The Storyteller Squad

High-Adventure, Clean Reads for Middle Grade Guys

Tim Shoemaker somehow drew a crowd of male middle graders to a private book signing by dozens of authors attending a writing conference in 2018. As an attendee, I’d bought a few books and was cruising that huge auditorium seeking the authors to sign them when my eyes landed on Tim, who’d taught one of my afternoon classes. With a genuine smile on his face, he sat at a table signing his books and mugging for photos. A line of middle grade guys before him snaked around other authors’ tables. How did they get in? No other author had a serious line in front of them. But somehow these guys learned that Tim Shoemaker was in the house, and they had sweet talked their parents into driving them to meet him.

That speaks volumes for Tim’s work. His stories are clean with Christian messages threaded throughout, and they are chock full of suspense, mystery, and adventure. Each book contains several messages. At least one is biblically based and the others reveal current day challenges facing young teens, such as racism, bullying, and peer pressure. I like how Tim’s main characters have tight bonds of trust with their parents.

When I met Tim, he’d finished the Code of Silence series, published by Zonderkidz, containing three middle grade books: Code of SilenceBack Before Dark, and Below the Surface. I devoured them all within a week after returning from the conference. The entire series is now available on Amazon Kindle for $4.49.

In Code of Silence, the main character, seventh-grader Cooper, his best friend and cousin Gordy, and friends Hiro and Lunk, are faced with the dilemma of telling the truth or keeping a secret after witnessing a robbery that leaves a man in a coma. Back Before Dark begins with Gordy being kidnapped and races along with a reckless rescue plan his friends cobble together. A light-hearted summer vacation aboard a cabin cruiser in Below the Surface turns into a nightmare after the friends witness a murder and must face their fears to solve it. Tension ramps up in this series through near-death experiences, creepy encounters, and intimidating police officers.

In 2021, Focus on the Family published Escape from the Everglades, the first book in Tim’s High Water series. This series features 15-year-old Parker Buckman, who ends up in south Florida after his father, a park ranger is transferred to work in the Everglades. The father of Parker’s friend, Angelica (Jelly), is transferred to the same location. Parker and Jelly befriend Wilson, a native American, and life starts to look up . . .  until Jelly’s sister disappears in the swamp. To find her, the friends must outwit her bully boyfriend, battle alligators, and face the darkness of their pasts.

The second book in the High Water series, Every Hidden Thing, launched Tuesday, September 6, as the #1 New Release in Teen & Young Adult Christian Mysteries & Thrillers on Amazon. Mr. Buckman has been transferred to Rockport, Massachusetts, and Parker and his mom couldn’t be happier. He befriends Ella, who is similar and different from Jelly, but in a good way. Jelly and he hope that her father’s transfer to Rockport will soon become a reality. But before that can happen, a schoolmate drowns after a frightening text conversation with Parker. Has bad luck followed him to Rockport?

I recommend reading these books in order by series. Their plots build on one another. Also note that the High Water series contains some pretty scary scenes. I’ll think long and hard before I take another airboat ride in a Florida swamp. And I’ll never swim in a quarry again.

What high-adventure books do you recommend for middle-grade guys?

Jill K Willis

Jill K Willis is the author of "The Demons Among Us," a young adult speculative novel about a brother and sister who team with friends to battle a legion of demons invading their high school. Published by Redemption Press, this novel won the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award. Jill lives on a lake north of Atlanta with her husband and a one-eyed orange kitty. Subscribe to her newsletter at www.jillkwillis.com.

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