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Raven Hill Mysteries: Ghost of Raven Hill/Sorcerer's Apprentice
Two crime-busting adventures in one, from the internationally bestselling author of Deltora Quest!
When Liz and her friends begin helping out around the neighborhood, all they want to do is earn a little extra pocket change. Nobody said anything about risking their weekends--and their lives--on some of Raven Hill's most mysterious secrets. But trouble has a funny way of sneaking up on Liz, Tom, Sunny, Elmo, Richelle, and Nick. . . .
In their first adventure, the team accepts a job at a struggling newspaper. Can they figure out who--or what--is out to destroy it?
Soon after, a terrible crime spree means working at the local novelty shop won't be all fun and games.
Two books in one!
When Liz and her friends begin helping out around the neighborhood, all they want to do is earn a little extra pocket change. Nobody said anything about risking their weekends--and their lives--on some of Raven Hill's most mysterious secrets. But trouble has a funny way of sneaking up on Liz, Tom, Sunny, Elmo, Richelle, and Nick. . . .
In their first adventure, the team accepts a job at a struggling newspaper. Can they figure out who--or what--is out to destroy it?
Soon after, a terrible crime spree means working at the local novelty shop won't be all fun and games.
Two books in one!
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2005
About the author
Emily Rodda
299 books2,135 followersEmily Rodda (real name Jennifer Rowe) was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney in 1973 with an MA (Hons) in English Literature. Moving into a publishing career, first as a book editor, and finally as a publisher at Angus & Robertson, Rodda's first book was published in 1984.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 30, 2018
At the bookshop where I volunteer, this had been out too long and was going to be thrown out. I figured I could give it a try because I like mysteries and read books like this when I was younger and I thought it could be okay, so I got to take it home for free.
I don't like the cover because it's so dramatic. The girl looks crazy with that expression and the weird hand pose. Made double bad because the suspected "ghost" in the first story was an old woman, not a young woman.
The page with the outline of all 6 characters and their signatures was cute. They each had their own distinctive signature and that was such a cute touch.
#1 The Ghost of Raven Hill
I hate foreshadowing and this had it on the very first page. Liz had an idea for them all to get a job and make money. "The idea (though I didn't know it then) that was going to put us all up to our necks in trouble!" I can't stand that!
She said up until then the Raven Hill ghost hadn't bothered them, that would come later. Once everyone got on board with her idea to get jobs, she said she thought her worries were over but they were just getting started.
It took a while for me to keep the characters straight. Tom is skinny and gangly. Draws.
Sunny, small and full of energy. Does yoga.
Nick, smart. Good with computers.
Richelle, beautiful and oblivious.
Elmo is a loner. Helps his dad at the newspaper.
The book's age showed in the kids going to the newspaper to print an ad stating help for hire. Elmo's dad runs the business, he's Elmo II, Mr. Zimmer. His dad ran the newspaper before he died. Now Elmo the kid is Elmo III and he helps his dad out. It just so happened that Mr. Zimmer had 6 workers quit and go to the new competition, so he had his son fill a spot and here were 5 more kids to deliver papers....so convenient. Liz's mom also got her a job at the retirement home, where she was to do things for one of the old ladies, Miss Plummer. She knew Elmo I and didn't like him. She and Elmo I were a part of a group of kids back in their day. Also, the glen is going to be developed. I was so disinterested, because I read a book this year where a glen was going to be developed, no kidding, so I was over it.
Elmo III shared that his grandpa had been trying to share this big story before he died, but he couldn't talk so they don't know what it is.
Alfie's son, Terry Bigge, lent Mr. Zimmer money to buy new equipment for the shop after it was burgled. Elmo I's house had been burgled too. Ruby loved Alfie and gave her land to Terry. He was going to build condos in the glen. All these mishaps were happening at the Pen, so it was clear it was being sabotaged. The Star kept trying to buy them out.
They had enough to worry about with the failing newspaper, competition, sabotages, Elmo I's problems, an old lady remembering bad blood from the past, and the development of the glen, without a ghost coming into the story. There was so much to keep up with I couldn't remember all the details.
It was really farfetched that Liz figured out the arsonists who torched the place had been talking about Elmo's grandpa's will. That they were out to destroy it because it had something incriminating about them in it. And the big story he'd talked about was tied to it and with the will.
Terry told Mr. Zimmer that he had to take over the newspaper because his company wasn't giving him a choice. Mr. Summer didn't have the money to pay Terry back. Richelle had the idea to convince Terry to pretend to be sick to miss the next day's transaction. I couldn't believe what I was reading.
Miss Moss, the severe, assistant agreed that Elmo's plan to have the people help donate money was a good idea. So this grown woman experienced as an assistant asked a high school student what she should write in the flyer.
Miss Plummer went missing and Liz found her at the glen. She said she had to do it for her friend Ruby and mentioned an envelope in a tree and that Elmo was clever.
The coordinator at the retirement home told Liz that Miss Plummer goes to the glen on her bad days, and that's really the "Glen ghost." She laughed about Miss Plummer scaring the 6 of them that day.
The wrapup near the end was a little hard to follow. It was a lot of information coming my way and I fought to keep up. Miss Plummer had mentioned a tree that never died, and that was Miss Miss's plastic plant that Elmo I gave her. Ruby had left the land to Alfie, and then to Terry if his dad Alfie should die before him. His dad did die but Ruby could see that Terry wasn't to be trusted because he tried to talk her out of writing another will stating the glen would go to the public. She told Miss Plummer who was supposed to give it to Elmo I but she got sick and couldn't remember. Later when the newspaper mentioned the glen would be developed, Miss Plummer remembered, told Elmo and they found it and put it away. Elmo I told Terry he wouldn't turn the note over if he left the glen alone. Elmo told Pearl about the note and new will, but Terry came to the office and ransacked it looking for them, and that caused Elmo to have the stroke and die.
It made no sense to me why Ms. Star would even want the Pen if she had such a good newspaper of her own. Her staff was better, better technology and wagons and everything, so why did she even want the rundown Pen? It wasn't even explained.
Liz said she never mentioned to Miss Plummer how weird it was that the retirement home had looked for her in the glen and couldn't find her, almost like someone was hiding her. And the cold breath she felt and the flower perfume that Ruby liked. I did get chills from that so that was a pretty big moment.
It was nice that they made it into their paper, but she said it was their skills that weren't mentioned that had really come in handy. Tom's drawing had helped expose Tonia, the new typist who came in after hours and made all the printing mistakes. Sunny'a gymnastics classes allowed her to get herself and Liz out of the burning building through the window. Nick's curiosity got them into Terry's office where they heard him talking about his nefarious plan with Ms. Star. Liz's heart helped her make friends with Miss Plummer and go to look for her in the glen and hear about the plant. Richelle's obsession with fashion came into play when she noticed Tom had gotten a detail about Ms. Star's clothes wrong, which she knew because she's seen Tonia and Ms. Star eating together. So it did come together better than I had previously thought.
Idk how old they are, how and when they met. Their appearances weren't described enough so I couldn't visualize them. Only a couple if the group had hair or eye color mentioned.
I didn't know why they were friends. The way Nick talked to Liz wasn't okay. He called her an idiot once and was always getting sarcastic and putting her ideas down. Richelle said she makes everything too complicated. They owed her an apology but they didn't even talk about it.
#2 The Sorcerer's Apprentice
I didn't like the POV change and would have preferred to stay with Liz. Tom sat behind Richelle and he said she was glamorous, that she always looked great, and he started drawing her.
I still didn't understand why they're friends. They don't even get along that well. Nick called Tom a dork. Richelle got mad at him for teasing her and drawing her and everything else.
Just like in the first story, their employer didn't tell them what exactly they'd be doing, so when they got there and asked, he said I didn't tell you, did I? Just like at the newspaper shop. What is with the forgetful employers who don't explain what they want them to do? It's not funny.
I got sick of the group having to meet to consult on every job offer. Liz got the offers, told the group, and then had to meet up and discuss who wanted the job and when. It was so boring. It reminded me of the Babysitter Club series with young people taking on jobs I don't think they'd be hired for.
Tom asked Sunny if he could sketch her and then a joke about her having a beard. She asked if she was really that ugly, and he thought she has a really nice face, wanted to say that but couldn't. Does anyone like Liz?! He knew Sunny was a good friend because she laughs at his jokes.
Tom took some puzzle boxes home from the magic shop because Timmy the brat mixed them all up. Tom didn't want his family to know about it and told his younger brother not to tell. One day his mom walked in and he had all the pieces out. He was like there he was with all the pieces, and his mom covered her eyes and said oops, she didn't see. I had absolutely no idea what the big deal was about the puzzles. Was it childish for him to be doing them? I was lost.
I wish there had been more humor but it was funny when Sunny was telling Tom about her babysitting with Elmo. The ice cream truck rode by and Timmy wanted one. Elmo told him they only play the song when they're out of ice cream. People started buying them, so Elmo said it's winter and you can't buy the ice cream. You order it and they deliver it in the summer. Of course then Timmy eating ice cream so it didn't work, but that was funny.
Sid's magic shop wasn't doing too well and his main income was renting the apartment above the shop. He had this young, pregnant couple staying but then they decided to move out. They paid him the 2 months rent they owed him and so Sid had all the money on the counter. He had to leave and couldn't go to the bank so Tom offered to drop it off at the bank, something about a slip you just have to fill out. Things must have been different back then. And who would trust a teenager to deposit money into their account? I was so mad knowing exactly what was going to happen because the Gripper is on the loose.
Both stories had failing businesses and money trouble. Not exactly an exciting or interesting plot.
Tom's drawing skills same in handy when his mom was robbed. She'd been waiting for Tom to buy flowers and he kept his backpack with her with Sid's money in it. She got a glimpse of the robber and Tom drew from her descriptions.
Sid wasn't even upset about the money. He took it all in stride. Tom's mom mentioned to Sid that Tom made a drawing of the robber. He was shocked and told them it would be best not to show it to anyone, and said good when they said they hadn't shown it to the police.
Tom's little brother had a $10 bill with a tear and a little smiley face that their mom gave him to buy his pics at school with. He reported that day that his money was stolen, and he thought Timmy did it. While babysitting Tom had Timmy get his own money to do the magic trick with, and he saw the exact bill his little brother had. He got mad at Timmy and told not to ever steal again. Timmy was embarrassed. So sometime later Tom learns that his brother didn't end up taking that bill to school. His mom had taken it back and said the Gripper must have gotten it.
He asked Timmy where he'd found the money and Timmy took him right to it. They found everyone's bags and wallets and everything, but all the cash was gone. That's when Tom finally put together that the nightmare face his mom saw was a Halloween mask like Sid has. I had thought of that the first time she said it. He also put together that Sid can change the sound of his voice and disappear easily, and his metal hook could be what people feel pressed against their backs. I had hoped it wasn't Sid, and then I realized at the alley scene that it would be too obvious for it to be him. I had suspected Dave and Danielle, his tenants, as soon as I saw them. They were acting suspicious and I didn't buy their story that they wanted to leave because she didn't feel safe. I didn't think they were exercising either. Tom had thought they were weak and dumb but I knew he'd underestimated them. And I am not kidding, I doubted that she was pregnant too. I guessed the bad guys from their very first appearance in the story and guessed correctly that she was pretending to be pregnant to perfect an innocent image. It really took the wind out of the sails to predict these things so early in the book and by the time they found at like 6 pages from the end, it was old news and I was like it took you this long to figure it out? It spoiled the whole thing, not that it was good to begin with.
It was a nice surprise that they heard the cops come, yelling and talking to each other, calling for backup, and telling the couple to get down and send the kids out. Tom thought there were 6 cops because of the voices and when they got out there he saw it was only Sid! What a nice trick!
So when Sid had told Tom not to show the police the sketch, he'd been worried the police would suspect him because it's his mask. He'd started suspecting the couple because he hadn't sold one of those old masks in years and they could have gotten it in the back. Sid asked could you imagine him being the Gripper and Tom was uncomfortable because he had suspected him there for a little bit.
Sid put together that the attacks started when they got to town, and that Danielle had looked ready to pop when she got there 4 months ago and her stomach hadn't grown at all.
It had a good ending, a positive note. Sid's shop was the hottest in town and kids went there to get games. Mr. Zimmer wrote about him in the paper and he was a sensation, in newspapers and magazines and TV, so he got his happy ending.
This was too much Tom and Sunny for me towards the end. I felt the others dropped off the map and I would have liked for it to be the whole gang. It was also too much of Tom alone, because he was working at the magic shop alone and had all of the clues. At least last time every single one of them was a part of gathering clues. This was Tom's show and I didn't like that.
I’m not really glad I decided to read it. I wouldn’t have missed out on anything had I not taken it home. It’s not so bad that I wish I hadn’t gotten it, but there was no reward for reading. They’re both run of the mill mysteries, not enough mystery to them for me, and each time there only exists like 2 possible bad guys so it’s easy to guess. It could only be 1 of 2 people. Both were boring and the stories not interesting. Not enough time spend on descriptions of the characters, and I can’t for the life of me understand how/why these people are friends. They don’t have anything in common; they put each other down all the time; they don’t agree on anything. The author didn’t even explain how their friendship started and that’s a huge, gaping hole. Had I been younger, like the early teen years, I would have liked this more. Granted, I wish there was more between the boys and girls to make it more interesting and enjoyable. Also, these kids are supposed to be in high school and they absolutely do not sound like it. They talk and act like they’re 10 or 11. They don’t come off as teens and I actually don’t think I know how old they are. Like descriptions of hair and eye color, height and weight, their age isn’t discussed like it’s unimportant.
I don't like the cover because it's so dramatic. The girl looks crazy with that expression and the weird hand pose. Made double bad because the suspected "ghost" in the first story was an old woman, not a young woman.
The page with the outline of all 6 characters and their signatures was cute. They each had their own distinctive signature and that was such a cute touch.
#1 The Ghost of Raven Hill
I hate foreshadowing and this had it on the very first page. Liz had an idea for them all to get a job and make money. "The idea (though I didn't know it then) that was going to put us all up to our necks in trouble!" I can't stand that!
She said up until then the Raven Hill ghost hadn't bothered them, that would come later. Once everyone got on board with her idea to get jobs, she said she thought her worries were over but they were just getting started.
It took a while for me to keep the characters straight. Tom is skinny and gangly. Draws.
Sunny, small and full of energy. Does yoga.
Nick, smart. Good with computers.
Richelle, beautiful and oblivious.
Elmo is a loner. Helps his dad at the newspaper.
The book's age showed in the kids going to the newspaper to print an ad stating help for hire. Elmo's dad runs the business, he's Elmo II, Mr. Zimmer. His dad ran the newspaper before he died. Now Elmo the kid is Elmo III and he helps his dad out. It just so happened that Mr. Zimmer had 6 workers quit and go to the new competition, so he had his son fill a spot and here were 5 more kids to deliver papers....so convenient. Liz's mom also got her a job at the retirement home, where she was to do things for one of the old ladies, Miss Plummer. She knew Elmo I and didn't like him. She and Elmo I were a part of a group of kids back in their day. Also, the glen is going to be developed. I was so disinterested, because I read a book this year where a glen was going to be developed, no kidding, so I was over it.
Elmo III shared that his grandpa had been trying to share this big story before he died, but he couldn't talk so they don't know what it is.
Alfie's son, Terry Bigge, lent Mr. Zimmer money to buy new equipment for the shop after it was burgled. Elmo I's house had been burgled too. Ruby loved Alfie and gave her land to Terry. He was going to build condos in the glen. All these mishaps were happening at the Pen, so it was clear it was being sabotaged. The Star kept trying to buy them out.
They had enough to worry about with the failing newspaper, competition, sabotages, Elmo I's problems, an old lady remembering bad blood from the past, and the development of the glen, without a ghost coming into the story. There was so much to keep up with I couldn't remember all the details.
It was really farfetched that Liz figured out the arsonists who torched the place had been talking about Elmo's grandpa's will. That they were out to destroy it because it had something incriminating about them in it. And the big story he'd talked about was tied to it and with the will.
Terry told Mr. Zimmer that he had to take over the newspaper because his company wasn't giving him a choice. Mr. Summer didn't have the money to pay Terry back. Richelle had the idea to convince Terry to pretend to be sick to miss the next day's transaction. I couldn't believe what I was reading.
Miss Moss, the severe, assistant agreed that Elmo's plan to have the people help donate money was a good idea. So this grown woman experienced as an assistant asked a high school student what she should write in the flyer.
Miss Plummer went missing and Liz found her at the glen. She said she had to do it for her friend Ruby and mentioned an envelope in a tree and that Elmo was clever.
The coordinator at the retirement home told Liz that Miss Plummer goes to the glen on her bad days, and that's really the "Glen ghost." She laughed about Miss Plummer scaring the 6 of them that day.
The wrapup near the end was a little hard to follow. It was a lot of information coming my way and I fought to keep up. Miss Plummer had mentioned a tree that never died, and that was Miss Miss's plastic plant that Elmo I gave her. Ruby had left the land to Alfie, and then to Terry if his dad Alfie should die before him. His dad did die but Ruby could see that Terry wasn't to be trusted because he tried to talk her out of writing another will stating the glen would go to the public. She told Miss Plummer who was supposed to give it to Elmo I but she got sick and couldn't remember. Later when the newspaper mentioned the glen would be developed, Miss Plummer remembered, told Elmo and they found it and put it away. Elmo I told Terry he wouldn't turn the note over if he left the glen alone. Elmo told Pearl about the note and new will, but Terry came to the office and ransacked it looking for them, and that caused Elmo to have the stroke and die.
It made no sense to me why Ms. Star would even want the Pen if she had such a good newspaper of her own. Her staff was better, better technology and wagons and everything, so why did she even want the rundown Pen? It wasn't even explained.
Liz said she never mentioned to Miss Plummer how weird it was that the retirement home had looked for her in the glen and couldn't find her, almost like someone was hiding her. And the cold breath she felt and the flower perfume that Ruby liked. I did get chills from that so that was a pretty big moment.
It was nice that they made it into their paper, but she said it was their skills that weren't mentioned that had really come in handy. Tom's drawing had helped expose Tonia, the new typist who came in after hours and made all the printing mistakes. Sunny'a gymnastics classes allowed her to get herself and Liz out of the burning building through the window. Nick's curiosity got them into Terry's office where they heard him talking about his nefarious plan with Ms. Star. Liz's heart helped her make friends with Miss Plummer and go to look for her in the glen and hear about the plant. Richelle's obsession with fashion came into play when she noticed Tom had gotten a detail about Ms. Star's clothes wrong, which she knew because she's seen Tonia and Ms. Star eating together. So it did come together better than I had previously thought.
Idk how old they are, how and when they met. Their appearances weren't described enough so I couldn't visualize them. Only a couple if the group had hair or eye color mentioned.
I didn't know why they were friends. The way Nick talked to Liz wasn't okay. He called her an idiot once and was always getting sarcastic and putting her ideas down. Richelle said she makes everything too complicated. They owed her an apology but they didn't even talk about it.
#2 The Sorcerer's Apprentice
I didn't like the POV change and would have preferred to stay with Liz. Tom sat behind Richelle and he said she was glamorous, that she always looked great, and he started drawing her.
I still didn't understand why they're friends. They don't even get along that well. Nick called Tom a dork. Richelle got mad at him for teasing her and drawing her and everything else.
Just like in the first story, their employer didn't tell them what exactly they'd be doing, so when they got there and asked, he said I didn't tell you, did I? Just like at the newspaper shop. What is with the forgetful employers who don't explain what they want them to do? It's not funny.
I got sick of the group having to meet to consult on every job offer. Liz got the offers, told the group, and then had to meet up and discuss who wanted the job and when. It was so boring. It reminded me of the Babysitter Club series with young people taking on jobs I don't think they'd be hired for.
Tom asked Sunny if he could sketch her and then a joke about her having a beard. She asked if she was really that ugly, and he thought she has a really nice face, wanted to say that but couldn't. Does anyone like Liz?! He knew Sunny was a good friend because she laughs at his jokes.
Tom took some puzzle boxes home from the magic shop because Timmy the brat mixed them all up. Tom didn't want his family to know about it and told his younger brother not to tell. One day his mom walked in and he had all the pieces out. He was like there he was with all the pieces, and his mom covered her eyes and said oops, she didn't see. I had absolutely no idea what the big deal was about the puzzles. Was it childish for him to be doing them? I was lost.
I wish there had been more humor but it was funny when Sunny was telling Tom about her babysitting with Elmo. The ice cream truck rode by and Timmy wanted one. Elmo told him they only play the song when they're out of ice cream. People started buying them, so Elmo said it's winter and you can't buy the ice cream. You order it and they deliver it in the summer. Of course then Timmy eating ice cream so it didn't work, but that was funny.
Sid's magic shop wasn't doing too well and his main income was renting the apartment above the shop. He had this young, pregnant couple staying but then they decided to move out. They paid him the 2 months rent they owed him and so Sid had all the money on the counter. He had to leave and couldn't go to the bank so Tom offered to drop it off at the bank, something about a slip you just have to fill out. Things must have been different back then. And who would trust a teenager to deposit money into their account? I was so mad knowing exactly what was going to happen because the Gripper is on the loose.
Both stories had failing businesses and money trouble. Not exactly an exciting or interesting plot.
Tom's drawing skills same in handy when his mom was robbed. She'd been waiting for Tom to buy flowers and he kept his backpack with her with Sid's money in it. She got a glimpse of the robber and Tom drew from her descriptions.
Sid wasn't even upset about the money. He took it all in stride. Tom's mom mentioned to Sid that Tom made a drawing of the robber. He was shocked and told them it would be best not to show it to anyone, and said good when they said they hadn't shown it to the police.
Tom's little brother had a $10 bill with a tear and a little smiley face that their mom gave him to buy his pics at school with. He reported that day that his money was stolen, and he thought Timmy did it. While babysitting Tom had Timmy get his own money to do the magic trick with, and he saw the exact bill his little brother had. He got mad at Timmy and told not to ever steal again. Timmy was embarrassed. So sometime later Tom learns that his brother didn't end up taking that bill to school. His mom had taken it back and said the Gripper must have gotten it.
He asked Timmy where he'd found the money and Timmy took him right to it. They found everyone's bags and wallets and everything, but all the cash was gone. That's when Tom finally put together that the nightmare face his mom saw was a Halloween mask like Sid has. I had thought of that the first time she said it. He also put together that Sid can change the sound of his voice and disappear easily, and his metal hook could be what people feel pressed against their backs. I had hoped it wasn't Sid, and then I realized at the alley scene that it would be too obvious for it to be him. I had suspected Dave and Danielle, his tenants, as soon as I saw them. They were acting suspicious and I didn't buy their story that they wanted to leave because she didn't feel safe. I didn't think they were exercising either. Tom had thought they were weak and dumb but I knew he'd underestimated them. And I am not kidding, I doubted that she was pregnant too. I guessed the bad guys from their very first appearance in the story and guessed correctly that she was pretending to be pregnant to perfect an innocent image. It really took the wind out of the sails to predict these things so early in the book and by the time they found at like 6 pages from the end, it was old news and I was like it took you this long to figure it out? It spoiled the whole thing, not that it was good to begin with.
It was a nice surprise that they heard the cops come, yelling and talking to each other, calling for backup, and telling the couple to get down and send the kids out. Tom thought there were 6 cops because of the voices and when they got out there he saw it was only Sid! What a nice trick!
So when Sid had told Tom not to show the police the sketch, he'd been worried the police would suspect him because it's his mask. He'd started suspecting the couple because he hadn't sold one of those old masks in years and they could have gotten it in the back. Sid asked could you imagine him being the Gripper and Tom was uncomfortable because he had suspected him there for a little bit.
Sid put together that the attacks started when they got to town, and that Danielle had looked ready to pop when she got there 4 months ago and her stomach hadn't grown at all.
It had a good ending, a positive note. Sid's shop was the hottest in town and kids went there to get games. Mr. Zimmer wrote about him in the paper and he was a sensation, in newspapers and magazines and TV, so he got his happy ending.
This was too much Tom and Sunny for me towards the end. I felt the others dropped off the map and I would have liked for it to be the whole gang. It was also too much of Tom alone, because he was working at the magic shop alone and had all of the clues. At least last time every single one of them was a part of gathering clues. This was Tom's show and I didn't like that.
I’m not really glad I decided to read it. I wouldn’t have missed out on anything had I not taken it home. It’s not so bad that I wish I hadn’t gotten it, but there was no reward for reading. They’re both run of the mill mysteries, not enough mystery to them for me, and each time there only exists like 2 possible bad guys so it’s easy to guess. It could only be 1 of 2 people. Both were boring and the stories not interesting. Not enough time spend on descriptions of the characters, and I can’t for the life of me understand how/why these people are friends. They don’t have anything in common; they put each other down all the time; they don’t agree on anything. The author didn’t even explain how their friendship started and that’s a huge, gaping hole. Had I been younger, like the early teen years, I would have liked this more. Granted, I wish there was more between the boys and girls to make it more interesting and enjoyable. Also, these kids are supposed to be in high school and they absolutely do not sound like it. They talk and act like they’re 10 or 11. They don’t come off as teens and I actually don’t think I know how old they are. Like descriptions of hair and eye color, height and weight, their age isn’t discussed like it’s unimportant.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2015
(My review of Book 1 is separate, because I listened to that one on audio.)
The second book was better than the first. Tim was a fantastic narrator. I'm actually really invested in his story now and can't wait to get to the next book he narrates. It was easy to care about him.
I kind of appreciate how understated the mysteries are in these books. Though the mystery is always present, it's way more about the characters and their emotional journeys.
I do kind of wish I'd found these books when I was younger -- I would have gone crazy for them in fifth grade. But even though I'm a little old for them now, I still really appreciate them and I'm looking forward to the next one!
The second book was better than the first. Tim was a fantastic narrator. I'm actually really invested in his story now and can't wait to get to the next book he narrates. It was easy to care about him.
I kind of appreciate how understated the mysteries are in these books. Though the mystery is always present, it's way more about the characters and their emotional journeys.
I do kind of wish I'd found these books when I was younger -- I would have gone crazy for them in fifth grade. But even though I'm a little old for them now, I still really appreciate them and I'm looking forward to the next one!
April 26, 2008
i love emily rodda’s fantasy series about deltora, so i had high hopes that this new mystery series would prove to be a series i could recommend to kids looking for good mysteries. i don’t know if it’s because i don’t really get into the mystery genre, or if it’s because book 2 was written “with john st. clair” but they were terrible! i almost didn’t finish them, but i thought maybe it would get better at the end…. not really. yes, there was sort of a twist ending, but the writing itself was painful to read. maybe because it was written in the first person, present tense. it’s just awkward.
November 24, 2017
I thought this was a great book. I had gotten it because I thought the parable was about facing your fears. The situation here is that four friends work together..its like a FOR -HIRE work crew or something.And theres a cookie store that resembles a castle like place and has a weird old woman who resembles a witch as the store owner.Immediately I thought , well...these kids are gonna get a job and find outthat this lady is a sweetheart and their premonitions were predetermined through media etcetera to bias their opinions as if this taboo cookie store and the witch lookalike were awful and evil.
So anyways...these friends have competition in the workforce industry with other same aged people and it seems to be them vs us when pertinent to quality of work and by being hired.
So, these kids do a lot of interacting at the mall, and with their time off from work, they keep in contact....and the emotions defined in this book are pretty vivid.
So when the book concludes....it turns out to be pretty Scooby Doo ish and drastically dangerous events these kids endured and witnessed throughout. So I think a series is interesting and would be fun to get lost with if anyone else was interested...(i'm not writing that like I wrote the book or created any of the stories,okay)
So anyways...these friends have competition in the workforce industry with other same aged people and it seems to be them vs us when pertinent to quality of work and by being hired.
So, these kids do a lot of interacting at the mall, and with their time off from work, they keep in contact....and the emotions defined in this book are pretty vivid.
So when the book concludes....it turns out to be pretty Scooby Doo ish and drastically dangerous events these kids endured and witnessed throughout. So I think a series is interesting and would be fun to get lost with if anyone else was interested...(i'm not writing that like I wrote the book or created any of the stories,okay)
March 25, 2009
Both stories were good but, I think the second story was stronger. Tom was a more engaging narrtor than Liz. Being second The Sorcerer's Apprenetice could also flesh out the main characters more. Both books were fun quick reads. The stories reminded me a bit of The Nancy Drew series in that both are fun light reads. Not really literature but, fun by the numbers reads.
Both books did a good job of getting you to read faster to get to the solution. Light on the suspense though. The book's cover makes it look like a scary book but, the stories are just mysteries.
Both books did a good job of getting you to read faster to get to the solution. Light on the suspense though. The book's cover makes it look like a scary book but, the stories are just mysteries.
March 7, 2013
In many ways, these 2 stories reminded me of those old Scholastic Bookclub mysteries I used to buy back in the day. Purely a mystery for enjoyment sake - no angst among the characters for any crappy home life or sickness or any type of stuff like that. While there is nothing wrong with that subject matter for a juvenile to read, I often want to pick up a book just for the fun of it and this one was just perfect.
September 1, 2010
At first I thought that it was going to be really scary, but when
I read it it was really good. Emily Rodda is a really great writer. I
am going to get the next book in the series.
I read it it was really good. Emily Rodda is a really great writer. I
am going to get the next book in the series.
October 8, 2015
I'm sure young readers that like mysteries will like this book with two stories.
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