Wednesday 21 May 2014

Kid Lit Blog Hop #39


Welcome back to the Kid Lit Blog Hop #39
 
Today I have a very cool chapter book to review for you.
The Secret Of Grim Hill by Linda DeMeulemeester
 
 
Description from Amazon:
 
In the first book of the Grim Hill series,Cat Peters is desperate to get out of dreary Darkmont High,
but her mom can’t afford the tuition at Grimoire, the private
school nearby. So when she hears that Grimoire is offering
a full scholarship to the winners of a Halloween soccer match,
Cat jumps at the chance! She doesn’t pay much attention when
her little sister, Sookie, and their bookworm neighbor, Jasper,
try to tell her there’s something ... just not right about the old
school on the hill. Could something truly wicked be at work
inside the walls of Grimoire?
 
I found this book in my Amazon suggestions, and I have to say, I just loved the cover and that is what drew me in.  I am a big fan of a middle grade mystery, and I was not disappointed by this one.

 Written in first person narrative, I found myself swept up by Cat's conundrums. She moves to a new town after her parents split. I felt Cat's pain, as everything and everyone in the new school seemed against her. That is until she tries out for the soccer team. Suddenly, things start to swing her way. Cat enjoys her new found popularity, just a little too much at the expense of her one and only loyal friend Jasper, and her younger sister Sookie.  Soon, Cat can think of nothing but soccer, and suddenly she is not the only one. The whole town has soccer fever. Except Sookie. She doesn't like soccer at all and is even less impressed by Grimoire school. 
Poor Sookie keeps getting dragged to soccer training, and while Cat and her friends are on the field, Sookie befriends and odd girl. The girl seems to know an awful lot about Grimoire school, and she does her best to convince Sookie to stop Cat from playing in the soccer match.
Cat of course, is so focused on her game, she will not listen to any of Sookie's warnings. That is until
some awful coincidences begin to happen, that even Cat can't deny are strange.
  Cat swallows her pride and enlists the help of Jasper. What they find, will expose a sinister secret, one that you will be itching to discover.
This was a fast paced read, with just enough hint of the mystery along the way to keep you guessing. I believe children aged 8-12 will enjoy this short chapter book, and will be left wanting more.
 
I am usually not a fan of first person narrative, but I loved the author's writing style.
Upon further investigation, Grim Hill was the winner of the 2008 Silver Birch Award in Ontario (Over 200,000 children vote in this readers choice award) 

I was also delighted to find there are actually about 6 books in the series and I just purchased the next one.


 
To find out more about this series, stop by

http://grimhill.com/

Happy Hopping Folks
 
Welcome to the 39th Kid Lit Blog Hop where twice per month (the 1st and 3rd Wednesday) we continue to develop a dynamic and engaged community of children's books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists. So, you are always more than welcome to join us by popping in a post and hopping around to meet some of your fellow Kid Lit bloggers and authors!

Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!

Kid Lit Blog Hop
 

Kid Lit Blog Hop Rules *Please Read*

1. We ask that you kindly follow your hosts. You can follow us any way you choose (Email, GFC, Twitter, Facebook, G+, Pinterest, etc.), but we've added our preferences below. If you could just give us a quick "follow" or "like" that would be much appreciated! Make sure to leave us a message if you are following us (i.e., on Twitter or Facebook or on our websites) and we will be sure to follow you back. Thanks! :-)
Hostesses:
  2. Link up any Kid Lit related post. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.
* Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post.*
* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one. Please link unique posts each time ~ no repeats please. *
* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*
* Feel free to link more than one post.*
3. Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment. We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you! 4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. If you'd prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links! 5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!
Interested in co-hosting the Kid Lit Blog Hop? If you've joined us before, you are welcome to join us again! Please email renee @ motherdaughterbookreviews (dot) com and put Co-Hosting Blog Hop in the subject line.
Happy Hopping!

5 comments:

  1. What a fun book! I like those covers, too. They remind me of my old 3D Viewmaster cartoon reel (and yes, that's a good thing!)
    Rebecca at The Ninja Librarian

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooh, this looks like so much fun! I think my girls (and their mom!) would really enjoy this. Thanks so much for sharing!
    Tina

    ReplyDelete
  3. My daughters play soccer and there are very few soccer chapter books with GIRLS who play soccer. I think they would like this one! Thanks for linking up to the Kid Lit Blog Hop!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like a fun book and I love that you found it via Amazon suggestions - I always wondered if people took their suggestions. ;) Thanks for hosting the Kid Lit Blog Hop!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I can't imagine what possessed you to read this one! lol Well, it sounds like a great little mystery. Thanks for sharing it in the Kid Lit Blog Hop! :-)

    ReplyDelete