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Reach
Wishtree
meets
Song for a Whale
, in this beautifully moving story about a boy whose wish for his family to return to the way it used to be, teaches him the real meaning of roots and the new ones that can grow if we let them.
Ever since getting a little stepbrother named Harlan, Denver hasn’t felt like he fits into his own family. Lots of people find Harlan charming, but not Denver. His pesky stepbrother tags along everywhere Denver goes, breaking things and wanting Denver’s attention every. single. second. After an especially disastrous morning, Denver escapes to the forest, experiencing a whiff of ancient magic when he meets an old and dignified but lonely tree named Spiro. When Spiro offers to turn Harlan into a tree for a few hours, Denver jumps at the chance—only to realize he’s made a mistake when nobody, including his mom and stepdad, seems to remember Harlan existed. And now Spiro isn’t certain he can reverse the transformation.
To save Harlan, Denver will need to find out what happened to Spiro to make him so disconnected from the other trees in the forest . . . but to do so the change he might have to make first is within himself.
Ever since getting a little stepbrother named Harlan, Denver hasn’t felt like he fits into his own family. Lots of people find Harlan charming, but not Denver. His pesky stepbrother tags along everywhere Denver goes, breaking things and wanting Denver’s attention every. single. second. After an especially disastrous morning, Denver escapes to the forest, experiencing a whiff of ancient magic when he meets an old and dignified but lonely tree named Spiro. When Spiro offers to turn Harlan into a tree for a few hours, Denver jumps at the chance—only to realize he’s made a mistake when nobody, including his mom and stepdad, seems to remember Harlan existed. And now Spiro isn’t certain he can reverse the transformation.
To save Harlan, Denver will need to find out what happened to Spiro to make him so disconnected from the other trees in the forest . . . but to do so the change he might have to make first is within himself.
- GenresFantasyMiddle Grade
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 27, 2026
4 people are currently reading
2911 people want to read
About the author
Celesta Rimington
6 books84 followersCelesta Rimington is the author of magical middle grade books including The Elephant's Girl and the forthcoming Reach. The Elephant’s Girl was the winner of the 2020 Reading the West Book Award and has been recommended on several state library association lists and readers’ choice lists for middle grade readers. Celesta holds a degree in social psychology and has presented to thousands of students about resilience, generating ideas, and writing their own stories. Celesta grew up in almost every region of the United States, has southern roots, and currently resides in Utah. She enjoys acting, boxing, and exploring the outdoors with her family and her five-pound Yorkie named Winston. Find her online at celestarimington.com.
Review Policy: I only review books I enjoyed enough to highly recommend, therefore, you won't see any low-star reviews here.
Review Policy: I only review books I enjoyed enough to highly recommend, therefore, you won't see any low-star reviews here.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 12, 2025
Oh, how I loved this one! This was a fantastic middle grade book about reaching out to others around you. I also enjoyed learning the science about trees and synesthesia. As a librarian, I appreciate that it wasn't super long!
Don't miss this when it publishes in January!
Don't miss this when it publishes in January!
October 19, 2025
Reach by Celesta Rimington is a rich, emotionally honest, and metaphorically resonant middle-grade novel that speaks directly to children dealing with family change, making it a significant addition to the counselor’s toolkit. The forest setting, the tree’s roots, and Denver’s path from resentment and feeling invisible toward acceptance and growth combine to give a story that is both moving and empowering. It doesn’t shy away from the discomfort of change or the complexity of blended families, but it offers hope: that new roots can grow, that belonging can be found, and that children have agency in their own relational forest.
For educators, counselors, and families alike, this is not just another middle-grade fantasy—it’s a story with depth and relevance for children learning to navigate new family structures while discovering their place in the world.
For educators, counselors, and families alike, this is not just another middle-grade fantasy—it’s a story with depth and relevance for children learning to navigate new family structures while discovering their place in the world.
August 15, 2025
Celesta Rimington skillfully weaves fantasy and realism into her first titles, The Elephant’s Girl and Tips For Magicians, and once again, the fantasy is done so seamlessly in REACH, that sometimes the line between make-believe and real life is hard to draw.
Denver is struggling to accept his new normal of step-dad Jeff and his 8 year old son being around just as much as he can’t think of his dad’s wife Angie and their young daughter Paisley as part of his family. He also has difficulty making friends when his mom and step-dad keep moving from one temporary job to another. Then Denver goes to the lake on the lodge property his parents are managing for the summer and a squirrel decides to take up residence on his shoulder, model a dive and swim and join him on a paddle board with local girl, Mae. From then on, the magic of nature sort of takes over and readers will be sucked into Denver’s ability to hear the trees in the forest talk and even communicate telepathically with an ancient Ponderosa pine named Spiro. During that silent sharing of thoughts, Spiro understands Denver’s wish for step-brother Harlan to stop ruining his robot, his alone time, his life and turns the boy into a pine tree! I know what you’re thinking. That’s utterly ridiculous, right? Nope. Absolutely believable in Rimington’s book, just like how readers believe Lexington, in The Elephant’s Girl, can communicate with a ghost, the wind and an elephant!
As 13 year old Denver tries to help Spiro deal with his waning tree-health and the biting of ants, he discovers the two can speak to one another because both are trying to isolate themselves and refuse to REACH out to those around them and find the joy in new friends and family. Mae, too, learns that REACHing out to new friends, even ones who are only around for the summer, can be a good thing. Through Harlan’s experience being a tree, Denver, Mae and readers come away with new knowledge about how trees communicate through their roots and a fungal system and can share nutrients and help one another change the chemistry of their bark to repel pests.
Great learning and positive messages in REACH but with the fast-paced storyline and less than 200 page length, readers will be drawn in and won’t even realize all they have learned. Included in the learning and representation is a character, Mae, who has synesthesia, a neurological condition where stimulation of one sense triggers experiences in another sense. For example, for Mae, letters have a strong connection to color so Denver, or other people with names beginning with D have a gray aura and those whose names start with H, like Harlan, have a green one. Celesta Rimington experiences spatial connections between words and others, like Rosie in Barth Isler’s The Color of Sound hear and see sounds with color attached to them!
Text is free of profanity, violence and sexual content and the target audience is likely grades 4-7
Thanks, Celesta, for providing me with a print arc!
Denver is struggling to accept his new normal of step-dad Jeff and his 8 year old son being around just as much as he can’t think of his dad’s wife Angie and their young daughter Paisley as part of his family. He also has difficulty making friends when his mom and step-dad keep moving from one temporary job to another. Then Denver goes to the lake on the lodge property his parents are managing for the summer and a squirrel decides to take up residence on his shoulder, model a dive and swim and join him on a paddle board with local girl, Mae. From then on, the magic of nature sort of takes over and readers will be sucked into Denver’s ability to hear the trees in the forest talk and even communicate telepathically with an ancient Ponderosa pine named Spiro. During that silent sharing of thoughts, Spiro understands Denver’s wish for step-brother Harlan to stop ruining his robot, his alone time, his life and turns the boy into a pine tree! I know what you’re thinking. That’s utterly ridiculous, right? Nope. Absolutely believable in Rimington’s book, just like how readers believe Lexington, in The Elephant’s Girl, can communicate with a ghost, the wind and an elephant!
As 13 year old Denver tries to help Spiro deal with his waning tree-health and the biting of ants, he discovers the two can speak to one another because both are trying to isolate themselves and refuse to REACH out to those around them and find the joy in new friends and family. Mae, too, learns that REACHing out to new friends, even ones who are only around for the summer, can be a good thing. Through Harlan’s experience being a tree, Denver, Mae and readers come away with new knowledge about how trees communicate through their roots and a fungal system and can share nutrients and help one another change the chemistry of their bark to repel pests.
Great learning and positive messages in REACH but with the fast-paced storyline and less than 200 page length, readers will be drawn in and won’t even realize all they have learned. Included in the learning and representation is a character, Mae, who has synesthesia, a neurological condition where stimulation of one sense triggers experiences in another sense. For example, for Mae, letters have a strong connection to color so Denver, or other people with names beginning with D have a gray aura and those whose names start with H, like Harlan, have a green one. Celesta Rimington experiences spatial connections between words and others, like Rosie in Barth Isler’s The Color of Sound hear and see sounds with color attached to them!
Text is free of profanity, violence and sexual content and the target audience is likely grades 4-7
Thanks, Celesta, for providing me with a print arc!
October 7, 2025
Breathtaking. Magical. Heartwarming. Reach is filled with a simple, gentle wisdom that will speak to kids and adults alike.
The setting is rich and well-developed and has a life and soul of its own. The characters are well-formed and engaging. The magic is lovely and delivered into the story with such a light touch, it feels real: Rimington truly has a gift for making the magical feel plausible and believable. Something about her writing makes me feel like I’m going to walk out my own front door and into a quiet magic, and that’s the most beautiful gift of her stories. Speaking of magical elements—the squirrel, the squirrel! One of my favorite characters in a while—every scene with the squirrel I kept thinking “Kids are going to LOVE this.” (And I loved it too!)
Chapters are short and engaging while also being rich.
The themes are beautifully rendered, and the messages are wholesome and uplifting without being preachy, tenderly exploring how to deal with difficult life changes (especially those out of your control), and how to navigate new relationships while honoring the old. There are also important themes of family, friendship, community, service, and belonging. It’s a heckin’ wholesome read.
I especially appreciated the adults in this book—so often in texts for young readers, adults are shown as incompetent, uncaring, and/or absent (i.e., the dead parent stereotype). The adults in Reach are believable, hardworking, loving, present, and human—great role models.
This paragraph is going to be the niche element of my review, but as a teacher (and someone involved with homeschool groups) this would be a dream book. There are so many elements of the book that could be used for cross-curricular enrichment and reinforcement, as well as to go along with special units or activities.
- TREES! There is so much cool information about trees and root systems!
- Creativity and inventing (one of the characters and her family invent ice cream flavors, which I can see being such a fun hands-on activity to go along with the book)
- Robotics
- Math (there’s a whole chapter where they convert one measurement system to another using math)
The verdict: Reach is one of my favorite middle grade reads of the year. Read it for yourself, or to a child you love.
The setting is rich and well-developed and has a life and soul of its own. The characters are well-formed and engaging. The magic is lovely and delivered into the story with such a light touch, it feels real: Rimington truly has a gift for making the magical feel plausible and believable. Something about her writing makes me feel like I’m going to walk out my own front door and into a quiet magic, and that’s the most beautiful gift of her stories. Speaking of magical elements—the squirrel, the squirrel! One of my favorite characters in a while—every scene with the squirrel I kept thinking “Kids are going to LOVE this.” (And I loved it too!)
Chapters are short and engaging while also being rich.
The themes are beautifully rendered, and the messages are wholesome and uplifting without being preachy, tenderly exploring how to deal with difficult life changes (especially those out of your control), and how to navigate new relationships while honoring the old. There are also important themes of family, friendship, community, service, and belonging. It’s a heckin’ wholesome read.
I especially appreciated the adults in this book—so often in texts for young readers, adults are shown as incompetent, uncaring, and/or absent (i.e., the dead parent stereotype). The adults in Reach are believable, hardworking, loving, present, and human—great role models.
This paragraph is going to be the niche element of my review, but as a teacher (and someone involved with homeschool groups) this would be a dream book. There are so many elements of the book that could be used for cross-curricular enrichment and reinforcement, as well as to go along with special units or activities.
- TREES! There is so much cool information about trees and root systems!
- Creativity and inventing (one of the characters and her family invent ice cream flavors, which I can see being such a fun hands-on activity to go along with the book)
- Robotics
- Math (there’s a whole chapter where they convert one measurement system to another using math)
The verdict: Reach is one of my favorite middle grade reads of the year. Read it for yourself, or to a child you love.
October 23, 2025
Celesta Rimington’s newest novel is for anyone who has ever felt isolated or alone. Denver’s world shifted forever when his parents divorced. Now, with new step-parents and step-siblings in the mix, Denver wonders how he fits in this new family picture and wishes things could go back to the way they were when he didn’t have an annoying younger step-brother. When a magical tree grants Denver’s wish in a surprising way, Denver begins to realize that the greatest magic may be learning to change, grow, and reach out to others. At less than 200 pages, REACH was a fast read, but the story is one that will stay with me for a long time.
September 20, 2025
The middle-grade novel, Reach, by Celesta Rimington, is relatable to many children and families. So many families in America have been impacted by divorce in one way or another. Divorce presents multiple challenges for families, and the ones who feel the most discombobulated in the midst of it all are the children. Suddenly, when mom and dad split up, the world tilts and children hardly know how they fit in anymore, wishing only that life could go back to the way it was before. This is exacerbated even more when the parents remarry and step- and half-siblings enter the picture. Rimington's story of 13-year-old Denver and his blended family addresses these issues with remarkable insight and grace.
With his mother's new marriage, Denver also has a younger step-brother, 8-year-old Harlan, to deal with, which includes feelings of jealousy, resentment, and anger. Always wanting to follow Denver around while breaking/ruining Denver's things, Harlan is the quintessential annoying little brother. Denver's father also has remarried and he now has an incomprehensible baby sister who seems to cry every time she sees Denver in person or on videochat. Denver has questions: Who am I? How do I fit in my family now? Why do I feel so disconnected? What can I do to feel better, about myself and my family? If he could only get away from frustrating little Harlan for awhile, just to be by himself and do what HE wants to do for a change!
Then Denver discovers magic in the forest nearby, a place of peaceful exploration. With great surprise, he discovers that he can hear the trees speak, especially an ancient Ponderosa pine tree named Spiro who communicates with Denver both audibly and in his mind. Spiro discerns that Denver is troubled, and offers to turn Harlan into a tree when Harlan follows Denver into the forest and interrupts his time with Spiro. Great idea! Both Denver and Harlan are on board with this--Denver so he can be rid of Harlan for an afternoon, and Harlan because he thinks it will be exciting to be a tree. But when it comes time to turn Harlan back into a boy, Spiro can't seem to make it happen because he has lost his root connection with the rest of the trees in the forest that would help him have the strength to change Harlan back. Adding to to this anxiety, Denver discovers that everyone who knows Harlan, even his mom and step-dad, no longer remember that he even exists! The longer Harlan remains a tree, the less and less he can remember himself as a boy and who his family is.
Denver is desperate to find a solution to getting Harlan changed back into his little brother (no "step" needed now), a way for Spiro to reach out through his roots to connect with the rest of the forest. And Denver himself must find a way to reach out to ALL of his family and build new bonds and roots of belonging, finding his identity once again. Not the same Denver as before the divorce, but a Denver reaching for connection and love in all places and ways he finds family. Rimington's intuitive understanding of the complex emotions that come with change and the transformation that is possible through hope, effort, and a little bit of forest magic makes Reach a wonderfully engaging and adventurous middle-grade novel. But I recommend it to everyone, regardless of age! 5 Stars
With his mother's new marriage, Denver also has a younger step-brother, 8-year-old Harlan, to deal with, which includes feelings of jealousy, resentment, and anger. Always wanting to follow Denver around while breaking/ruining Denver's things, Harlan is the quintessential annoying little brother. Denver's father also has remarried and he now has an incomprehensible baby sister who seems to cry every time she sees Denver in person or on videochat. Denver has questions: Who am I? How do I fit in my family now? Why do I feel so disconnected? What can I do to feel better, about myself and my family? If he could only get away from frustrating little Harlan for awhile, just to be by himself and do what HE wants to do for a change!
Then Denver discovers magic in the forest nearby, a place of peaceful exploration. With great surprise, he discovers that he can hear the trees speak, especially an ancient Ponderosa pine tree named Spiro who communicates with Denver both audibly and in his mind. Spiro discerns that Denver is troubled, and offers to turn Harlan into a tree when Harlan follows Denver into the forest and interrupts his time with Spiro. Great idea! Both Denver and Harlan are on board with this--Denver so he can be rid of Harlan for an afternoon, and Harlan because he thinks it will be exciting to be a tree. But when it comes time to turn Harlan back into a boy, Spiro can't seem to make it happen because he has lost his root connection with the rest of the trees in the forest that would help him have the strength to change Harlan back. Adding to to this anxiety, Denver discovers that everyone who knows Harlan, even his mom and step-dad, no longer remember that he even exists! The longer Harlan remains a tree, the less and less he can remember himself as a boy and who his family is.
Denver is desperate to find a solution to getting Harlan changed back into his little brother (no "step" needed now), a way for Spiro to reach out through his roots to connect with the rest of the forest. And Denver himself must find a way to reach out to ALL of his family and build new bonds and roots of belonging, finding his identity once again. Not the same Denver as before the divorce, but a Denver reaching for connection and love in all places and ways he finds family. Rimington's intuitive understanding of the complex emotions that come with change and the transformation that is possible through hope, effort, and a little bit of forest magic makes Reach a wonderfully engaging and adventurous middle-grade novel. But I recommend it to everyone, regardless of age! 5 Stars
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
This book found its way to our home at just the right time. While we were undergoing some changes in the family dynamic, my daughter was struggling not only accepting the change but finding her place in it. Through this shorter story, I was able to sit down with her and read, dissect her emotions with her and reconnect in a way we likely wouldn't have otherwise. I'm confident others can do the same with others.
July 20, 2025
With the timelessness of a fable, and whimsy and magic woven throughout, this story will REACH across generations for years to come!
I never miss a Rimington release, and this is the third home-run novel!🌲✨
I never miss a Rimington release, and this is the third home-run novel!🌲✨
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Denver feels like a puzzle piece that doesn't fit into the puzzles of his parents' new families. He doesn't feel he fits with his dad, stepmom, and baby sister Paisley, nor with this mom, stepdad, and stepbrother Harlan. Those puzzles feel complete without him, and Denver feels alone.
He didn't ask for his life to change so much. He didn't ask to be overlooked or to share a room and belongings with a younger child. He didn't ask to be uprooted for the summer.
Yet this summer is one filled with magic in the trees. Through his connection with nature, Denver learns that not all change is bad, and that when someone reaches out to you, perhaps you can reach back.
I adore books with magical realism that interweave lessons about nature, life, and more. Many children can relate to feeling like they don't belong, that their lives have changed and left them unmoored, and that they shouldn't have to be responsible for younger siblings. This book will be an excellent reflection for them. It may also remind adults that older siblings should have a chance to just be children too. Childhood is fleeting and precious.
He didn't ask for his life to change so much. He didn't ask to be overlooked or to share a room and belongings with a younger child. He didn't ask to be uprooted for the summer.
Yet this summer is one filled with magic in the trees. Through his connection with nature, Denver learns that not all change is bad, and that when someone reaches out to you, perhaps you can reach back.
I adore books with magical realism that interweave lessons about nature, life, and more. Many children can relate to feeling like they don't belong, that their lives have changed and left them unmoored, and that they shouldn't have to be responsible for younger siblings. This book will be an excellent reflection for them. It may also remind adults that older siblings should have a chance to just be children too. Childhood is fleeting and precious.
February 15, 2026
Denver's family is different lately: his divorced parents have both remarried, and now he not only has stepparents but a half-sister and a stepbrother. Now he and his mom, stepdad, and annoying stepbrother Harlan are spending the summer at a mountain resort, a business venture for the parents. When Denver, Harlan, and Denver's new friend May explore the forest, they find a special tree that can talk, Spiro. When Harlan wishes to become a tree, Spiro obliges with a special forest magic. But will Harlan be able to change back?
This is a very moralistic story; I loved the themes (being brave enough to connect with others in our families and communities) but it felt kind of heavy-handed in places.
The magic in this book was a little bit enchanting but also a little bit absurd. I appreciated the author's note at the end that noted that May's synesthesia was a real thing (that admittedly the author took liberties with). But the wild squirrel buddy and the transforming into trees felt a little too silly for me. Maybe young readers would enjoy it, though!
This is a very moralistic story; I loved the themes (being brave enough to connect with others in our families and communities) but it felt kind of heavy-handed in places.
The magic in this book was a little bit enchanting but also a little bit absurd. I appreciated the author's note at the end that noted that May's synesthesia was a real thing (that admittedly the author took liberties with). But the wild squirrel buddy and the transforming into trees felt a little too silly for me. Maybe young readers would enjoy it, though!
February 17, 2026
Miss Lori thoroughly enjoyed this story of change within a family that is wreaking havoc with the feelings of the main character, Denver. Both his mother and father have remarried since their divorce and now Denver has 2 step-siblings he never asked for. Moving to a remote mountainous lodge with his Mom, Step-dad, Step-brother, he feels stuck "baby-sitting" his young sibling and being in a place he doesn't want to be. Meeting a girl who lives there and who is interesting and creative and roaming through what turns out to be a magical forest, Denver throws a thought out to the universe and the thought becomes reality. Now Denver and his new-found friend must try to fix a terrible mistake and the only way to correct the wrong is to realize that even though things may have changed in his life, being open to knowing that change isn't necessarily a negative thing.
It's a short but powerful read. Good for good 4th grade readers and middle school kids who need to know the power of change within is very strong.
It's a short but powerful read. Good for good 4th grade readers and middle school kids who need to know the power of change within is very strong.
Review of advance copy
Family is rather a nebulous concept these days. It can definitely expand or contract depending on circumstances. Such is the situation Denver finds himself in when he has to deal with his whiny, pestiferous stepbrother Harlan.
The novel takes us through Denver’s inner journey as he tries to extricate Harlan from a magical spell, the result of an unhappy tree that needs some nurturing itself. The story isn’t subtle in its message about embracing new members of the family but it doesn’t need to be. It’s made for children, after all, and subtlety isn’t a tactic that may work with younger members.
Denver gradually learns how to heal Spiro’s loneliness and disconnection from the other trees in the forest and, in doing so, bridges some yawning rifts within himself. The book also includes helpful tips about trees and a crash course in dendrology that may make some children curious about the green world in which they live.
The novel takes us through Denver’s inner journey as he tries to extricate Harlan from a magical spell, the result of an unhappy tree that needs some nurturing itself. The story isn’t subtle in its message about embracing new members of the family but it doesn’t need to be. It’s made for children, after all, and subtlety isn’t a tactic that may work with younger members.
Denver gradually learns how to heal Spiro’s loneliness and disconnection from the other trees in the forest and, in doing so, bridges some yawning rifts within himself. The book also includes helpful tips about trees and a crash course in dendrology that may make some children curious about the green world in which they live.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Who wouldn't want to walk into the woods and make friends with a whimsical squirrel and talking trees? "Reach," by Celesta Rimington brings together the fantastical and the contemporary in a heartwarming story about a boy adjusting to his changing family dynamic. When 12-year-old Denver's little stepbrother Harlan gets turned into a tree, Denver and his new friend Mae work together to turn him back. At times, I could picture the characters as students of Ms. Frizzle in The Magic Schoolbus as they investigate and learn about the root systems and healthy growth of trees. Denver and Mae also bond over her synesthesia and his interest in robotics. As a former teacher, I could see great potential for this book in the classroom. Opportunities abound for discussion, projects, and further study. And the "forest magic" will leave middle-grade readers eager to hit the trails for a woodland adventure of their own. I always love Celesta's stories of magical realism!
Review of advance copy received from Author
The science of trees and forests fascinates me. This middle grade story weaves in the magic of a tree that is in need of other trees with a boy and his step-brother who also need each other.
After a disastrous morning, Spiro a lonely tree offers to turn an annoying little brother into a tree for a few hours. Denver the older brother quickly learns that this wasn’t a good idea, but how do you reverse such an extreme transformation? Both the old, lonely tree and the reluctant older brother have to figure out how to ask for help and realize that change has to first start within one’s self. I loved learning more about trees and the condition of synesthesia. I plan on being even more aware of sights and sounds the next time I’m in the forest.
After a disastrous morning, Spiro a lonely tree offers to turn an annoying little brother into a tree for a few hours. Denver the older brother quickly learns that this wasn’t a good idea, but how do you reverse such an extreme transformation? Both the old, lonely tree and the reluctant older brother have to figure out how to ask for help and realize that change has to first start within one’s self. I loved learning more about trees and the condition of synesthesia. I plan on being even more aware of sights and sounds the next time I’m in the forest.
September 23, 2025
I was so excited to get an early copy of this book, because I adored both The Elephant’s Girl and Tips for Magicians. Celesta Rimington is a masterful storyteller who uses rich, beautiful language that’s still accessible for kids. This one did not disappoint! It was such a beautiful metaphor about how you need to reach out to your community around you, especially in seasons of change. I learned so much about trees and the incredible things they can do! You will fall in love with the characters and really root for them. It is a sweet sibling story, a story about forgiveness, and a story about connection with others. My kids loved it!
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February 5, 2026I want icecream now!
Okay, besides the amazing and creative ice cream flavors, I have to saw that Reach touched my heart in ways no unique ice cream flavor could.
Having raised two brothers, I found the interactions between the boys meaningful and truly accurate.
I also love loved the trees! Those personalities, and the real insight into how trees communicate - I wish my boys were young again so we could have read this aloud together.
I will long long remember this beautiful tale and can't wait to read it with the grandchildren.
Also adore Elephant's Girl by tthis author!
Okay, besides the amazing and creative ice cream flavors, I have to saw that Reach touched my heart in ways no unique ice cream flavor could.
Having raised two brothers, I found the interactions between the boys meaningful and truly accurate.
I also love loved the trees! Those personalities, and the real insight into how trees communicate - I wish my boys were young again so we could have read this aloud together.
I will long long remember this beautiful tale and can't wait to read it with the grandchildren.
Also adore Elephant's Girl by tthis author!
August 26, 2025
This whimsical, imaginative, and emotionally true story is rich with great lessons for middle grade readers about the importance of finding support when adjusting to change. Twelve-year-old Denver's world falls apart around him when his parents divorce and each remarries, producing a step-brother and step-sister he wants nothing to do with. But if he doesn't learn how to reach for connection and community, reach with all his might, he'll lose the family he's only beginning to realize he desperately needs. Celesta Rimington's beautifully written Reach, with its Back to the Future vibes, is a must-read and highly recommended.
February 18, 2026
This is a lovely story. Watching Denver process his feelings about the divorce, his new siblings, and where that leaves him, could help readers deal with changes in their own families.
I love the idea of forest magic and I wish we could all talk to the trees.
I love the idea of forest magic and I wish we could all talk to the trees.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews