"Sweet and delightful with a pleasingly wacky edge. Lovely characters, especially the fierce little sister Clementine, great relatable content - how to use YouTube for good and not evil - and forest-bathing! I particularly like the natural science elements; trees communicating and making music - wonderful big-picture stuff"

“Mikki and Me and the Out-of-Tune Tree combines environmentalism, cross-cultural communication, family, friendship, and community to create an engrossing story that allows the kids to be kids, whilst examining the adults in their life – and showing that nobody is truly perfect. It allows the characters to be imperfect, and to eventually grow and learn from their mistakes, whilst recognising that sometimes, change takes time. It shows that even the smallest voices can be heard, and that if all work towards inclusion, and sharing what we know with others, we can build a community and find ways to come together and unite a town. And save a forest from destruction. One small environmental action can have a big impact and can be more far-reaching that anyone imagined. It is a gentle book about making new friends and finding new interests that eventually unite your community. There have been a lot of quiet and contemplative books on all sorts of topics lately, and it has been quiet nice to be able to read them and sit with them as they explore things that fast-paced books often don’t, and allowing the characters and their stories to take a starring role, and evoking a sense of calm for the reader as they explore issues that might not always be talked about or easy to talk about. I also loved that this book left some things to the imagination, reassuring kids that there will always be times when things don’t necessarily work out or come to a final conclusion, letting them know that it is okay to not have all the answers all the time”

“... Tackling the themes of friendship, including navigating friendship difficulties caused by things your family have done, the positives and negatives of social media and, most importantly, environmental activism. Mikki and Me and the Out-of-Tune Tree is an easy to read, imaginative, at times funny, and ultimately uplifting story that concludes with a happy and hope-filled ending. A wonderful read, best suited to middle and upper primary students.”

“This is a story where the children are the sensible ones. Alberta is naïve in many ways (she's 11) but smart and loyal. When her ordered, reassuringly normal life begins to crumble, she focuses on what she can do, finding reserves of bravery she didn't know she had. Her family are letting her down – her parents are failing her – and bonkers little Clementine needs support. Mikki is calm, wise, grieving and completely lovely. I love stories where the adults get to be a bit rubbish and the kids do amazing things. This is a gentle story that has it all – drama, bullying, kindness, friendship, flawed humans, forgiveness and redemption. It's about getting some perspective when the world goes mad. We all need a bit of that. Best suited to readers of about 9 to as old as you can get.”

Uplifting without ever losing the fresh bite of its smart, funny protagonist, Mikki and Me and the Out-of-Tune Tree turns a disaster of a summer holiday into a gentle roadmap of how young people can benefit from the natural world around them – and maybe even help to save it. Eleven-year-old Alberta Bracken usually spends her summer holidays boogie boarding at the beach, but when she breaks her arm – and her friends aren’t particularly supportive about it – all her plans are scuppered. She feels horribly lonely – a feeling that even the adult readers of this novel can appreciate. There are problems at home, too (aside from having a mother who writes about Proper Manners and can’t always get on board with Alberta’s more laidback approach to life). Alberta’s father has just moved out of home, and Alberta’s little sister, Clementine, is having a hard time with it. But, in a lovely demonstration of youthful resilience, curiosity and caring, Alberta’s lost summer becomes something transformative. Holiday friend Mikki Watanabe is back in town, and soon the two have abandoned the beach for the forest, getting to know the ecosystem that feeds all the animals and plants under its canopy. Alberta is enchanted by the idea of forest bathing – intentional, grounding walks through nature, with many wellbeing benefits that young readers may like to discover for themselves – and she and Mikki decide to share their new favourite place with the world on their social media channel. This is a thoughtful, sensitive book that isn’t afraid to name the messiness of life and empower its young readers to find a way forward. Mikki and Alberta’s firm friendship models the benefits of creative collaboration and caring for the environment, and when they try to save the tree that mean the most to them, they challenge local authorities in a demonstration of their growing personhood. With themes that are both socially and eco-conscious, without ever sacrificing the real emotional weight of friend-and-family conflicts and sudden disappointments that feel life-changing or world-ending for young hearts, Mikki and Me and the Out-of-Tune Tree paints an empathetic portrait of a girl – and her friends, and even some adults – who are learning to be better and better at being themselves every day. It also shows that building a better world can start at home, sitting at the base of a tree, or on a walk where you really look at the world around you.