Jadie in Five Dimensions

Gr 4-6–Jadie knows her story and knows she’s working for the good of her world by completing missions for the Seers in 4-space. Does she understand the point of every action, such as why she threw a women’s purse into traffic? No, but it’s all for a good cause, or so she thinks. When Jadie breaks a rule and finds out that her whole life story of being abandoned in a snow drift and saved by the Seers might be completely wrong, she starts bending all sorts of rules to find answers with the help of her evil genius neighbor Ty. Traveling in the fourth dimension secretly can’t be too bad, right? Wrong. When Jadie’s 4-space keeper Miss Rose starts threatening her and she ends up in the fifth dimension, Jadie has to use her wits and skills to save her friends, her new and old families, and even her enemies. This book is told from the narrative viewpoint of several characters: Jadie, who is a beige-skinned, brown-eyed, kinky golden brown–haired unflappable 13-year-old girl; Sam, her brother, who has the same hair and facial structure and is designing a videogame setting that will be able to see the fourth dimension; and thin, white, blond Ty who is an unhappy, devious tech genius. Each chapter heading leads with the character who is the focus and has a unique font so readers are clear whose eyes they are looking through. Although Jadie is solidly the main character, this is a clever narrative device that allows the characters’ actions and backstories to intertwine at a critical point. The explanations of different dimensions occasionally bog down the pace as the action picks up, though they are helpful world-building for sci-fi fans. Supporting characters, including Jadie’s parents and adopted brother, are white, Latinx, and Black.