Julane FisherA tree house. A trail of clues. A secret room. Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe has it all. As a Southern kids author, I love humorous references to the South, and author Jo Watson Hackl delighted my senses with her quirky characters, mystery, and family drama. It’s a great clean Middle-Grade fiction story. The very first line of the book grabbed me and held me to the very end.
“Turns out, it’s easier than you might think to sneak out of town smuggling a live cricket, three pocketfuls of jerky, and two bags of half-paid-for merchandise from Thelma’s Cash ‘n Cary grocery store.”
All her life, twelve-year-old Cricket’s Mama told her stories about a secret room, but no one believed her—except Cricket. When Mama runs away, Cricket sets out to find Mama, and prove once and for all she was right. Cricket heads to an overgrown Mississippi ghost town where a mysterious artist left clues about the secret room. Along the way, Cricket encounters some lively creatures including a live cricket she names Charlene, a slobbery poetry-loving dog named Percy, and the lady who may hold the key to the puzzle.
Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe takes place in small town Mississippi, where places like Thelma’s Cash ‘n Cary grocery store would sit on the corner of the one stoplight town. It’s a delightful story of love, family, and yes, good ‘ole Southern humor. The story was inspired by Hackl’s own upbringing, when she moved to Electric Mills, Mississippi, a real-life ghost town. For more information on the story, you can visit www.johackl.com
Elise Haroldson
Kristen Gwen
This sounds great. I’ll have to check it out.
Again, sounds amazing! I like how you gave information about the author’s life.