★ Odo and the Big, Giant Sinkhole by Suzanne Crowley
2026. 352p. Greenwillow, $18.99 (9780062352491). Gr. 4–7
“Odo Roosevelt Binket is a lover of acronyms and circles, making his own initials, ORB, especially fitting, given his fondness for Copernicus and planetary orbits. As someone who has been diagnosed with a panic-anxiety disorder and OCD, these things comfort him. Odo’s tale begins in the wake of EOE (the End of Everything), as he dubs his mother’s death in a car crash that he feels was his fault. Initially he is unable to even leave his own house, but he starts making progress after becoming friends with Pepper. When she goes missing, Odo discovers Pepper has left behind notes to help him find her. The story is infused with a sense of magic, as Odo feels his mother all around him, ultimately realizing that she truly has been with him the entire time. Odo and the characters who surround him—his father, Old Po (his grandfather), Pepper, and Pepper’s mother and grandmother—are fully realized, each in their own, wonderful way. Add to that an evocative mountain-town setting, and you have all the ingredients for an incredibly unique, emotional story. For readers of Michelle Cuevas’ The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole (2017), Christina Li’s Clues to the Universe (2021), and Jasminne Paulino’s The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez (2025).”
— Joel Shoemaker, Booklist