Dawn Chandler by Eliza Noel Review

I haven’t been reading a lot of middle grade fiction lately, but Dawn Chandler reminded me of all I’ve been missing—innocent characters, whimsical settings, and a straightforward plot driven by an overarching moral of the story. Dawn Chandler beautifully checked each of these boxes and more.

Warning: mild spoilers ahead!

Eliza Noel, coming from a big family herself, wonderfully captures the blithe chaos of a large family with her natural, affable dialogue and leapfrogging focal points. The very first scene of the book was reminiscent of busy mornings—there’s a tangible energy among her words that allows the reader to be in the Jennings’ kitchen as they get ready for the day. These first few pages pulled me into the book.

Noel has a knack for balancing a large cast of characters. Aided only by a list in the front of the book—a unique feature that reminded me of the old American Girl books, which, needless to say, I absolutely adored—she gives each character their own identity and differentiates all of them with an arsenal of nuances and dialogue styles. I rarely found myself mixing up characters, and on the few occasions I did, I could just flip to the front and read the character list.

Though I found the dialogue just a bit juvenile at some points, this book is middle grade, so that’s to be expected. But other than that, Dawn Chandler is bright, nostalgic, and a wonderful read for anyone of any age.

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