The Pirates Hideout is a new middle grade series about a “haunted” camp that is rumored to have pirate treasure in the cove. When Brett gets to go to the camp, he is excited to cause trouble and have fun with his friends. When he gets in trouble early on, he is stuck with two “losers.” Things quickly go downhill when equipment is stolen and Brett is blamed. He teams up with his unlikely friends to solve the mystery.

I enjoyed this book! It reminded me of a classic mystery like the hardy boys. I liked the mystery and the action in the story. I think kids will really like the adventure and the pirate aspect of this as well. I enjoyed the unlikely friendships and the connections the kids made. It was a quick read and I think a lot of kids will enjoy it.

Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Pirate’s Cove - Pirate’s Hideout

11-year-old Brett Rigby has been eagerly waiting to go to Pirate’s Cove. According to the Allenvale School kids, it’s the coolest camp on earth. And it all starts great when he is put in a cabin with his 5 best friends. But when Mr McArthur, the strict chaperone teacher, discovers the prank that Brett played on Kenneth, the not-so-welcome member of the cabin (on account of him being a nerd), things start to go wrong.

Mr. McArthur does not group him with his best friends but with Emily Burton, the goody-two-shoes, and Kenneth, the nerd. When he is suspected of stealing camp equipment, they have to work together to clear his name, revealing something more sinister at play.

"I loved the animosity-to-best-friends vibe this story gave. Brett being a prankster added to the intricacy of the plot! The little details at the beginning, like the argument between him and his sister, were relatable for those with siblings (speaking from experience here).
Not only that, but the story was exemplary! The plot was very engaging, and it was not hard to understand or conceptualise, and truly made me laugh out loud at some parts!

There were only two things I disliked:

1. The stereotypical villain. I won't spoil the name, but the predictability was disappointing. I enjoy stories with surprising villains.

2. Brett's stubbornness and rudeness towards Emily and Kenneth, even after becoming friends, surprised me. They were very helpful, yet Brett lacked respect for them.

But overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and rooted for the main characters!
Thank you, A.J. Lark, and Netgalley for this great book!".All opinions are my own.

Beautiful, lighthearted read for all ages. With all the heavy reading many of us do, it’s always refreshing when we can pick up a heartwarming book that captures our inner-child. The Pirate’s Cove did not disappoint. Several times during the story, I was reminded of “Goosebumps” with the spooky moments and the banter between Amanda and Green Bean (haha). I recommend this book for kids and adults alike. For those seeking adventure, fun, laughter and a few spooky moments, this is the book to read.

Brett Rigsby is off to camp. Brett has a penchant for practical jokes and trouble, and it's not long until he's on the wrong side of both his teacher and the grumpy camp caretaker. It sees like caretaking the camp isn't the only thing the caretaker is interested in, and Brett soon finds himself in hot water.

This was a fun mystery. This had definite Enid Blyton vibes, throwing me back to my childhood, with a modern twist.
Brett started out as a fairly unlikeable kid, but as he gets to know the two children he has been grouped with - both unpopular - he mellows and does show some nice growth. His friendship with them is slow to form, but very satisfying.
The overall mystery wasn't particularly complex, but there was plenty of tension as the kids tried to figure out what was happening. Overall, this was a solid kids mystery book.

This is such a fun and quick adventure to read. Perfect for young readers or if you're nostalgic like me then it's also a good read for the adults. I really liked seeing the growth in our main characters especially Brett. He starts off as something of a mischievous (at times a little bratty) prankster but he learns a lot and we can see that change by the end of this part of the journey. Would recommend for lovers of Enid Blyton adventures

Brett is excited about going to school camp. He has been thinking about is everyday. His little sister Amanda is busy bugging Brett until Brett can’t stand it. He decides to prank his sister. It ends up with Amanda screaming and Brett almost loses his chance to go to camp.Brett does get to go to camp for a week of fun, games and practical jokes. After getting his assignment to his cabin with his friends and one nerdy kid, they bring out their snacks to share and eat the first night of camp. When Kenneth, the nerdy guy explains that he didn’t bring anything, Brett plays his first practical joke. He tells Kenneth that he will share his chocolate raisins. Kenneth is grateful until he realizes the chocolate raisins aren’t that but rabbit “poop.” Kenneth is mad and screams at Brett while he and his pals laughed . His school teacher — the camp director has Brett sleep outside the cabin for the night. Brett is somewhat scared as Kenneth had earlier told how the camp was haunted. When Brett hears noises, he is on alert. Brett finds he is assigned a team of working and playing with the two nerdy kids. It feels like a punishment. As they are hunting for the third item, Brett goes up to the caretaker’s shed of tools to look in as he is bored. Suddenly, he is surprised by the caretaker and is tolhd not to trespass. When he finds out that he is here as a camper'. The caretaker Watty tells them his shed isn’t safe for them as it has dangerous tools. When the camp director finds out what Brett did, he gave Brett a warning. This will be the first of many warnings he gets. When a buoy. and rock climbing rope goes missing, Brett is indirectly blamed. He didn’t do it. He decides to go looking for the items. He finds them but has to escape as there appears to be a monster after him. He gets claw marks on his back and barely escapes. With help from his team, Kenneth and Emily, they are able to find clues. Will they be able to solve the mystery. Of the missing items?

The author has written a mystery that includes practical jokes/pranks, criminals and making new friends. I enjoyed reading the adventures and the pirate aspect including the haunted story about the camp. It was great seeing unlikely friendships develop. It’s a fun book to read and enjoy. This is the first book of the series “Pirates cove.” I can’t wait to read the next one.

The story revolves around Brett who visits a camp called “Pirates cove” and learns are it is haunted. The story is full of hilarious pranks and kids being kids. Perfect for middle grade kids and adults alike. Highly recommend!!!

*I received an eArc of this book through netgalley with no obligations to leave a review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own*

I really enjoyed this middle school book about summer camp. Brett is a practical joker who's always getting into trouble and sometimes goes too far. From a teacher point of view, he probably has executive functioning challenges, and I see some of him in my students. But ultimately, he just wants friends and people to like him.

Brett has been looking forward to summer camp at Pirate's Cove for a long time, and he's especially excited because he gets to go with his best friends. But when a prank on the new kid gets out of hand, he ends up getting grouped with the camp nerd and the goody two-shoes.

Overall, I enjoyed this adventure/mystery story with the enemies-to-friends and mischief-maker-turned-hero tropes. The villain was pretty obvious from the get-go, and while some readers might enjoy knowing who the villain is fairly early on and just want to read about how our hero gets out of his tight spot, others might prefer a bit more of a mystery.

I wasn't a huge fan of how he treated Emily and Kenneth, especially at the beginning, but I think this book was as much about him learning how poor judgment has consequences as well as learning how to be himself while exercising some better judgement. Since we could read his mind, I liked how there were times he told himself to show restraint, and although he was hoping for a pat on the back, I also think that it took him a lot of willpower to show that restraint.

Overall, this was a fun and easy read and I think it would be perfect for 8-12 year olds.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a short read, but exactly what some of my struggling readers would love. Who wouldn't love reading about pirates and a summer camp, especially if the protagonist is a prankster who finds himself in the middle of a real-life pirate mystery and the adults think he is trying another prank!
I love that Brett, the prankster, is taken from people he knows and grouped with kids he has never spent time with, or liked, and he is able to find things he likes about his new group of friends.
I have recommended this book to some of my students and can't wait to share it with others.
I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

“Did you guys know this camp is haunted?” Brett Rigby is off to school a week of fun, games, and practical jokes. But when he hears the story of how Pirate’s Cove Camp got its name, Brett can’t help wondering if there’s any truth in the rumors.

A very fun and short middle-grade story that reminded me of The Goonies. Loved it!

I will admit, when I first started reading, I absolutely despised Brett - but the deeper I got into the story, the more intrigued I got, and eventually we get to see a better side of Brett than what we're first introduced to. Kids who have been bullied might not like Brett at first either, but I thought Lark did a great job writing him - he's true to his character, and you can see how he views what he's doing, and the reactions to him are expected. Emily and Kenneth were also quite interesting characters, and while they're three very different and distinct personalities thrust together for the duration of camp, they work well together. The whole mystery gives off Scooby-Doo meets Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys vibes, and I loved it as an older fan of all three. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what else this series has in store!