The Book Review
Brooms by Kevin Miller is a spooky middle-grade read packed with delights, scares, and curling!
You don’t get better than this! Kevin Miller is an incredible author that ties his stories directly to Canadian heritage. Who would have thought witches, the Deep Bay monster, hockey, and curling would all make for a great read? This middle-grade book will put you on the edge of your seat as you try to decipher the mystery behind the monster, but also see if our lead can make new friends in her not-so-great, new situation.
This book follows Maggie Anderson, a sixteen-year-old high school hockey player who gets labeled a goon after an unfortunate and misunderstood fight out on the ice. She gets kicked out of the league, which is devastating alone, but now her Dad has taken a nursing job way up north (he says to get back to his “roots” and his “heritage”). The family moves to an almost deserted town and her life is flipped upside down. The hockey league is basically non-existent and everyone likes CURLING. To her and her hockey team, curling was an absolute joke. She could never like curling or making new friends here! Obviously.
Eventually, Maggie befriends (and by befriend, we mean accidentally stumble upon and save him like he’s a damsel in distress) Midge. He loves the local lore and cryptozoology. Loch Ness monster? Bigfoot? Any conspiracy theory with big monsters and he knows all about it. He tells her all about the Deep Bay Monster and the lore of the city, which lines up with the spooky things Maggie has been seeing lately… And of course, you can’t have high school without those teenage mean girls coming after you demanding they destroy you in the big curling match, eh?
So, why read this book?
- Indigenous representation – Maggie is a Canadian, Indigenous from the Métis nation.
- Sports – Hockey and curling take centre stage, but especially curling. Kevin does an incredible job of walking the reader through the different aspects of curling – from the rock to the broom, to how you can work on different ice types.
- Self Discovery – Maggie learns all about herself throughout this book. She has great character development, and you really get to watch her grow as a person.
- Witches and Deep Sea Monsters (also known as… the Mishinigoshu) – Like fantasy and mystery? This book has both! Magic and chaos are present, all the while maintaining a deep secret for the reader to discover…
Overall, this story brings a nice understanding of the colonizers/missionaries and what they did the legends and stories of the people they stole land from. Throw in the incredible self-discovery story, and lots of curling and sports, and you’ve one heck of a middle-grade read! I was binging this book and could hardly put it down.
I highly recommend this for fans of Canadian authors, Canadian stories, fantasy, and mystery. And if you missed it, check out book one – Pumpkins – which doesn’t need to be read to understand Brooms. Both books are standalone in this spooky series.
Five out of five stars!
I received this book for free, from Kevin Miller, in exchange for an honest review.
Learn More About Kevin Miller
Check out Kevin on his website: http://www.kevinmillerxi.com/
Or on twitter: @kevinmillerxi
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