School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Evie Brooks, 12, is at a crossroads: her mother, who was an American, has died, and her mother's brother Scott insists that she should leave her home in Dublin, Ireland, and live with him in New York City. Evie wants to stay in Ireland with her mum's friend, but she agrees to try New York for the summer. Uncle Scott is a vet, and the tween spends her days helping out at his clinic, making some new friends, and learning what Scott's snooty girlfriend thinks of his new charge, which is not much. By the end of the summer, Evie has decided to stay after all, a predictable outcome-not so predictable, however, is a final twist that paves the way for a sequel. VERDICT An enjoyable, light read that will particularly draw in animal lovers, who will learn a lot about animal care from Evie's work with Uncle Scott.-Etta Verma, Library Journal © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Twelve-year-old Evie's mother has died, giving custody of Evie to an uncle she barely knows in New York City. Evie is loathe to leave her home in Dublin, so she and Uncle Scott strike a bargain that Evie will spend the summer in New York and then decide if she wants to stay or return to Ireland to live with her godmother. This hook, along with a prologue that finds Evie stuck in a building's trash chute after escaping a security guard, lend structure to an otherwise delightfully anecdotal plot that shifts between Evie's adjustment to Manhattan (including her helping out at her uncle's veterinary practice and her crush on an older boy) and flashbacks to her life in Ireland. Newcomer Agnew gives Evie an engaging balance of sarcasm, vulnerability, and humor, and the story's secondary characters are equally well-developed and entertaining, save for her uncle's girlfriend, Leela, who is a bit too callous to be believed. The cliffhanger ends the story on a gripping note, but readers would be clamoring for another Evie book even without one. Ages 9-up. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A summer in Manhattan unites an orphaned girl with an uncle she barely knows. Twelve-year-old Evangeline, better known as Evie, finds herself transplanted from Ireland to America after her mother's death. Specifically, she finds herself living with her uncle on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for the summer, with the option of returning to Ireland in the fall. Her uncle is a veterinarian with a practice that caters to quirky Manhattanites and their assorted, often odd pets. Evie loves animals and helping out. She makes new friends; coincidentally, they are adoptees. On the downside, Uncle Scott has a snooty, scheming lawyer girlfriend who sees Evie as a threat to the relationship. Evie tells her story in a first-person narration that is long on verbose descriptions and brand-name-dropping but short on emotional content. Agnew populates her tale with cardboard stock characters, animals, places, and situations. Readers will find it a challenge to connect with Evie, despite her memories of shared times with her beloved mother. The appearance of a surprise visitor on the next-to-last page feels like a cheat. A predictable plot and poor character development squash this outing. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
