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Book Review

Publisher's Note:

A Newbery Honor book and instant New York Times, USA Today, and indie bestseller! Award-winning author and artist Chanel Miller tells a fun, funny, and poignant story of friendship and community starring Magnolia Wu, a ten-year-old sock detective bent on returning all the lonely only socks left behind in her parents' NYC laundromat. Down at the bottom of the tall buildings of New York City, Magnolia Wu sits inside her parents’ laundromat. She has pinned every lost sock from the laundromat onto a bulletin board in hopes that customers will return to retrieve them. But no one seems to have noticed. In fact, barely anyone has noticed Magnolia at all. What she doesn’t know is that this is about to be her most exciting summer yet. When Iris, a new friend from California arrives, they set off across the city to solve the mystery of each missing sock, asking questions in subways and delis and plant stores and pizzerias, meeting people and uncovering the unimaginable. With each new encounter, Magnolia learns that when you’re bold enough to head into the unknown, things start falling into place.…

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Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All

by Chanel Miller

Overall Book Review:

This contemporary book is a 2025 Newbery Honor Book. Supported by the author’s illustrations, Magnolia and a new friend go on a simple quest to find the owners of the lost socks left at Magnolia’s family’s laundromat. Going through the neighborhood, interviewing potential sock owners, and following their hunches, the new friends interact with a wide-swath of humanity in New York City. It showcases the diversity that makes a small community within a large city wonderful, but also takes time at the personal level to touch on some real-life themes in an authentic and age-appropriate way. Clocking in at only only 145 pages, this is a quick read. This story starts on Magnolia’s 10th birthday so it is perfect for those nine and ten-year-olds out there.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: None

Violence/Gore: Verbal shouting at someone and throwing an clothing at them; graffiti saying “go home” written on a building; verbal bullying.

Sex/Nudity: A girl admits she likes a boy.

Mature Subject Matter:

Racial prejudice, graffiti, anxiety, reference to parent who would get angry and violent.

Alcohol/Drug Use:

None

Overall Book Rating
Profanity/Language
Rating:
0
10
Violence/Gore
Rating:
1
10
Sex/Nudity
Rating:
1
10

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About the Reviewer

An accountant and CPA by profession, I found myself a book reviewer for Squeaky Clean Reads by happenstance. When the opportunity came to transform that website into Compass Book Ratings, I was excited to seize it and meld my business background with my love of books. As the mother of three teenage sons, I have read a large number of children and young adult books and I believe that there is great value in a content review service. As much as we would love to read everything our children read, there just isn’t enough time. I also appreciate being able to select books for myself that are really worth my precious and limited reading time. I believe there is a book out there for everyone–they just have to find it!