Despite the rest of the plot-which involves gods, flying nightmare monsters, and islands that float in the sky-this was maybe the most difficult part of the story for me to write. And the focus of that crush is another girl. She’s experiencing basically her first crush-definitely the first crush she’s been aware of while it’s happening. She’s in her first year of middle school.
And that’s before June starts wondering if maybe there’s a reason said princess makes her face go red, and not just out of annoyance. And that’s before the magical princess from another dimension crash-lands in her bedroom. (and kind of only) friend and everything else she’s ever known.
I n Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom, 11-year-old “June” Harvey has a lot on her plate: she’s starting sixth grade at a new school in a new town, hundreds of miles away from her best Packed with adventure and driven by a pitch-perfect voice, this middle grade debut from Nina Varela is about one tween forging new friendships, fighting nightmarish monsters, and importantly, figuring out who she is and who she ultimately wishes to be. And things go from bad to worse when a sinister force starts chasing after the crown too. Now, it’s up to Juniper to help find the crown, all while navigating a helpless crush on her new companion. One problem-her crown is missing, and she needs it in order to return home. The unexpected visitor reveals herself as Galatea, a princess from a magical other world. One night after a disastrous school dance, Juniper draws a portrait of the girl from her dreams and thinks, I wish you were here. The next morning, she wakes up to find the girl in her room…pointing a sword at her throat! As if that’s not bad enough, she keeps having dreams about an ancient-looking temple, a terrifying attack, and a mysterious girl who turns into an ivory statue. When Juniper Harvey’s family moves to the middle of nowhere in Florida, her entire life is uprooted. Today on the site we’re talking to Nina Varela, whose name you probably know from the smash hit Crier’s War duology, and who’s now hopping categories to Middle Grade with the Sapphic adventure Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom, releasing tomorrow from LBYR! Before we get to her fantastic post on book bannings, resilience, and growing into identity, here’s a little more on the book:
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