A.J. Kormon is one of my recent favourite authors for middle grade series. I always love myself a little middle grade read. It brings me back to my youth and reminds me of how much fun reading back then was. Getting a little nostalgia is nice through all of the craziness of our current situation, you know?
Anywho, Creeping Up on Christmas is a continuation of the Halloway Hills Middle School Mysteries series (yes, it’s quite a mouthful for a series). This series is marvellous for many reasons: relatable characters, realistic scenarios, and these books are designed for kids who have trouble reading! Larger print, engaging stories and an easier font to read. I highly recommend this book if you have some picky readers or readers who don’t like the typical font/sizing of your everyday middle grade books.
Onto the content! We don’t follow the same characters as last time, but that’s a good thing! There’s no need to read the first book in this series to understand what’s going on in this book. It’s definitely nice so you can smile at the references when our past friends swing by, but you don’t need to rush out to buy the first book (I recommend you do anyways, it’s fantastic!).
Our new friends from Halloway Hills Middle School are helping with a Christmas fair for the school. It’s going to be raising money for local charities, so they are ready and willing to help! Violet crocheted a whole bunch of hats for this event and is super, duper excited to sell them!
Side note: A middle schooler who can crotchet hats?! I’m lucky enough to get a dishcloth done and have it look presentable. Go Violet! That’s a real skill!
Violet’s hats disappear one day and she’s pretty sure she knows what happened to them. Unfortunately, the adults in her life suggest to keep moving forward and come up with new ideas for the fair instead. With a little help from new and old friends, Violet is going to tackle this mystery and find her missing hats!
My collection of notes for this book are as followed:
- More cats! I swear A.J. Kormon keeps writing these books with me in mind. I love the furry friends featured in these books.
- Violet has purple hair and a nose ring. I was always that weird kid with funky hair throughout middle school and high school (and adulthood, minus the pandemic of course) and I never felt like I fit in. I wish I had a book like this to show me it’s totally normal to have funky hair that sparks your fancy and shows your style.
- The hints along the way help steer you in some different directions for who is suspicious. The intrigue and mystery was super fun and I really enjoyed it!
Overall, I’m totally digging this series! A.J. Kormon is onto something great and I highly recommend you pick these books up while they’re still hot!
Five out of five stars.
I received a free copy of this book from the author, A.J. Kormon, in exchange of an honest review.
Want to give this book a go? Here are some helpful links to help direct you towards that winning purchase:
Goodreads
Amazon.ca
Amazon.com
Find out more about A.J. Kormon by clicking on the links below:
https://www.ajkormon.com/
Goodreads Author Page
Looking for more fantastic middle grade readers? Check out some of the other books that have been featured on my blog:
Hiding Out on Halloween by AJ Kormon
Moon-Force 1 by Janelle Adams
Up the Creek by Kevin Miller
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