Back to the Bright Before

A diverting, warmhearted, unusual fantasy.

After 11-year-old Perpetua "Pet" Martin's woodcarver father falls from a ladder and is unable to work, her mother takes on long shifts waitressing to make ends meet, and her nearly five-year-old brother Simon stops saying any word but cheese. Pet, meanwhile, carries significant guilt about her own involvement in the incident. When Pet hears a poem about a rare, valuable coin whose sale would pay for their now-depressed father's needed third surgery, she comes up with a brilliant plan to find it on the nearby sprawling grounds of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Abbey. But a neighbor's menacing adult son wants the treasure, too, and the siblings' adventure involves both borrowing a pony and keeping adults none the wiser, even as three enigmatic figures assist them. Debut author Nolte incorporates religious imagery and Latin vocabulary into a fantastical quest about a winningly indomitable protagonist who remains devoted to her family and mission. If some questions remain unanswered, a sweetly mystical vibe comes through as the story touches on themes of community care, familial alienation, and parentification. Most characters cue as white. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. Agent: Kerry Sparks, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (May)