minty acquires some secrets of her own, not least that she has befriended an apparently parentless kid, Raymond, who seems to live in an abandoned spec house and has some sort of relationship with the feared inhabitant of an old rundown place known as "the Witch House." Minty is a satisfying everygirl--just mischievous enough to seem real--and her interactions with Paz, their older teenage sisters and Paz's little sister Lennie and the "mean boys" from school recall universal coming-of-age experiences. The neat ending gratifies, with many of the issues having been resolved by the resourceful preteens themselves. (Mystery. 9-12)

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July 1, 2012

Gr 5-7-There's a tree in the woods near a quiet suburban Baltimore town; a tree with roots deep enough to house a ghost that feeds on secrets. And this town has enough secrets to keep the tree humming, and it plays a part in a fast-paced plot with intriguing characters. It's the summer before Minty Mortimer and her friend Paz Calderon start middle school. Until recently, the girls only wanted to be roller-derby skaters named Minty Fresh and Pax A. Punch. But now, secrets and a bit of magic are the catalyst for a summer of change for Minty and those who share their secrets with the tree-and even those who don't. After Paz starts hanging out with a group of cool girls, Minty becomes friends with Raymond, a runaway who lives in an abandoned model home. They spy on neighbors to solve secrets left in the tree; they believe in curses, and in the wisdom and auras seen only by Otis, a vendor who sells produce from a horse-drawn wagon. Themes of friendship, loneliness, family dysfunction, and even mental illness are presented in Minty's naive, engaging narration. The plot contrivances-all ends well with generally everyone happy-are satisfying with an almost nostalgic feel for summers and communities of times past.-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2012
Grades 4-7 Minty Fresh knows all the local superstitions: the seven-feet-tall Man-Bat, the Witch Lady, and Crazy Ike. But nothing prepares her for the Secret Tree. There she pulls out slips of paper on which other kids in town have written about crushes, being held back a grade, and even placing curses on their enemies. Minty makes it her mission to track down each writer to see how their secrets affect othersas well as how to handle her own secret fear that she is losing her best friend right before starting middle school. Universal anxieties about growing apart from friends are expressed with such earnest clarity that middle schoolbound readers will take comfort from Minty's discovery that everyone has insecurities and must cope the best way they can. Standiford's (How to Say Goodbye in Robot, 2009) charming and mysterious story of friendship, growing up, and keeping secrets rests squarely on the shoulders of an immensely likable protagonist who possesses a delightful oddness, like so many imaginative children in real life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2012
Araminta (nicknamed "Minty," a.k.a. "Minty Fresh," her future roller-derby name) meets Raymond, a mysterious boy, in the woods. They team up to investigate the strange behaviors of other neighborhood kids (including Minty's best friend Paz, who's acting too grown-up for roller derby). Meanwhile, Raymond has his own secrets. All ends well in Standiford's perceptive story of changing friendships.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)