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33rd out of 34 books
—
10 voters
The Fossil Hunter of Sydney Mines
by
JoAnn Yhard (Goodreads Author)
Thirteen-year-old Grace already has too much going on--grieving over her father's mysterious death, dealing with her distraught mother's erratic parenting, and evading her creepy nosy neighbor, Mr. Stuckless, just for starters. She and her friends Fred, Mai and Jeeter like to get away from it all by hunting for fossils near their secret hideaway, the abandoned mine they've...more
Paperback, 169 pages
Published
October 1st 2010
by Nimbus Publishing (CN)
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REVIEW
Grace receives a note about her father’s recent death saying “It wasn’t an accident!” This note sets Grace and her friends on an adventure to solve the mystery. They use their fossil hunting skills to help them find clues.
Jo Ann Yhard writes a good mystery. Not all authors have that talent. She drops clues along the way, but does not make anything too obvious until the very end. Nice! There was all sorts of fossil hunting information, making that part of the story very realistic.
The real...more
Grace receives a note about her father’s recent death saying “It wasn’t an accident!” This note sets Grace and her friends on an adventure to solve the mystery. They use their fossil hunting skills to help them find clues.
Jo Ann Yhard writes a good mystery. Not all authors have that talent. She drops clues along the way, but does not make anything too obvious until the very end. Nice! There was all sorts of fossil hunting information, making that part of the story very realistic.
The real...more
Jo Ann Yhard has built a page-turner akin to Nancy Drew. A mining company wanted to strip mine in the area, but Grace’s father didn’t agree due to the damage and loss it would do to the area’s irreplaceable fossils. Her father led the protests alongside Grace, but those stopped once her father disappeared and was presumed dead in an accident. Grace and her friends continued fossil hunting in his stead, searching for fossils in bootleg mining tunnels, even though it is dangerous and goes against...more
Reason for Reading: I liked the whole caves/fossil hunting angle of the mystery.
Grace's father died a mysterious death three months ago, her mother is taking it very hard, and last but not least her creepy neighbour appears to be watching Grace's every motion. So Grace spends most of her time with 3 friends fossil hunting (an activity her father was passionate about) out by the caves near abandoned mines and sinkholes. Grace soon turns her friends into detectives when she receives an anonymous n...more
Grace's father died a mysterious death three months ago, her mother is taking it very hard, and last but not least her creepy neighbour appears to be watching Grace's every motion. So Grace spends most of her time with 3 friends fossil hunting (an activity her father was passionate about) out by the caves near abandoned mines and sinkholes. Grace soon turns her friends into detectives when she receives an anonymous n...more
I am the author - please see below for a brief summary of the story...
Thirteen-year-old Grace already has too much going on -- grieving over her father’s mysterious death, dealing with her distraught mother’s erratic parenting, and evading her creepy nosy neighbour, Mr. Stuckless, just for starters. She and her friends Fred, Mai, and Jeeter like to get away from it all by hunting for fossils near their secret hideaway, the abandoned mine they've nicknamed The Black Hole. But when Grace receives...more
Thirteen-year-old Grace already has too much going on -- grieving over her father’s mysterious death, dealing with her distraught mother’s erratic parenting, and evading her creepy nosy neighbour, Mr. Stuckless, just for starters. She and her friends Fred, Mai, and Jeeter like to get away from it all by hunting for fossils near their secret hideaway, the abandoned mine they've nicknamed The Black Hole. But when Grace receives...more
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Jason's (age 10) rating 5 stars, my rating (much older than Jason) 3 stars...so we averaged out at 4 stars
I won this book in the Goodreads first reads giveaway. The book arrived a few days ago and disappeared from my to-read pile. My 10 year old son found it. Fascinated by the subject matter - fossils and some sort of mystery, my son proceeded to read. And read. He did not put the book down. He then surprised me by saying that he finished the book. He liked the characters, the mystery, and that...more
I won this book in the Goodreads first reads giveaway. The book arrived a few days ago and disappeared from my to-read pile. My 10 year old son found it. Fascinated by the subject matter - fossils and some sort of mystery, my son proceeded to read. And read. He did not put the book down. He then surprised me by saying that he finished the book. He liked the characters, the mystery, and that...more
Originally posted on http://lavenderlines.wordpress.com/
I forgot how much I loved a great middle grade mystery. When I was in grade six I got into Eric Wilson’s Tom and Liz Austin mysteries and started dreaming of being a writer when I grew up. Reading The Fossil Hunter of Sydney Mines took me back to those days and left me with a happy, glowy feeling.
This was a smart mystery. I mean, I’m 36 and there was stuff that I didn’t figure out. But once things were resolved, it was easy to look back and...more
I forgot how much I loved a great middle grade mystery. When I was in grade six I got into Eric Wilson’s Tom and Liz Austin mysteries and started dreaming of being a writer when I grew up. Reading The Fossil Hunter of Sydney Mines took me back to those days and left me with a happy, glowy feeling.
This was a smart mystery. I mean, I’m 36 and there was stuff that I didn’t figure out. But once things were resolved, it was easy to look back and...more
This is a wonderful, fast-paced mystery in the style of Nancy Drew (for those of you who read those), The Hardy Boys (if you're a boy), and most importantly, the awesome mystery chapter books of the 1980s (if you're me!)
Grace is a wonderful character - snarky, fearless but secretly very soft-hearted, especially about her father, whose disappearance (and presumed death) sets the story in motion.
She is backed up by a wonderful gang consisting of accident-prone Fred, extremely organize Mai, and the...more
Grace is a wonderful character - snarky, fearless but secretly very soft-hearted, especially about her father, whose disappearance (and presumed death) sets the story in motion.
She is backed up by a wonderful gang consisting of accident-prone Fred, extremely organize Mai, and the...more
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The only thing Grace loves more than looking for fossils is her father. She can't believe he is gone. She doesn't understand how they could find his crashed vehicle but not his body. She also doesn't understand who put the strange message in her locker that read, "It wasn't an accident!" She and her friends set out to find out what really happened to her father, who was behind it and why. I love mysteries and this was a really good one. I am looking forward to handing this off to one of my stude...more
Reading THE FOSSIL HUNTER OF SYDNEY MINES was like taking a huge step back into my childhood. I devoured this book now, and I would have then. With a solid mystery that had me reminiscing of Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew (odd combination, I know, but that’s what I thought of!), I was drawn in by the plot and characters.
Grace, Jeeter, Fred and Mai are four friends who spend their spare time sneaking out to their hiding place in an abandoned mine and looking for fossils. Grace’s father, a fossil hunte...more
Grace, Jeeter, Fred and Mai are four friends who spend their spare time sneaking out to their hiding place in an abandoned mine and looking for fossils. Grace’s father, a fossil hunte...more
The Fossil Hunter of Sydney Mines by Jo Ann Yhard is an engaging mystery for middle grade readers. Thirteen-year old Grace is trying to solve the mystery of her father's death. Set in Nova Scotia, the story involves fossils, mining, and environmental issues that will be attractive for youth. [return][return]The story moves quickly and is filled with authentic interactions among characters. The young characters must deal with everyday problems from parents and school while finding clues and condu...more
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Won this book on goodreads. I liked it. I got fond of all the kids and I hope there will be other stories with them. Nice suspense too. In the end, I couldn't stop reading. And I like the environmental theme in the book. Great message for the kids.
I won this book with goodreads. I found it to be a very enjoyable read.
May 03, 2013
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