Monday, October 24, 2011

A SCARY GOOD BOOK Review by a Special Guest

Since it's getting close to Halloween, I asked my nine-year-old daughter Catherine to read Anita Laydon Miller's middle-grade mystery (link) A Scary Good Book.

Anita did a blog tour about a month ago to promote it, and it sounded then like a fun mystery. It involves a kidnapping and clues left in library books. And the cover looks super-exciting.

Anita also has a great middle-grade blog (link), which I'd encourage you to check out and follow.

So without further ado, here's Catherine's review!

I think A Scary Good Book (by Anita Laydon Miller, link) is good because it's a mystery with a touch of romance, which is my favorite kind of story.

The story starts with (main character) Hannah helping Mrs. Beechman with a five-gallon Colorado blue spruce and two bags of mulch that Mrs. Beechman bought from Hannah and her mom’s nursery/house.

Hannah Stone’s father, Louis Stone, had been killed when a car hit him when he had been walking across the street, and people from all over Colorado came to the scene of the crime.

No one knows what caused the accident… until the end of the book. (LTM edit: I had to explain not to give away the ending.) The other mystery is about Katie Lyon.

About a year before that, Katie Lyon was abducted. Hannah saw marks that Katie left in books that she had checked out from the library telling that she had been abducted by a madman.

The rest of the book is about Hannah trying to find out who put the marks in the book. Then she finds out it was Katie, then Hannah gets abducted.

Reading at the dentist's office.
I can’t tell you any more or it’ll ruin the book. But it really was a scary good book.

My questions for Catibug:

Who is your favorite character?
My favorite character is Katie Lyon because she reminds me of my little sister Laura. She is smart for using her eyeliner to mark the books because she didn’t have a pencil. That’s something I could see Laura doing if she had eyeliner.

What was your favorite scene?
My favorite scene was when Hannah and her friend Oliver “Ollie” Ortega broke into the library to see if they could find out more about who marked the books. It is cool to think about two 12-year-olds sneaking into the library.

What was the scariest part?
The scariest part was when the kidnapper set his house on fire.

Would you recommend this book to other kids your age?
I would recommend this book for kids at least eight through twelve, because it is a scary mystery with a little bit of romance. (The romance is between Hannah and Ollie.)

And there you have it folks! Straight from Anita's (almost) target audience. Seriously, Catherine read it in less than 24 hours, and then asked if she could borrow her dad's Kindle so she could read it again.

Grab a copy, and have a scary-fun time reading, reader- and writer-friends. Til Thursday~ <3

35 comments:

Laura Pauling said...

I love when my kids love books and I know the author! :)

S.A. Larsenッ said...

I loved this, Catibug!! Wonderful job. I'll head over and check out Anita's blog. Thanks!

Stina said...

Awesome, review, Catibug.

I'll have to keep this in my for my daughter (once she gets to right age). The romance part would scare off my boys, especially the nine year old. ;)

Anonymous said...

Pictures of kids reading books warms my heart. What a great review! :)

Kelly Polark said...

Awesome review by the perfect reader for this!
I loved the book too!!

Creepy Query Girl said...

what a fantastic review! Sounds like a great read!

Matthew MacNish said...

Awesome. Well done LTM and Catibug!

Tracy Jo said...

Nice review Catherine! I think this will be a perfect Christmas present for my niece. Thank you LTM and Catherine! :-)

Old Kitty said...

What a most fantastic review of a wonderful book!! Thank you Catherine and LTM!!

Take care
x

Talli Roland said...

How wonderful to have a review of Anita's book from Catherine! Thank you, Catherine and LTM. Great stuff!

DL Hammons said...

I know a writer who needs to be looking over her shoulder because her daughter is coming on strong! :)

Good job Catibug!

Anita said...

Thank you so much, ladies! I'm printing this post and putting it on my Happy Wall! Someone in Colorado is smiling because of you!

Dawn Kurtagich said...

OMG cute! Love this so much :D

Carolyn Abiad said...

Great review! Catibug sounds like a mini Leigh - already hooked on a touch of romance. ;)

Dawn Ius said...

That is awesome!

Tara said...

What a fantastic review. I'm definitely buying this for my kiddos.

My favorite part, though, was when Catherine complimented her sister!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Great review Catherine. And I loved your interview answers. Makes me want to read Anita's book. Thanks.

Unknown said...

I have this book on my Kindle. I need to read it. Great review.

LTM said...

@Laura--me, too! I was able to say, "Do you want to ask the author any questions?" and know if she said yes, she could! :D She didn't... ;p

@Liz--me, too. Esp. when they're mine. :D Thanks!

@Dawn--Yay! Thanks~ <3

Unknown said...

Your daughter is one awesome book reviewer! I want to read the book.

DEZMOND said...

hope Catherine got some chocolate for this :)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Fantastic review! It definitely makes me want to read the book.

Vicki Rocho said...

Great job, Catherine! I used to LOVE reading scary books

PK HREZO said...

Your daughter is a star! What a fantastic review. :)
I recently found Anita's blog and she's wonderful. That pic of Catherine reading is too cute!

LTM said...

@PK--Thanks, girl! She really is a good little writer, and Anita's book is really good for that age. I'm reading it now! ;o) <3

Unknown said...

What a great review. Well done, Catherine! I love that picture too. So sweet. :)

Patti said...

Great review and I love the photo. I wish my kids did more of that.

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Soon Catibug will have her own blog reviewing YA books.
Twice, she read it? Must check this out.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Catherine, for a great review! The book sounds fantastic!

LTM said...

@Shirley--Thanks, honey! She says it's a great book for kids her age... :D <3

Julie Musil said...

This is AWESOME! I love hearing directly from kids. Yes, they're the target audience and their opinions make or break a book. She did such a great job!

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed the book review and the interview.

M Pax said...

Great review, Catherine. Really fabulous job.

Ella said...

I love your daughter's review! I love the idea of breaking into a library, too ;D
I love you shared your daughter's opinion, great review!

She read it twice, that confirms it; I have to read it
555 <3

KM Nalle said...

What a great review! I love me a little romance in my storylines too.