Review of A J Kormon’s Halloway Hills Middle School Mysteries (& Giveaway!)

As you can tell, I’m really in the mood for middle-grade books. Recently, I finished The Girl Who Ruined Christmas and The Breakfast of Superheroes and both were so charming and fun. Not sure if it’s weird for an adult to enjoy these books, but something about the innocence of that age makes them fun for me to enjoy. Anyways, I had the chance to review three books in AJ Kormon’s Halloway Hills Middle School Mysteries and I can’t wait to tell you about them!

First, a bit about the books:

In Hiding Out on Halloween, Avery Mcintosh borrows the Super Ultimate Minecraft Hacks book from the school library, much to the dismay of the school bully Becky. When Avery accidentally splashes Becky with an invisibility potion that he learned from the book, she not only disappears from Minecraft, but from the real world too.

Trying to ease his guilt about Becky’s disappearance, with the help of his friend Jordan and a black cat who appears to be stalking him, Avery sets out to find Becky.

In Creeping Up on Christmas, it’s time for the Halloway Hills Middle School Christmas fair and Violet Sidhu and her friends have planned to sell crocheted hats to raise money for charity. There’s just one problem—the hats are missing!

When Violet discovers what’s happened to her hats, thanks to the new guy at school, getting them back turns out to be harder than she thought.

In Veering Off on Valentine’s, Jordan Cartwright learns the meaning of true love . . . from her cat! After feeling rejected by her best friend Avery because of Valentine’s Day, Jordan wonders if she can still be friends with him.

As she tries to avoid Avery, Jordan witnesses some strange behaviour from her cat Blizzard. When Blizzard goes missing during a snowstorm, Jordan enlists Avery’s help to find him and learns an important lesson in the process.

What I Thought:

Honestly, you don’t want to miss this series! I encourage you, whether you are parents of a middle schooler or love middle-grade fiction yourself, you will want to add these books to your reading list. Author AJ Kormon has such an excellent way of developing each character. What makes these books unique is that each book in the series is told by a different main character. In Hiding Out on Halloween, Avery Mcintosh is the main character and fears he has managed to cause a bully to disappear. In Creeping Up on Christmas, Violet is the star and her hats for the Christmas fair are missing. Then in Veering Off on Valentine’s, Jordan is the main character and is disappointed to find her best friend Avery doesn’t like her like she likes him, and all the while her cat is acting weird!

The great thing is that even though each book is told by a different character, each book features the other characters within the Halloway Hills Middle School world. It’s honestly, one of my favorite new series I have found. The cool thing is also that each book has a little lesson you can take away from it. In Hiding Out on Halloween, you learn about handling a bully but also having a forgiving and understanding heart. In Creeping Up on Christmas, you learn about having compassion for someone going through a complicated illness. Lastly in Veering Off On Valentine’s, you explore the complications of first crushes and the blurry, confusing lines that friendship can bring.

Another great thing about this series set is that each is set within a specific holiday. It makes for a great theme, and I love living through school day holiday celebrations with this series. It made me feel nostalgic, in a way.

I encourage you to go out and buy this, or put it in your gift list for Christmas. It’s absolutely a must-read, and I can’t wait to see what the author comes out with next.

Best of all, I’m giving away a copy of the book to one lucky reader! Enter via Rafflecopter below. You can choose either a print copy (US only) or e-book copy. Giveaway ends 11/8/2021.

If you liked this, check out these:

My Review of Beneath the Surface by Trey Everett (+ Giveaway) The New Husband by DJ Palmer: A Book Review The Eternity Knot by H. R. Conklin (Review + Giveaway) Review of Breakfast of Superheroes by Steve Frederick