Greystone Secrets #1: The Strangers audiobook

4 stars! Margaret Peterson Haddix is an author that’s been around since I was a child. I remember one of my elementary school teachers reading her book Running Out of Time out loud to my class and loving it so much I begged my mom to go to the bookstore to buy it so I could read it again. Flash forward twenty years or so and I’m a children’s librarian now. When I saw she had this new book coming out I was intrigued by the cover (yes I read book based on covers, everyone does). I placed a hold on the audiobook and listened to it on my work commute.I don’t want to give many spoilers away and it’s easy to do so I won’t say much about the plot. Three siblings hear on the news that three other children with the same names and born on the same date are kidnapped. Their mother begins acting weird and then disappears. With the help of a girl named Natalie, the three children search their home and mother’s office for clues as to where she went and why.I really enjoyed this book, I think it’s a great middle grade read. There’s a girl who loves math and science (yay!), a responsible older brother and an endearing younger brother. This book was very much about what we are capable of doing when we all work together, and that every family has secrets (muahahaha!). It does end on a cliffhanger so if you are on the fence I would wait to read it until the next book comes out in about 6-7 months from when I am posting this review.Follow me on ♥ Facebook ♥ Blog ♥ Instagram ♥ Twitter ♥

I really enjoyed this book! It was full of adventure and code breaking fun. I thought it was interesting and I loved the code breaking aspect and the results of finding out what happened to these kids' mother. I didn't enjoy Finn's character. I felt he was in the way and too impulsive for the dangerous situations they were in. It didn't completely blow my mind, but I really did enjoy it and think it's a great story for middle graders.Content Warning: death of a parent, kidnapping

Very clever and twisty mystery! Such an unusual premise, and yet Haddix carries it off . . . because of course she does! Very excited for the next one, to find out more!

I do love a good alternate universe story. So many possibilities and mental gymnastics. The three kids in this book each take the narrative forward in alternating chapters. Three children with the same names and birthdays have been kidnapped and then their mom disappears. With the help of Natalie (daughter of their babysitter) they work together to find her and rescue her from unknown enemies. Can't wait for the second installment. There are still people who need rescuing! I might have to watch some episodes of "Fringe" while I wait.

The story begins when the children come home one day to find their mother a bit distraught. Something is clearly bothering her as she listens to the TV or radio where they are stating that three children have been kidnapped – three siblings from Arizona with identical first and middle names as well as ages/birth dates of each of the Greystone children. That night Chess overhears his mom talking to someone named “Joe” saying he “needed to fix it.” The next day when the kids get up to go to school their mom tells them she has a business trip in Chicago she needs to go on and will be gone for a few days, but she has found someone to take care of them – the mother of another student. Things are strange as they only receive texts from their mom on the first day gone, but the kids very quickly discover that their mom has prewritten the texts and timed when they will be sent out with the last one saying that she is sorry she can’t come back home.Before reading this book, I read one review that said it was best to go into this story blind. I can somewhat see what they might be saying, but sometimes it’s nice to know at least what sub-genre you might be picking up. Historical fiction? Fantasy? This one is very unusual to me because it touches a topic or subject in science fiction that can be difficult to relay to the readers – even in adult books. While reading it, my immediate thoughts reminded me of A Wrinkle in Time. While The Strangers is clearly not the same book, it reminded me of when I was in 5th grade watching the book through a film projector (not a movie, but scenes with narration). As I watched A Wrinkle in Time, I remember trying to grasp the concepts it was portraying to us because it was so foreign to me. This is one of those books where there is an unusual concept to grasp, but I think it was explained and shown just about as well as it could be.Audio Book Review:Intense. That’s at least what it felt like for me when listening to the story on audio. The story is written in 3 POVs: Chess, Emma, and Finn, who are the three Greystone children in the story. As the children each tell the story from their point of view we get this overall sense of urgency and seriousness as they try to uncover what is really going on and how to get their mother back. The audio book really seemed to portray this very well as I had to stop it sometimes just to get an emotional and mental break. Who knew middle grade audio books could have such an effect?My favorite character to listen to was Finn, who is the youngest. The narrator really created a terrific child-like voice to portray him. I could immediately tell it was Finn narrating when it came to be his turn. He was also the one who provided emotional breaks for me while listening as his take on things were sometimes rather cute to listen to.Overall, this was an engaging story to listen to that I think fans of A Wrinkle in Time might enjoy or for those who are looking for books where life is just a little bit off and not quite settled.Length: 7hrs 56 minutesRating: 5 stars

What happens when three kids read about the kidnapping of three other kids - all with their names and exact ages? The premise of the first volume in this middle grade series was promising, and although the middle lagged quite a bit, the ending was pretty spectacular.

This was such a fun, enthralling read! Once I started, it was a true struggle to put it down- there was so much happening and I NEEDED to know how things were going to work out for these kids and their mum. The pacing was perfect- the plot moved at a rapid pace, whilst still allowing time for the reader to understand exactly what was happening (there is a science-fiction element that I think was explained well for younger readers). I loved the puzzles and clues the kids had to work out, and the kids themselves were amazingly well developed. I CANNOT wait for the next book. Highly recommend for middle grade readers!!

Actual rating: 4.5I thoroughly enjoyed this! Suspenseful and fast-paced, this middle-grade mystery thriller is guaranteed to keep you hooked from beginning to end. Looking forward to the next book.

I want to start this by saying, I dont normally read middle grade books, but the plot of this sounded interesting and It was available to me immediately at the library to reserve before it was published. I did not at all expect to be so drawn in my the story. Its close to see how resemblances to A Wrinkle In Time have been made, and I would go a step further to say that it also has a big Stranger Things vibe going on too. Part of it is magical realism, though it's definitely rooted more in reality and technology than the two aforementioned examples.Three siblings go missing, and three other siblings with the same names, birthdays, and other similar characteristics suddenly have to deal with changes in their world that seem beyond comprehension. Their mother leaves for an unexpected trip, they are left with a woman who they have never met before, and her daughter that seems to know more about what's going on than they do...but as you get through the book you quickly find out that none of them could have thought of what was truly going on in their wildest dreams.From genius riddles and puzzles that need to be solved, code words like succotash, and a cliffhanger ending that will leave you wanting more...this book offers up great adventures for kids and keeps their imagination on their toes from page to page. A highly original story, and jam packed with mystery and intrigue.

It's been ages since I read a middle-grade book so I thought I'd reacquaint myself with one of my favourite authors of the genre. I listened to the first and second books in The Greystone Secrets trilogy back to back and remembered just why I enjoyed Margaret Peterson Haddix in the past. Fast paced plot with plenty of twists and turns and full of the unexpected. So fast at times that she left my head spinning and me wondering if my 'advanced' years contributed to my confusion at times, or if that's always been my mental state during one of her reads. :-) But, oh, the cliffies -- I'd forgotten how she leaves her reader's the edge of an impossible precipice! Thankfully, I was able to pick up the story straight away in The Deceivers (book 2.) which brought lots of resolution And though there is still one more book to go, there's not so much a cliffie as a thrilling hook at the end.

I always saw this book at the store and I was always interested in it. I finally picked it up from the library and I wasn’t disappointed. It was interesting and it kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next. It was also an easy read. I found myself flipping through the pages quickly

4.5 - Voto.Maljka - per RFS.Credo che questo sia il primissimo distopico che abbia letto in vita mia. La cosa che inizialmente mi ha colpito è stata la copertina e successivamente la trama. Quello che mi spaventa è che questo è il primo capitolo di una serie, ma non si conosce nulla sui successivi capitoli, dovrebbe essere una trilogia.Alcune cose mi hanno lasciato un po’ dubbiosa, sembra che dei ragazzini, bambini a volte, riescano a fare cose e a decifrare codici che neanche la Nasa sarebbe in grado di fare… ma loro si! Riescono a capire il codice segreto che la madre gli ha lasciato, ma proprio lei dov’è finita?Troviamo tre, anzi quattro personaggi principali: Chess è l’eroe che difende i due fratellini più piccoli a qualunque costo; Emma la nerd, che ama la matematica; e Finn, il più piccolo, che si limita a fare ciò che gli riesce meglio, cioè comportarsi da sciocco e farsi amare. E per finire Nathalie, una ex lip gloss girl, una ragazzina, legata più al suo cellulare che a sua madre, che sarà la chiave di volta.Tutto inizia con la scomparsa di tre ragazzini in Arizona, con i loro stessi identici nomi ed età, ma chi sono davvero quei tre? E perché la loro mamma è così spaventata dalla notizia di questo rapimento?Non avevo mai letto nulla di quest’autrice, ma ho amato il modo in cui ha creato un mondo parallelo perfettamente riuscito tra lettere in codice, avventure al limite dell’irrealtà e segreti da scoprire. È stata una lettura molto piacevole, nonostante i miei trent’anni suonati e quindi fuori dal range di questo genere per ragazzini. L’autrice è stata in grado di dar carattere e personalità marcate a tutti i suoi personaggi, così come anche alla descrizione degli spazi e delle ambientazioni.È sicuramente un libro da leggere per gli amanti della suspence, ma non solo!