Hannah Edwards: Secrets of Riverway, by Ashley Hards (Sept. 2024, Fabled Films Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781944020910
Ages 9-12
Hannah Edwards has a LOT on her mind: first and foremost, her dad, the Canola King, who has been missing for months. She’s also got her creepy Uncle Fergus hanging around more and more, with his awful food and his constant “lessons”. Thank goodness she has her best friend, Sam, and her Journal to turn to with her thoughts. When Sam tells her he thinks he saw Hannah’s dad’s ghost at the Old Mill, she decides it’s up to her to find her dad and prove that he is NOT a ghost – because being a ghost would mean that he’s no longer alive. And she can’t think that way.
A moving story about self-discovery, Hannah brings us on her grief journey while discovering that she is neurodivergent. Hards gives Hannah a strong, upbeat voice that refuses to give up or give in. A smart reimagining of Hamlet – with a much lower body count – this is a great mystery for middle graders and middle schoolers.
Mom Read It 