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Reviewed by David Jaggart for Readers' Favorite
The Book of Roisins by Tracy Schuldt Helixon follows Roisin, a sixth-grader who is exhausted by the constant cycle of being the new girl at her school due to her father's Army career. Stuck in a new Wisconsin town with a name that everyone mangles and hair that won't behave, she feels completely invisible. Everything suddenly changes when she uncovers an old family scrapbook in a moving carton. It isn't an ordinary collection of photos. When she touches the pages, they physically pull her into the past. Roisin is plunged into the experiences of past generations of women who have the same name. She sees their struggles throughout different centuries with her own eyes. It’s a journey through her family history that forces her to confront her own fears. Can she hold onto the lessons from her ancestors long enough to find her own footing in the present?
The Book of Roisins by Tracy Schuldt Helixon is a middle-grade historical fantasy that perfectly captures the moment the protagonist stops feeling like a stranger in her own skin because she finally understands the history behind her name. I liked that the time-travel elements were kept simple, focusing on family connections, instead of trying to find a way to over-explain the science behind it. The character development is well-developed among the entire cast. Roisin is a very relatable character, dealing with social anxiety and the exhaustion of constantly moving, which gives her growth a sense of real authenticity. Helixon’s engaging prose makes the transitions between historical eras easy to track, regardless of how much the mood shifts. For me, the highlights were the physical heirlooms that the author used to bridge the different generations of the family. It's a great book for any young reader who loves historical stories that give the past a pulse or anyone struggling to fit in.
