Candle Point

by Nancy Deas, Nancy Deas

In the small village of Sueño Bay, famous for its mysterious crystals and legendary moon creatures, friends Kay, Ollie, Jenna and Sleeves try to help a lost moon creature at the lighthouse of Candle Point. When a wild winter storm rolls in and all the power goes out, Kay stays with her reclusive aunt, Gayle, the lighthouse keeper of Candle Point. On the long trek through the blustery snowstorm, Kay stumbles upon an injured moon creature. Kay smuggles her new friend into her aunt's lighthouse to take shelter from the cold. While exploring the lighthouse she discovers a network of tunnels and a colony of moon creatures. Kay tries to reunite the abandoned creature with its family but she can't do it alone. She tricks her friends into coming to the lighthouse and into the tunnel to help her reunite the hurt animal, but with no success. Desperate to heal her new friend, Kay plucks a mysterious moon crystal from the moon creatures' nest, an action that sets off a dangerous chain of events. The group becomes stranded when a cliff―and the bridge that leads in and out of Candle Point―collapses into the waves below. Can Kay regain the trust of her friends and restore the balance before Candle Point completely crumbles into the ocean? This is the fourth book in the Sueño Bay Adventures series, following Shadow Island , Otter Lagoon and Hermit Hill . Praise for the Sueño Bay ★“Deas’s expressive artwork includes the colorful landscapes and flora...Atmospheric, wordless pages pack a huge punch in this book’s emotional communication.” ― School Library Journal , starred review for Hermit Hill “Underlying messages of environmentalism, friendship, and home make this magical mystery a win.” ― Kirkus Reviews for Otter Lagoon “A fun, magical romp that younger readers will enjoy.” ― Booklist for Shadow Island

Genres: Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy, Adventure, Childrens

192 pages, Paperback

Published September 12, 2023

Reviews

[Josephine Sorrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Welcome to Sueño Bay, famous for its mysterious crystals and legendary moon creatures. The creatures are cute and bird like but also mammal like.

Kay has converted a school bus to a cozy bedroom just outside her house. She wanted her own room so it works. One night a bitter winter storm rolls in and all the power goes out. Instead of going into her own home, she walks through the storm to stay with her reclusive aunt, Gayle, the lighthouse keeper of Candle Point. As she braves the blustery snowstorm, Kay stumbles upon an injured moon creature. Kay sneaks the creature into her her aunt's lighthouse. Aunt Gayle seems less than happy to have a guest. Later, Kay attempts to return the creature to its family but she needs help. She invites her friends to the lighthouse and into the tunnel to help her reunite the hurt animal, but without success.

Desperate to heal her new friend, she removes a large crystal from the moon creatures' nest. This action sets off a serious chain of events, causing the friends, Kay, Ollie, Jenna and Sleeves to become stranded on the lighthouse cliff, when the bridge that leads in and out of Candle Point-collapses into the sea. Aunt Gayle leaves on her small boat for help and upon returning things get worse when the lighthouse won’t light because Kaye, removed the crystal. Aunt Gayle’s boat crashes into the rocks. Kay must try and regain the trust of her friends and restore the balance before Candle Point completely crumbles into the ocean?

This is the fourth in the series an while I enjoyed the art, I felt the story was rushed and full of holes.
I didn’t like Aunt Gayle and felt Kay was totally irresponsible.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first look at this series shows a region where Moon Creatures (mammalian birdlike things, or avian mammals, whatever) are rife, and our heroine lives in a converted bus to avoid her siblings. Deciding to live with her lighthousekeeper of an aunt for a day or three, she sees the rock that has endangered lives in the past endangered itself – the Creatures are very fond of Moon Crystals, and they're not the only ones with the potential to undermine the whole place… Seeing this was sold as having 'sparse text' was a bit odd, as for all the wordless panels there is a heck of a lot of bickering and exclaiming going on when not just our heroine but three other friends are there. The bigger problem is that the whole plot is just full of holes itself, whether in logic or in narrative skill. Why does the injured Critter get left behind, then kicked out, then accepted? How much does the aunt know of it all, and how could she switch so much in her mindset? Why does the artwork make it impossible to tell gender? Rough and ready, I didn't mind its company, but certainly didn't find anything to make me rush into the back catalogue of these books. A snowflake above three stars, but that's about all.

[Kay S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like these kids never learn. I know that there's this "adults don't know anything" trope in middle-grade fiction but these kids are repeatedly told not to do X because it's dangerous, will break important things, cause harm to others... and do it anyway because SURELY ALL THE ADULTS CAN'T BE RIGHT! From freezing in a bus, bothering an aunt with an important job to do, going out in a storm, destroying parts of a delicate and mythological ecosystem, to taking apart coastal safety features to appease local wildlife... these kids cause so much destruction...

The story's cute, I guess? But I just can't get over how willfully ignorant the kids are.

The moral again is "your actions have consequences and you have to deal with them even if they're a marine disaster", much like the last title in this series. Only, more extreme. Like people could've died extreme. I've found good points in previous volumes of this series but I can only find one in this one: it's nice to see a winter book.

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really cute series. I am delighted to hear more are on the way. Themes of friendship, family, independence, forgiveness, and tolerance are included in a fun, mystical story. The kids' authentic banter and the quasi-dangerous shenanigans ramp up the entertainment value. Things happen quickly and you can see them coming but younger readers will still get that rush of excitement and feel scared at times. Highly recommend this book and the rest of the series for kids.

[The Loco Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations give me nostalgic feelings for older drawings, which I love.
The characters have spunk and drive. I love the main character because she always seems to be up to something and has big ideas.
The plot was intriguing, the setting engaging, and the problem and theme was strong.
Overall, I highly recommend for elementary and middle school.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This is the fourth book in the series, and I've been unable to locate the other three. Solid graphic novel choice for early elementary school students.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the adventures that they did and the « moonys » where soooooo cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the beautiful artwork. Top notch. But I felt the story was a little weak.

[Justin Swanson]

🗣️ Read aloud to kids

[Marisa Gettas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love each of the books in this series, so much! And the art continues to be as adorable as ever :)

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.