I had previously read author Nina Varela’s Crier’s War series, so it was super exciting to learn that she was releasing a new middle-grade fantasy book. While Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom takes a bit to get into, it's a super fun, heartwarming, almost borderline cozy fantasy perfect for young readers. I really appreciated the great worldbuilding, the supportive cast of characters, and the queer representation for readers who really need to see themselves reflected in books.

Juniper Harvey, or “June” is a middle schooler (somewhere around 12?) who's been struggling recently with her family’s move and finding friends at her new school. with recent dreams about a mysterious girl, she at times feels like she’s going a bit crazy until said girl (enter Princess Galatea of Kypros) shows up in her life asking for her help. The adventure that follows is fast paced and enjoyable, and I really liked how the author captured the experience of struggling with your self identity at that age. Juniper in particular struggles because she’s starting to realize that she’s queer, but she has a lot of support which I loved seeing. In particular, there was a cute moment with her mom in the car where she expresses her support no matter who she loves - “So? You can have a crush on whoever you want. Well as long as they’re cute. And nice. They have to be cute and nice. You got that, Junebug?”

The worldbuilding in this book was also a nice touch. It’s not super complicated where younger readers might get confused, but it's engaging and has some very amusing whimsical touches (ala nightmare spirits in the form of flying sheep). The author does hint at a slightly larger pantheon of gods present in Galatea’s world but only three really come into play in this book. The prophecy that looms over the course of the story was a bit predictable, but I also recognize I’m an older reader coming at the story from a different perspective and it wouldn’t be as much fo an issue for someone younger.

Overall, this was a great read and I’m sad it took me so long to get into it. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoyed books like B.B. Alston’s Amari and the Night Brothers or Rick Riordan’s The Trials of Apollo series. It’s unclear whether or not this book will be continued into a series, but I hope it will be as I’d love to learn more about the different gods in Galatea’s realm. Either way, I think the author did a good job putting the ending of the book together such that it leaves the door open but readers feel like they have closure with the characters.

Thank you to the author, the publisher Little Brown Books for Young Readers, the team at TBR and Beyond Tours, and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary review copy of the book as part of my participation in the blog tour. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review the book immensely. Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way.

Juniper is such a strong female character. She is fierce and passionate and determined to help her new friend. I love the storyline and how Juniper is mysteriously connected to this princess from another world. They go on fun adventures together and Juniper has to deal with all the feelings that come with having a crush. The book is well written, full of adventure, and inspiring. I definitely will recommend this book.

I was hoping that I would love this book, but I wasn't sure. I had never read one of Varela's books before so I was a bit hesitant but hopeful. I am thoroughly obssessed and look forward to reading more of Varela's books in the future.

Overall, I thought this was an excellent book. I absolutely loved reading it and getting to go on this journey with Juniper and Galatea. I had such a fun time but there were also points where it got my heartbeat up and had me waiting to see what was going to happen next. The author did a great job at balancing the book so that it didn't feel rushed or slow, but also so it didn't feel too heavy or too light.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

Could we take a moment to appreciate the beautiful cover? The colors are so vibrant yet gentle on the eyes, coupled with the detailed artwork makes this story stand out even more.

We follow Juniper, or June as she adjusts to her new life in the middle of Florida. June hasn't made any friends yet, but she's been dreaming of a mysterious girl in a terrifying situation. After a not so enjoyable school dance, the girl June's been dreaming of is standing right in front of her and thus begins an adventure to save a vanishing kingdom!

This book has one of the best depictions of anxiety & panic attacks as well as sapphic acceptance and romance. I loved how both seemed natural in the story as if it was commonplace. There were really no unnecessary explanations or dragging which I appreciated and it felt welcoming. The coping mechanisms noted and June's mother affirming that she doesn't care about the gender of June's crush made this story all the more lovable and captivating.

The story is told from June's point of view and she is one down to earth enjoyable character. I loved her witty remarks and her realism because she wasn't perfect but she wasn't bad either. She felt like a friend I might have had in real life. 

The writing style is simple and enjoyable which makes for a quick read. The pacing is well measured in the beginning but I felt the last quarter of the book seemed rushed. Some scenes or explanations felt missing and events were happening too quickly. There are a decent amount of characters in here besides our 2 main leads. All of them are quite unique to the story and each has a personality that speaks for themself. 

Overall. I enjoyed this book. I hope there is another book in this series so we can revisit the adventures of June, Galatea, Sam & Ollie! Definitely a recommended read for anyone looking for a fast paced, fantasy, adventure read!

4.5 stars

The main plot of Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom follows an 11-year-old girl, June, who is thrown into a worth of mythological fantasy via a magical stranger named Galatea suddenly appearing in her bedroom. June has been dreaming about Galatea for days, assuming her to have been a simple figment of her imagination, so she is shocked to not only discover that Galetea is real, but to learn that Galetea has been having the exact same same dreams. With Galetea’s homeland on the verge of destruction, June joins her on her quest to save her home and everyone in it.

This story did an amazing job at exploring themes of friendship and cooperation. There are four main middle schoolers in this book who band together towards a common goal, despite not initially getting off on the best food. This is something I’ve always adored about middle grade novels like this. I absolutely love how so many of them focus on how kids are able to form these kind of ride-or-die bonds with each other with very little time and prompting. All of these characters were supportive of each other and found strength in their companionship.

Other themes touched upon in this book were themes of queer identity (there are several sapphic characters in here), betrayal, and parental abandonment. I thought Nina Varela handles all of these subject matters with class, and I’m sure there are many readers who could stand to learn a lot from the lessons laid out by this book.

There is an epilogue that suggests that this is the first book in a series, so I can’t wait to see what else is in store for June and her ragtag group of friends!

“‘It’s not wrong to want something different’”

When I found a book described as a mix of Amari and the Night Brothers meets The Trials of Apollo, I knew I needed to read this book. I was not disappointed.

The book mostly taking place in Florida, follows June, a reluctantly relocated eleven-year-old, and Galatea, a demigod princess from a magical floating island, as they attempt to find Galatea a way home and how to save Galatea’s island from destruction.

The characters in this book are diverse and developed. The only qualm I had is that they all read as about thirteen to fourteen years old when the characters I believe are all supposed to be eleven or twelve.

The book was fast-paced and enjoyable. Readers are immediately thrown into June’s world. June’s struggles of fitting in and entering a new school in a new state are well developed and feel authentic. Galatea is a catalyst for June not only for discovering herself but also for putting herself out there in a new school. Nina Varela captures the experience of growing up and realizing that you might be queer and have a crush on your friend. Varela handles the young LGBTQ+ experience expertly. Varela’s depiction of anxiety also feels authentic and well portrayed.

The book ends on a happy note but also leaves a potential for a sequel or even series.

For fans of other middle grade fantasy books like The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan or middle grade coming of age novels such as Barbara Dee’s Star-crossed - I highly recommend Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom. This is the book I needed in fourth grade. 4.5 stars.

A delight, the exact kind of queer MG fantasy that I'd love to see more of. June's queerness was never questioned, there was no angst about it, and the plot had nothing whatsoever to do with it (except for her crush on the princess that shows up in her room one night). A fun, cute, magical adventure.

This is such a wonderful middle grade novel! I especially loved the anxiety representation and the developing relationship between Juniper and Galatea. It's also really fascinating how the book puts its own spin on Greek mythology and the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. I really hope this is going to be a series!

This book was an easy read, but I had trouble connecting to the story. This was more about my mood than the book itself.

Well What can I say about Nina Varela's Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom it is very very magical with two very strong female leads of Juniper and Galatea. I also liked how Nina managed to include not only anxiety rep but also LGBT as well which was an absolute joy to read. But the best thing was the world building and it was incredible and really gave the story some vava voom. This was Nina's first Middle Grade and I think she did an amazing job and I can't wait for the sequel and hopes that it won't be too much a long wait as my trigger finger that i use to pre order is getting very very itchy.

For all these reasons I gave Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom 5 very massive stars.

This was a really fun read!! It's also making me want to change my favorite genre to MG. I just really enjoyed how cute and sweet it was, especially relating to June's crush but also the friendships. I felt like the author was holding my hand and at some point I relaxed and just let her guide me. I feel like I haven't been this relaxed while reading in a while

I read this book as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours. Special thanks to the publisher for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 4 stars!

Juniper Harvey was such a treat to read and while I think it's perfect for all ages, I think it's especially perfect for middle-grade readers who love magic, adventure, myth, and good friends. The story starts off a little slowly as we get to learn about June but it doesn't take long for the action to start and it continues all the way to the end! I really enjoyed the unravelling of the mystery and the truth behind the dreams, the magic, and of course, the friendships that were made along the way. I would also recommend this to anyone who's interested in stories about powerful and vengeful gods!

This was a pretty fast-paced middle-grade fantasy. It's well-written and engaging and Valera did a great job of capturing the youthful voices of her characters. They were each distinct in their own way and they were all very pre-teeny (not at all in a negative way)! The descriptions of all the settings were also really well-done—from the small-town vibes and the marshlands of Cypress, Florida, to the floating islands in the magical world where gods and magical creatures such as dragons and dream shadows, and *magic* existed, it was all fairly easy to visualize as I was reading. It added to the adventurous and whimsical feeling of the story as we encounter several magic-created fantastical creatures.

This had a mix of plot and character driving the story but it's definitely more plot-driven. That said, Juniper Harvey was such a great character and the story being told through her tween voice was really perfect! She's such a wonderfully likeable character who's easy to root for, is relatable, and who's simply a good kid doing her best in handling new situations. Having been in her shoes a time or five in my adolescence, I know exactly how it feels to be the painfully shy and awkward new kid who isn't good at putting herself out there and making new friends. I think anyone who has been that kid can relate to her! That said, I loved her passion for art and how she made webcomics—she really came alive as she talked about different forms of art and the way she'd get lost in her head while creating. I also liked the LGBTQIA+ representation through June's character and how that was explored a little bit. It was addressed by both June and her mother, who was very supportive, and it was very normalized. June liking girls and having awkward middle-school crushes, and experiencing those crush-filled moments of longing and nervousness, was just like any other tween. Those moments also brought some humorous flashbacks of my middle-school days with those awkward school crushes and dances—it was fantastic! 😂

Despite a rough beginning for June, she does eventually make friends and I liked how those friendships developed with Galatea, Sam and Ollie. As June gets to know all three a bit more, you can see her slowly stepping out of her shy shell, becoming more comfortable being herself in front of them and not constantly worrying that she'll say something embarrassing that'll scare them away. Of the three, Galatea had the most character development because of course, the story is also about her and what's happening to her magical island. That being said, I do still have a lot of questions particularly related to her parents and her role as princess of the island. Sadly, Sam and Ollie were woefully underdeveloped characters and I definitely would've liked to see much more to them, especially since they also played a part in solving the mystery. I do hope that they get more page time in the sequel—which I'm quite sure will happen because of that cliffhanger ending—because I liked what their characters brought to the story but also how they brought June so seamlessly into their fold! I'll also say this does suffer very slightly from absent parent syndrome although June's parents do have a bit more of a role in the beginning and that tapers off the further into the story we get. I would've liked to see more of them though because they were very supportive of June and I really liked what we saw of the trio's dynamic!

Aside from the character development, I think the story would've benefitted from stronger world-building, although perhaps as an older fantasy reader, I'm much pickier than a younger audience would be. Still, I think there could've been a better explanation of how the magic actually works, why it worked in this particular town in Florida and with June, and how the whole travelling between magical worlds thing worked. As it was, it was all very vague or entirely unexplained and it felt very convenient (like, it worked because it worked). It obviously didn't put me off reading because I sped through this in little less than a day because it moved at a fast pace and it was so easy to read, but I hope that these elements will get more of an explanation in the sequel cos I'm looking forward to reading it!

Juniper Harvey was a fantastic book. Full of such joy, adventure and wonder as we are transported into a world half in dreams and half in reality.

I had a wonderful time reading this book, and quickly flew through it (when I say this is fast paced, I mean it goes by FAST). Which is actually why I'm not giving this 5 stars, besides my general enjoyment level I think this went by too quickly for the characters, relationships and story to be fully developed to the extent I wish it was. However! The Cliffhanger leads to the promise of a sequel (which I really hope we get because I'd love to see what else Nina can do with these characters!).

I'm definitely going to pass along this recommendation to family and friends that are a little bit younger, because middle grade fiction like this is simply not done enough! And having queer rep, so casually, in a book geared towards younger audiences, will never not make my heart full.

Queer kids deserve queer stories, and Nina Varela gives them the story they could only dream of. (Ha, story based puns :)) I loved it and I can't wait for more!

Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom by Nina Varela is an utterly fantastic & captivating middle grade fantasy. It is a fast-paced, action-packet adventure that also includes an incredibly supportive friend group.

I love the representation of anxiety & panic attacks. I loved how openly she spoke about receiving help & her coping mechanisms including breathing techniques to ease her difficult moments. This would have been epic to have when I was younger in the middle grade age range, so I am ecstatic to know this exists now.

I loved the moment of Juniper & her mom in the car when her mom declares I don’t care who your crush is as long as they are cute & nice. It was simultaneously endearing, funny & wholesome all in one.

This was a joy to read & a quick, fun & entertaining tale to get lost in. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a middle grade fantasy read!

Massive thanks to the NetGalley, Little Brown & TBR & Beyond Tours for the free arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

It took me a while to get into this book, but I fell in love with Juniper and Galatea's story once I did. This book was an excellent middle-grade fantasy novel with great characters and a fascinating fantasy world. I enjoyed the friendship between Juniper, Galatea, Ollie, and Sam and seeing that grow throughout the book.

Juniper and Galatea do not start off well when Galatea comes from her world to Juniper's, but as the story progresses, they become friends. I enjoyed seeing Galatea try to blend in at Juniper's school and try not to talk about her magical world. This was not an easy thing for her to do and many of those scenes were quite funny. Juniper is also dealing with her crush on Galatea and the feelings that come along with that.

One of my favorite aspects of the story was the importance of Juniper's art throughout the novel. Seeing this aspect of her character and how she uses it in the story was great. I loved the anxiety representation that Nina had in her book and how Juniper used art to cope with her anxiety. Wonderful rep.

The goddesses from Galatea's magical world are my other favorite aspect of the novel. I won't go into too many details about that because that would spoil the book, but I loved the mythology in this story. I loved that Nina created her own gods and goddesses for this fantasy world, and how we learn about them as the story progressed.

I cannot wait to see where Nina takes this story, especially with the cliffhanger at the end. My hope is that we will spend more time in Galatea's fantasy world. This is an excellent middle-grade fantasy novel with great anxiety and LGBT rep. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley for an E-Arc

This was cute, I liked the idea behind a vanishing kingdom, but some of the magic was a little wonky in this and the dream magic wasn't explained super well overall I am not the target age range for this and it's nice to see casual WLW in any book.