Best described as a trip through the looking glass, Beatrice and Croc Harry by Lawrence Hill is a middle grade novel that takes readers on a dystopian ride while addressing very current themes such as race, politics and power.

Beatrice wakes one day to find herself in the Argilia Forest. She’s not sure how she came to be there nor can she remember anything about her life or herself before the moment she wakes. She has a home way up top in a fig tree and is surrounded by some curious creatures, a lemur dentist/hairdresser, a talking rainbow, a friendly tarantula, a slightly annoying speckled rabbit and a King Crocodile. As she navigates her way through Argilia she begins to learn tidbits about her life and gains information on threats not only to her but to her loved ones in Argilia and beyond.

I must admit that this story did take me a minute to figure out. I found myself getting lost and having to go back and reread certain passages to better understand Beatrice’s journey. Once I was in, it was hard to escape. Lawrence Hill gives the story an Alice in Wonderland treatment with talking animals and made up words. There is humour to lighten the load of some of the heavier moments. Many of the early chapters in the story felt like complete stories in and of themselves. As we learn more about Beatrice and about Croc Harry and Horace Harrison Junior the Third, the moments with Beatrice feel like they could fill up a whole separate anthology of short stories akin to the Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. As readers get to the heart of the story and the adventure of the three intrepid friends, we learn how they all ended up in Argilia and how they will navigate getting home.

There are timely themes such as race and politics embedded in the story. Lawrence Hill uses a fantastical story to highlight many of the problems we are seeing played out in the nightly news. I was reading this story at the time of the truck convoy occupation in Ottawa, ON so it was clear and easy to draw parallels from the story to the real world. Beatrice is a strong and self assured child. Even upon waking up with amnesia, she still knows herself. She exudes confidence and readers can instantly see she is a leader. As we get to the end of the story and we learn more about the Queen of Carolina, there is a feeling that Beatrice is going to be the eventual catalyst for change, she will be the one to ultimately change the world for the better. What an amazing example to young readers, to show them they are strong and capable and will ultimately change the world.

Middle graders will love the ride Lawrence Hill takes them on. The humour and the nonsense of Argilia plunges the reader into a wonderful fantasy world before pulling them out just briefly and leaving them with questions and considerations. When I got to the end, I felt like there was so much left to say and am curious if Lawrence Hill has another middle grade story to share that either predates the events of Beatrice and Croc Harry or continues their journey. The journey certainly feels incomplete in the best way as it requires the reader to keep thinking about the nature of the Queen and what will happen with the Brian the Giant.