dilapidated Victorian mansion next door. The story of an unlikely
friendship, the clash of two completely different cultures, secret
magic, and a search for the lost Hawthorne treasure.
him and his twin sister to the small town of Hawthorne in rural
Indiana, as far as his grieving father could take from the ocean that
Matt’s mother had loved. At the new high school, three bullies are
determined to make Matt miserable. And to top it off, Matt learns
that the recluse who lives in the ‘haunted house” next door is
none other than Old Lady Hawthorne, the town’s infamous witch and
murderer. Matt’s terrible summer is turning into an awful autumn
when something quite unexpected happens. Old Lady Hawthorne’s niece
and her three children arrive, and Matt meets Gerallt.
helping the US Government acquire large, complex software-intensive
systems. In this guise, he has authored seven technical books,
written numerous software- and system-related articles and papers,
and spoken at more conferences than he can possibly remember. He’s
also proud to have been named a Distinguished Engineer by the
Association of Computing Machinery, although his pride is tempered
somewhat by his fear that the term “distinguished” makes
him sound like a graybeard academic rather than an active engineer
whose beard is still slightly more red than gray.
fantasy, apocalyptic science fiction, action and adventure novels and
relaxes by handcrafting magic wands from various magical woods and
mystical gemstones. His first foray into fiction is the book Magical
Wands: A Cornucopia of Wand Lore written under the pen name Wolfrick
Ignatius Feuerschmied. He lives in Crafton, Pennsylvania with his
wife Becky, and his son Dane, and varying numbers of dogs, cats, and birds.
Matt Mitchell has had a rough year. His mother died in a car accident and his father has moved him and his sister to a small town of Hawthorne in Indiana. Because Matt is the new kid there are a group of guys that have decided that they are going to bully him and make his life even more difficult. Then Matt learns that he lives next to the Old Lady Hawthorne, the towns witch. But when the woman’s niece and children move into the house Matt learns about their story. He makes a new friend and starts looking into the story of Hawthorne.
This is a great story. Matt is a great kid and just had his world turned upside down with the loss of his mother. Of course the sadness felt by everyone is just heartbreaking and I understand why his father moves them. Unfortunately this is not going to give the now new kid in town an easy time with other boys his age.
Gerallt is a great guy and the perfect friend for Matt. Add in a little magic and this book just keeps getting better and better. The rich history of Hawthorne also adds to this story. I love how the story goes into bullies, rumors, family, and magic. I recommend it to any child and adult that would like a little magic added to their world.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
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Nice review! Matt sounds like a very sympathetic character. I hope he gets what he’s after by the end of the story. 🙂
I like how there is an opening for a sequel. I can’t wait for more from this world.
The Secrets of Hawthorne House ends happily. But Matt and Gerallt’s story will continue in the sequel, The Secrets of Sanctuary Cove, which I am currently blocking out (plot and characters).
Yeah!! I can’t wait!!