What a great read!! The friendship between Emmy, Jack, and Lola was so well written. The mystery aspect of this book is wonderful. It definitely makes you want to keep reading to see where the story is going to go next. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series!!

This book was seriously so good, guys! By the time I started reading this, I had honestly forgotten what it was about so I went in not knowing what to expect, but I was very pleasantly surprised! It does take a few chapters to get into the main plot line involving the secret society, but the beginning chapters work very well for setting up the world in which this is going on, and once I started getting hints about the society, it just made me even more motivated to keep reading! I really enjoyed the writing style, too! Even the fighting scenes were actually written realistically (ex. the fact that it actually hurts to punch someone, which no one seems to ever point out).

When it comes to the characters, I absolutely loved them! Emmy was so relatable and Lola and Jack were some seriously awesome friends! Emmy's mother did drive me crazy, but I started understanding her more towards the end and that helped me to like her a little bit more. One of my absolute favorite characters in this book though was Barlowe! I always love the sassy ones, and I loved the way Barlowe would sass his students. Plus, the ending made me love him (and Lola's mother) even more!

One of the best things about this book, though, was the fact that it kept me wondering what was going to happen from start to finish. I can usually guess plot twists pretty easily, so I'm always shocked when something happens that I was not expecting in a book, and this book had that multiple times! Especially the main plot twist toward the end; I was totally not expecting it and it was great!

All-in-all, I highly recommend this amazing middle grade mystery! It just came out on March 5th, so make sure you get a copy if this sounds like something you'll like!

Dark secrets. Hidden relics. Midnight quests. Cryptic letters. The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane has all the elements that make a mystery lover's eyes light-up. By chapter two, main character Emmy is plunged into a spine-tingling adventure at an ancient English boarding school—the same one her father attended—enrolled there by her career driven, reality-television-star mother.

Not only is Emmy's mom often absent, Emmy's father disappeared when she was a toddler. Emmy's longing for a real home and family is the emotional engine that drives this story. It propels her and new-found school friends Jack and Lola to follow clues into dangerous situations, in the hopes of discovering precious details about Emmy's missing father. Along the way, they stumble upon an evil secret society deeply embedded in the school's history.

Noble's mystery is rich with intriguing clues, red-herrings, and a vivid, eerie setting. Fascinating historical details of medieval England are woven in naturally, and are a key element of the plot. I was completely fooled as to the identity of the true antagonist—always a sign of a well-written mystery!

A few plot threads and one character's motivations are left open-ended, but as this book is the first in a series I'm certain those answers will be revealed down the road. Overall, The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane is a well-crafted, page-turner of a tale. Emmy's journey to find a place she belongs is deftly woven in with the mystery's plot, creating a story that middle-school mystery readers will flock to.

I received an advance e-arc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review has also been posted on Amazon. (I'll add the link as soon as Amazon makes it available.)

Novel's curious main character and her plucky friends made me root for them as they got in and out of trouble on their quest.

Medallions, a lost father, and a boarding school full of secrets will be a lot of fun for the aged 9 to 13 crowd.

Anyone tasked with reading aloud The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane will have as wonderful a time as their audience.

I was so excited to read THE MYSTERY OF BLACK HOLLOW LANE, as it contains some of my favorite things, such as boarding schools (with secret societies!), a mystery, and friendship. Watching as the main character, Emmy, came in to her own and found a place she felt at home (all while investigating the contents of a strange box mysteriously sent to her), was so much fun. And Lola, one of the first people she met at the school, was a strong, loyal friend who contrasted well to Emmy's personality. I loved how the two girls bonded over soccer (football in England). The mystery also built and built, and the ending left room for the next installment.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing the e-arc.

The cover is what first drew me into wanting to read this story. I LOVED this middle grade mystery!!!! It has everything you need. A missing parent. Mysterious objects found in an attic. Takes place at a boarding school in England. Friendships formed. And a secret society. It's Harry Potter without the magic, and The Da Vinci Code for kids. This is the first book in a series and I am already looking forward to the next one.

What I Liked
This is a great mystery for middle graders! The setting is very realistic and has a very sort of quasi-magical feel to it. One of my favorite parts of living in England was the history of the place. The house I rented was older than the USA (and haunted, according to the landlady, but he was a nice ghost and wouldn't bother us, so not to worry). So being transported into an old school-slash-church and remembering the feeling of living in a 350-year-old house made of thick stone with winding staircases and strange doors to nowhere was just wonderful. Emmy is a great protagonist who is wiser than her years, and her friends are great to read about. Lola is stubborn and unafraid, and Jack is careful and quietly thoughtful. The three of them together are a force to be reckoned with, and their mystery-solving skills lead them on grand adventures all over their school.

What I Would Have Liked to See
Some more British culture! I lived in England for a few years and the culture shock was for real, friends. There was definitely some stuff in this book that made me nostalgic for my time in England (in East Anglia, no less!) and I kind of wanted more.

My Favorite!
The Coventry carol making an appearance in the book! This is my favorite Christmas carol (we can talk later about a Jew having a favorite Christmas carol) because it's so haunting and sad. My favorite version was done by the King's College Choir years and years ago, and unfortunately I can't find it online anymore. But any version is beautiful, and it really hit me with that melancholic beauty as I read!

TL;DR
Emmy goes to a boarding school in England when her famous mom goes on tour. When she realizes her missing father used to go there, she starts to uncover mystery upon mystery, with her father--and herself--at the center of it.

I’m giving ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to this super cute mystery! I loved the main character and her spunky friends!

This book is so timeless that most of the time, I forgot that the characters were only 12, they could have been placed in high school and it would still have been the same book! I loved the fact that it was about a secret society and I can’t wait for more from this author!

A fun middle grade book that hits all the sweet spots, and packs in an impressive amount of character and plot complexity for its length and target readership. And who doesn’t love a good English boarding school story?
As an adult I would give this 4 stars, mainly due to the denouement being a bit cartoonish compared with the rest and a handful of loose moments, but it’s still a 5 star MG read. If it’s the start of a series — as the end would have one suspect — I look forward to the next installment.

It was the cover that drove me to request this one from Netgalley. Look at it, kinda creepy, mysterious and yet inviting at the same time.

It wasn’t until I was almost finished that I realized this is the first book in series and any misgivings I had about unresolved issues made sense. The author laid the foundation for further book(s) with this layered story revolving around Emmy and the mysterious disappearance of her father. The story was interesting enough with a unique cast of characters, at times reminiscent of Harry Potter, a boarding school with a secret society, hidden passageways and a dark secret.

With a targeted audience of middle grade, I found it to be a fun read that focused on friendship, courage, and determination. I’ll continue with this series though no date yet of the sequel.

My thanks to the publisher (via Netgalley) for an advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

I find the whole boarding school secret society trope to be very overdone. It's one thing if there's something unique about the plot, but this book only treads on familiar ground. New kid immediately at odds with her roommate but becoming fast friends with a group of outsiders. We've got nepotism, power grabs, and misogyny. The larger plot of the series holds some promise though.

The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane is the kind of book I would have LOVED reading as a nine or ten-year-old. It has strong, independent kids with their own unique voices, an intriguing mystery (that the adults are dead-bent on NOT being helpful with), and juuuuust enough creep factor to make a warm blanket desirable.

Emmy's father disappeared when she was a toddler, and her mother is a "parenting expert" that is rarely around and emotionally distant even when she's physically present. At the start of the story, Emmy is shipped off to a boarding school in England, despite having never been there in her life. Never one to remain down for long (however much her mother's actions might hurt her), she acclimates quickly, making new friends with some of the more colorful characters at the school.

The mystery of Emmy's father's disappearance is a main theme, as she is (as many of us would be) desperate to find out anything about him, his life, and yes of course his disappearance. It was very intriguing to have all that thrown in with the typical school stuff (reminds me vaguely of Harry Potter here, considering the main friend group is also three people), and it seems the groundwork has been laid for future books in the series. Some questions were answered by the end, but even more were asked! I'm very eager to see when the next book will be released and what will happen to Emmy and her friends next.

I did wish there had been at least ONE adult who was straight with the kids, instead of constantly blowing them off or just trying to pretend things hadn't happened. Children are smarter than we give them credit for, and often able to handle things much better than we might anticipate.

4/5 stars.

Review will be posted on GoodReads, and at the link given below on 4 March 2019.

I thought this one didn't quite live up to its potential. I loved the plot and was really invested throughout as to what the secrets were, what was up with the Latin society, and what happened to Emmy's father. I was a little disappointed with the reveals at the end of the book--I know this is just the first in a trilogy, but the ending still seemed a little anticlimactic to me.

I would be hesitant to recommend this one, in spite of its plot, because I just don't think it's that well written. The characters are all flat and unbelievable--I found any scene with Victoria the stereotypical evil roommate painful to read. I also wasn't convinced by all of the adults telling Emmy that "I can't tell you anything because it's too dangerous and so you just have to blindly trust me." I wanted a little more pushback from our heroine. I won't spoil the ending, but I thought a couple of characters' "true loyalties" were also a little too obvious. Maybe it's the boarding school setting, but I also thought the book reads a little too much like a Harry Potter ripoff in some scenes--we get a reflection of Hermione's famous "Alohamora!" moment and the climax felt right out the last chapter of Sorcerer's Stone.

Finally, Sophie read The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane. This is a middle-grade book that falls into the classic trope of “child is shipped off to an ancient boarding school in England where they learn about their connections to its past and their importance to current events.”

Emmy is an American girl whose mother is a renowned child psychologist more interested in furthering her career than spending time with her daughter. Her father vanished on Emmy’s third birthday, so she’s sent off to Wellsworth school, but not before receiving a mysterious letter that leads her to a box of strange medallions hidden in her attic that once belonged to her father.

Once at Wellsworth, it doesn’t take Emmy long to figure out there’s something strange going on with the school’s “Latin Society,” and when she notices the same symbols from the medallions appearing around the school, she works out what the readers did long before, her father went to Wellsworth too. Soon she learns about a secret society—The Order of Black Hollow Lane—which has been operating out of the school since the time of the Reformation, only the Order is dangerous and determined to keep their secrets away from Emmy, so she and her new friends find themselves caught up in more than hey bargained for.

While Sophie didn’t find anything to particularly dislike in this book, it was all a bit formulaic. Boarding school with secrets? Check. Three kids sneaking around at night? Check. Irritating roommate? Check. For kids new to the genre this will no doubt be a great story, but for anyone familiar with the tropes, there’s nothing new here to inspire and Sophie won’t be rushing to pick up the rest of the series.

"The first in an exciting new series, this suspenseful debut brings readers on a journey filled with secrets, mystery, and unforgettable characters.

With a dad who disappeared years ago and a mother who's a bit too busy to parent, Emmy is shipped off to Wellsworth, a prestigious boarding school in England, where she's sure she won't fit in.

But then she finds a box of mysterious medallions in the attic of her home - medallions that belonged to her father. Her father who may have gone to Wellsworth.

When she arrives at school, she finds the strange symbols from the medallions etched into walls and books, which leads Emmy and her new friends, Jack and Lola, to Wellsworth's secret society: The Order of Black Hollow Lane. Emmy can't help but think that the society had something to do with her dad's disappearance, and that there may be more than just dark secrets in the halls of Wellsworth."

A possibly sinister boarding school in England? It's like this author read my mind as to what I wanted in a book!

What a fun ride! This middle grade mystery has a lot of heart, and a lot of secrets! Perfect for middle grade readers looking for some excitement and mystery.

This was a page turner! It has a definite Harry Potter feel to it, without the magic. Emmy is sent to a boarding school in England as her mother commits to a grueling work schedule. Before Emmy leaves, she discovers a mysterious box that belonged to her father containing strange medallions. Feeling rejected by her mother and lamenting the loss of her father who disappeared ten years ago, Emmy feels lost and out of place, until she is befriended by Lola and Jack. But as the school year unfolds, Emmy pursues the truth behind the Latin society, her medallions, and her father. This is the first in a series.

I really enjoyed this book and believe it will be a favorite with ages 10 and up. The plot moves along at a brisk pace, providing a vast array of characters — the horrid roommate, the supportive friends, the enigmatic teachers, and the secretive members of the Latin society. The British boarding school by the North Sea provides the perfect setting as Emmy tries to understand her missing father, her new friends, and ultimately, her place in this new world. This book solves one of the many mysteries, but there is more to be explained, but that is for the next book in the series!

I received an advanced copy from Sourcebooks via NetGalley for an honest review.

DaVinci Code for middle readers. Well written and fast paced, I really hope this is book 1 of a series. Will be a nice addition to our offering for those kids who like action and mystery.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a delightfully quick read. I was immediately felt connected to the characters in the story, Emmy, Lola and Jack. They are on the fringe of the students at Wellsworth Boarding School. Emmy's mom is a well known child psychologist. She is the Dr. Phil of her profession, yet she seems to distance herself from Emmy all the time. She loves her daughter but is so busy with her book tours, tv show interviews and programs. Emmy's father is more of a mystery. He disappeared when Emmy was 3 years old. Her mother destroyed everything attached to her father. There are no pictures, letters, videos or keepsakes and when asked Emmy's mother will not even discuss him. However, Emmy found a box of medallions in the attic that belonged to her father. It just so happens that he was a student at the very same school in which Emmy has been recently enrolled. Emmy's first real break in the mystery surrounding her father comes at Wellsworth. Things start to unravel a bit the closer she gets to the answers. The more Emmy finds out, the bigger the mystery becomes. This is obviously the first of many sequels for the trio. I look forward to their further adventures in volumes to come.

The Mystery Of Black Hollow Lane is so good, I didn’t want it to end! Emmy is shipped to a boarding school in England while her mother is busy with her career. She doesn’t know much about her father, but keeps discovering mysterious pieces from his past.
This book does have a Harry Potter feel to it, but it didn’t take away from the story at all. Emmy was determined to find out more about her father and with each secret she uncovers things get more intense at school, I loved the characters, the storyline and all the mystery! So fun!
I received this book in exchange for my honest review, my opinions are my own. Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for this ARC!
This will be featured on my blog Tuesday January 22, 2019
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