Kate MacDonald, PhD

Eleven-year-old Izzy Steam, an aspiring biologist with a case of anxious perfectionism, is returning to Science Valley Boarding School after an alarmingly warm winter break in her hometown. Back on campus in the Pacific Northwest, Izzy begins to worry that the rich, delicate environment around her may be succumbing to climate change. Can these cool, rainy mountains and forests stay diverse and wild, even as the planet gets hotter and drier?

As if confirming her worst fears, Izzy finds a mysterious, shimmering vine tucked into a quiet corner of the valley, and discovers that it is wilting. She kicks into high gear to discover why, taking action to preserve the vine before it disappears forever. As she attacks the problem with the scientific method, the rigors of experimentation are the least of her troubles: she must navigate tough mountain terrain, repair rusting weather stations, and convince a fellow scientist that humanity can still be trusted to save nature from extinction.

But hardest of all, as every proposed solution to save the vine sparks a new argument, Izzy begins to lose confidence in her own mission. Is it even ethical to try to rescue her beloved valley, or should she stay out of the way and, for better or worse, let nature run its course?

Alternating between narration and Izzy’s lab notebook, Izzy Steam: The Vine at the End of the World is a story about a brilliant girl who learns that saving the wilderness is never simple and that being imperfect is not the same as being wrong.

When Izzy Steam, an eleven-year-old aspiring biologist with a case of anxious perfectionism, arrives at the Science Valley Boarding School, she feels right at home. Alongside her PhD-level mother and her ambitious new friends, Danica and Micah, it’s as if the school were made for kids like her. But is she really good enough to be there?

One night, Izzy happens upon a curious bone from Micah’s collection of treasures found in the woods around campus, which sends her into a molecular mystery. Maybe this could be Izzy’s claim to fame as a young scientist! With the guidance of one of her teachers, Dr. Pabo, who helps her test the remains, Izzy learns the bone contains not-quite-human DNA. It’s certainly not that of an animal, either. One thing’s for sure—the bone is very old. So old, in fact, it could be a link to humanity’s ancestral past…

Then again, through the rigors of the scientific method, Izzy might make an even greater discovery—being wrong is okay, and the best results aren’t always perfect. Alternating between narration and excerpts from Izzy’s lab notebook, Molecules and Mystery Bones is a tale of a worried girl’s deep exploration into the tools of careful study and young life.