Title: Ellie Ment and the Material Matter by Bertie Stephens

Pages: 318

Publisher: Clean Planet Foundation (Jun. 25, 2025)

Genre: fantasy, children’s, middle grade, adventure

Summary

Ellie doesn’t believe in magic, she believes in science.
But science is magic!

Science explains everything, right? But when Ellie’s school burns down in roaring purple flames (wait, what?), her favorite teacher hands her wrist bracers that summon the elements (Bracers…Nitrogen!), and she’s invited to join a secret society of the smartest minds on Earth (yikes!), suddenly not everything has an explanation after all!

Driven by logic, unshakeable stubbornness, and an unreasonable number of jam jars, Ellie is determined to prove that science can explain everything – no matter how strange things get. But can she?

Ellie Ment and the Material Matter is a STEM-based adventure where chemistry meets chaos, physics bends reality, and curiosity might just save the world.

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* All thoughts and opinions are my own! Thank you to Online Book Club for the e-copy!*

I absolutely adored this book! It had been a while since I had read a middle grade book, but I was specifically looking for something fun and clever that just had that type of whimsy that can only be found in children’s books and Ellie Ment and the Material Matter absolutely delivered! 👏

Ellie makes such a great main character. She is a curious and adventurous 11-year-old, who finds herself on an adventure after witnessing her school get burnt down and receiving special bracelets that give her “powers.” The dynamic between herself and her best friend, Michael, is also very sweet and realistic. I really appreciated how they learned to deal with conflict between each other and others. I also particularly loved the narrator for the book and how he would occasionally “break the fourth wall” with the reader.

While the pacing was a bit slow in some parts, the actual mystery and storyline more than made up for it. I truly was hooked on this book from the beginning until the very end. The scientific aspect felt just right as well. While there was quite a bit of information, it never felt dense or difficult to understand. I actually learned a few new things, too! This is the type of book that does such great job bridging the gap between science and literature.

Overall, this was such a fun, enjoyable read. While the main mystery is cleared up, there is quite the cliffhanger at the end of this one and so I am already looking forward to reading book 2 and seeing what Ellie gets into next! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves science and is looking for a little whimsy in their day.

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