Book Review: The Meadowbrook Murders by Jessica Goodman

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The Meadowbrook Murders  by Jessica Goodman  is a young adult novel published on February 4, 2025. The story opens with the character Amy discovering the bodies of her classmates, Sarah and Ryan, who are undoubtedly deceased. Told from alternating perspectives of Amy and Liz, both students are trying to find out who and why someone would want to murder two students at a prestigious boarding school. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this book from NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for free in exchange for my honest review. When the story first began, I thought it was taking place at a college or university before I realized it took place at a boarding school. Other than that slight confusion, this suspenseful mystery captured my attention from the very beginning and had me on the edge of my seat. Both of the main characters were vastly different from one another but were likable in their own way. Unfortunately, other than Amy and Liz, the only o...

Book Review: The Secret Sisters by Avi

book review the secret sisters avi

The Secret Sisters by Newberry Medal-Winning Author Avi opens with Ida Bidson on her way to live her biggest dream thus far in her life . . . to go to high school so she can eventually become a teacher.  The Roaring Twenties is in it's hey day, and Ida is learning a lot of new things from using a telephone for the first time to seeing her first moving picture to learning how to speak "flapper".  But, when she corrects the principal in front of her class, she worries that she may not last long at the high school.

A huge thank you to Net Galley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Secret Sisters by Avi.  Having heard of the author, but having never reading any of his books, I was intrigued by the synopsis of his latest middle grade book and requested to read it.  When I was approved, I was absolutely delighted.

Although I'm not the target audience, I found The Secret Sisters to be fun and engaging . . . and even educational!  I loved the fact that Ida and her friends were learning how to speak "flapper" from one of their more modern friends and learned how to dance the Charleston.  What was fascinating was that these things were frowned upon by some people in the town.  This story was a great reminder that this time in history was vastly different than it is now.  Even though I knew that many people in the twenties and thirties didn't get their high school education, especially those who lived on a farm, it was a great reminder to me, and I'm sure a new lesson to kids nowadays.  This book is a great historical fiction novel for children between the ages of eight and twelve.  I enjoyed reading this story immensely and now want to read its predecessor.

Four out of five stars is what I gave The Secret Sisters by Avi.  The expected publication date is August 29, 2023.  It's sure to be a winner with kids and adults alike.

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