The Hole in the Wall

Title: The Hole in the Wall
Author: Lisa Rowe Fraustino

Publisher: Milkweed Editions

Age Group: Middle School

Available: Now

Source: NetGalley

Pages: 280

Imagine being an eleven year old boy and the world around you has slowly changed for the worse in the last few years. He can remember when times were better, but that was before the strip miners started taking away all the land around them. Not only that, but weird things were starting to happen to him that was more than just growing pains. A secret facility, a lost brother and parents that need parenting classes....what more could an eleven year old brother ask for but to start his own investigating!

This is a great book for this age group. This book is written in Sebastian's voice and uniquely comes across as an eleven year old. Sometimes things get jumbled up in their heads! The mystery held my attention and didn't give anything away too early. From one suspense (the chickens are missing) to another (there's rumbling cookie dough in my belly) to another (why did he pay so much for our eggs?) there is questions to be answered with each turn of the page. The minor characters are not as well drawn out as the main characters (usually a great thing) but I would have loved to see more about this dysfunctional family. I also loved the way the author brought together the brother and sister team. There is a lot going on but I would highly recommend this book for the middle age kids (8-12) and especially the boys!

Giving this book a 7 out of 7... Great Christmas Present for that age group.

I was given this book through NetGalley for free to preview. No other compensation was given just a honest review was all that was requested!