Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
Gussy
Jimmy Cajoleas · 2021
77/100
👍 Worth It
Cajoleas builds a genuinely distinctive world here — Old West flavor with magical ritual at its heart — and Gussy herself is the kind of principled, gritty protagonist middle-grade fantasy readers remember. The possession scenes and horror-adjacent imagery earn a parental heads-up for the younger end of the 8–12 range, but Kirkus's praise for the setting and heart is well-earned. A confident HarperCollins debut that stands on its own even for readers unfamiliar with the author.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: fantasy possession scenes and horror-adjacent imagery; may be intense for sensitive readers under 10. We still scored it 77; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
📚 Buy the book ↗📱 Read on Kindle ↗🎧 Listen on Audible ↗ affiliate links · support the site, never the verdict
As an Amazon Associate and Audible affiliate, Penny earns from qualifying purchases. This never affects the verdict — see our affiliate disclosure.
Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety72
substance78
craft80
originality85
accuracy80
hype70
age-fit78
human-eye80
Penny’s verdict77
Cross-pollinate