I thought this was a really enjoyable middlegrade read. My tween will love it as well! There are great characters, a good take on the Maine accent, and adventure/hijinks. A nice easy rad. I though it was great!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. ( )

Matt Mitchell; his sister, Tina; and his father, Sam are moving to a town called Hawthorne just north of Fort Wayne, Indiana. When they move in, the are warned about the house next door that the townsfolk believe is inhabited by a witch they call Old Lady Hawthorne. Matt finds out that there really isn't anything to be afraid of when he knocks on her door to ask if she will pay him to clean up her yard. She tells him that her name is Vivianne and she brings him delicious lemonade while he is working. Things begin to change when Vivianne's niece and her three children move in with her. One of them is Matt's age and since they are both new in town, they quickly become friends, but it isn't long before Matt discovers that his new friend and his family are keeping a very big secret.

The Secrets of Hawthorne House is more about the secrets of the Hawthorne family than the house, which really is nothing more than an old spooky, Gothic house. Most of the problems in the story are the typical family issues when a loved one has been lost and they move to a new town. The "witch" aspect of the story is a secondary plot element through most of the story. For a middle grade book, it was much longer than it needed to be to keep the attention of the target audience, and although the ending was satisfying, it is a little too pat. Overall, however, this is a pretty good middle grade novel. ( )

While this tale seems to promise tons of spooks and paranormal bumps in the night with some magic thrown in, I was surprised that it runs quite a bit deeper than that.

Due to the death of Matt's mother in a car accident, his family leaves their seaside cottage and heads to Hawthorne, Indiana. But they aren't the only new family there. The house next door is supposedly haunted and creepy...not that Matt understands why. When a family moves in, who's father passed away, it does draw quite a bit of attention, especially since they are a little odd. One of the children does become Matt's best friend. Although things seem to be working out on that end, Matt is faced with bullying at school, and having his best friend's mother always dress in black eggs it on. Matt learns that the family is harboring a secret, and learning what it is adds a whole new twist Matt could have never seen coming.

While many stories run along a direct plot line, this one has a wider spread. While the paranormal aspect and spooky sides are present, they tend to take a back seat to more important lessons. Matt needs to come to terms with his mother's death, deal with bullying, and learns to see past differences to find the true things which build friendship. So, while there are creepy and magical moments, there are also quite a few 'family' scenes. While these do slow the story down somewhat, they allow the reader to really sink into the characters' world. Even an action girl like me enjoyed being drawn in like that.

There are quite a few things to enjoy about this tale. Not only are the messages fitting for the age group, but there is enough adventure and tension to keep it pretty interesting. The author melds in a type of druid-ish magic, which opens up the entire thing with a nice amount of fantasy. Especially the characters are a treat as they are easy to like and root for. I'm didn't find that Matt really fit a fifteen-year-old, as the story places him, as much of his speech and thoughts hit a younger bracket. Even the family situations sometimes didn't fit the teen scene. Plus, some of their dialogue got a bit tedious and could have been tightened up more.

Still, it's a fun read and promises an interesting tale still to come in the rest of the series. ( )

This was not the book I expected; it was better! The Secrets of Hawthorne House promised to be the story of a boy whose family moved from Oregon to Indiana after the death of his mother. Matt Mitchell now lives next door to a creepy old house, where his next-door neighbor is the town witch. And if that’s not bad enough, the school bullies decide to make him their latest target. In a nutshell, life sucks. And money is tight, so when Matt asks his dad for an allowance to buy video games, Mr. Mitchell suggests that Matt get a job, maybe mowing lawns. Ask the neighbor if you can work for her. Matt asks the neighbor and finds that Mrs. Hawthorne, while a bit eccentric and a complete recluse, is actually a very kind lady.

The story I just recounted is a great story. It’s fairly predictable but comforting. We know how the story is going to go. But that’s just the first two chapters, and then the story doesn’t go where we knew it was going to. The book takes us through countless surprises as Mrs. Hawthorne’s extended family moves in and her great-nephew, Gerallt, becomes Matt’s best friend. The entire Hawthorne family dresses in old-fashioned, black clothing. And they can do magic.

There’s a whole religious system that goes along with the magic. I find the system a bit unbelievable, but it is interesting and well thought through. I hope that Matt’s alternate explanation at the end of the book turns out to be true. Matt, being a skeptic, doesn’t believe in magic, but there comes a point that it becomes impossible to deny what he has seen.

I loved how the first half of the book dealt with bullying. I loved that magic offered a way to defend themselves and others from bullies, but I loved, even more, when Matt and others stood up to the bullies, without expecting any sort of rescue. The three school bullies were a bit stereotypical (two of the three were dumb and they weren’t very careful about who overheard their plans), as were their targets (new kid, overweight girl, siblings who dressed differently). The way the story dealt with these stories felt true to life, and not always the easy answers, which I appreciated. There was one incident with Matt’s sister being treated badly, which I wished the book explored more, but the focus stayed primarily on Matt and Gerallt.

The two boys got into quite a few scrapes and escapes, chased down a thief, searched for a treasure, and broke a ton of rules together in the process. They were fun. I was at the edge of my seat many times, just waiting for them to get caught or hurt, but they always seemed to make it out alright in the end. I liked all of the siblings in both families.

The love story felt too contrived and too convenient; at one point the couple shared true love’s kiss and I threw up a little on the inside. I won’t spoil it by saying any more, but I think most readers will see what I mean. Additionally, there was a bit too much explaining what the characters were thinking or what their motivation was. I don’t like being stuck in the character's heads (my biggest problem with Hunger Games), and it felt unnecessary. Of course, people felt guilty when they lied, since they don’t normally lie. You don’t need to tell us that. But over-explaining wasn’t constant; it just appeared from time to time. I would be interested in hearing the next part of the story if the author wrote a second book, and there were quite a few unanswered questions, however, the ending doesn’t leave us with a cliffhanger.

I received a free ARC of this book from BookSirens and have reviewed it willingly. ( )

Secrets of Hawthorne House by Donald Firesmith is a charming ‘found family’ story that deftly illustrates how people of different cultures/ spiritual backgrounds can get along just fine. For decades, Vivianne Hawthorne has kept to herself and not interacted with the residents of the town her grandfather gave name to. That changes when the Mitchell family moves next door. Matt, looking for odd jobs to earn money, approaches Mrs Hawthorne about working in her overgrown yard. The elderly lady reluctantly agrees, thinking he's just there to trick her, like several bully kids like to do. Matt proves his worth though, and every weekend works to tame the yard. Then Vivianne's great-niece and her kids move in, and Matt finds a best friend in Gerralt, a boy his age. But there's more to Gerralt and the Hawthornes than ever Matt might guess.

Over the course of the story, the boys confront bullies (in hysterical ways!), learn to trust that difference isn't bad, and the strange and unusual need not be feared, and even find treasure! This story engaged me right from the start. At first, I wasn't so certain 'druid’ was the correct term for the Hawthornes, but that gets resolved later in the story. I enjoyed learning about their ancestors’ past. I'm doubly grateful that Matt, and later his family, learned to at least accept the Hawthornes’ faith, even if they cannot share it, and believe there must be a different explanation. I adored that the author wrote the Hawthornes as they spoke, accents and all. It immediately reminded me of how my Welsh friend speaks, and it's later revealed that the Hawthornes’ ancestry is Welsh, and that they tend to live in isolated colonies which may serve to preserve parts of the accent. At any rate, I loved it! Also, most of their names reflect Welsh ancestry. Slow me took a bit to recall that Gerralt is nothing more exotic than Gerald.

Several characters have to step out of their comfort zones. Matt must learn to accept Gerralt's faith, the younger Hawthornes have to have far greater interaction with technology than they're used to. On Deer Isle, where a colony exists, electricity is not used. They are living experimental archaeology. Vivianne, I think, took the bravest step by going out to supper with everyone despite being terrified of ridicule and persecution by the townsfolk, many of whom believe she killed her husband and best friend over an affair. I just can't imagine her doing such a thing. She seems so sweet. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next in the series!

***Many thanks to the author for providing an ecopy in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for Silver Dagger Blog Tours ( )