Why we love mystery stories
And why kids do, too
We’ve been dicussing mystery stories a lot lately, and it’s ramped up even more this week with the release of ‘Danger Road’ by YKNR’s Allison Tait (aka A. L. Tait).
‘Danger Road’ is Allison’s second middle-grade mystery novel to be published in as many months, following the release of ‘Willow Bright’s Secret Plot’ in May.
But ‘Danger Road’ is her fifth ‘detective’ novel in all (including ‘The First Summer Of Callie McGee’, and the two ‘Maven & Reeve Mysteries’) and it’s the result of a lifelong love of mystery stories that started almost as soon as she could read and continues to this day.
In episode 202 of the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast, Megan and Allison discussed the ‘enduring appeal’ of mystery stories, which Megan describes like this:
“Mysteries contain the excitement of a life that is far removed from a young reader’s own existence, and there’s a thrill in that – in inspiring young protagonists who lead investigations, collect and study the evidence, find clues. They’re usually fast-paced page turners and – with my teacher hat on – they help young readers to read critically, to consider cause and effect, deduction and how vital information and facts are collected.”
Allison had this to say about her own love affair with the genre:
“I love a pacy, plot-driven story and that’s what a mystery novel delivers in spades. There’s also a lot of certainty in a mystery story. You know that the novel will end with something ‘solved’ and I think that was important to me as a young reader and is possibly even more important for young readers today, who are dealing with a lot of uncertainty.”
Allison Tait and Allison Rushby recently spoke about how to write mystery stories at Sydney Writers’ Festival, and Allison T has been busy developing a new ‘Danger Road’ author talk and a new workshop around the intricacies of creating a great mystery, which she’ll be rolling out at schools and festivals in the coming months.
(You can hear Allison Tait discuss the process of creating author talks and workshops in episode 210 of the podcast next week – subscribe on your favourite platform so you don’t miss it. Details here.)
So you might say we’re fully immersed in mystery novels right now, which is one reason we’ve pulled together this new list of 50+ recommended Mystery Novels For Tweens.
Why have we focussed on tweens (or middle-grade readers) when there are mystery novels for all age groups?
Mostly because this is where requests seem to be focused in the YKNR community right now. (But there will no doubt be another list coming soon for younger readers, because we don’t seem to be able to help ourselves…)
In the meantime, hit the red button to find out more about ‘Danger Road’ or to buy a copy right now.
UPDATES FROM TEAM YKNR
For reasons that will become clear as you read through our updates, it’s been a chaotic month for Team YKNR. One of us has been overseas, one of us has been launching books and one of us… well, you’ll see.
HELLO FROM MEGAN DALEY
Megan is an award-winning teacher-librarian working in Brisbane, the author of Raising Readers: How to nurture a child’s love of books, and co-host of the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast. Her debut picture book THE BEEHIVE is out now! More about Megan here.
So… The Beekeeper and I got married. I don’t have any photos to share (yet) but no doubt all details will be discussed in a future episode of the podcast. In a nutshell, our wedding took place at Providence Farm Hall in Beechmont, which holds a special place in The Beekeeper’s heart. He has been putting bees on this family property for many years and it is a very special part of the world. Think goats, lawn games, cheese with honey, jackets, scarves and boots and merriment, and you’ll be able to imagine the day…
Moving into July, I've got a week of bookish events and if you're Brisbane based, please do come along! (Click the dates or book titles for details and tickets)
16 July: Launch of Nova Weetman’s new middle-grade rom-com 'Sonny & Tess'
17 July: Launch of Carla Salmon’s debut YA novel 'We Saw What You Started'
19 July: Launch of Robert Henderson’s new picture book 'Who Might You Be'
MEGAN’S BOOKMARK REVIEWS
Each month, I share full reviews of two outstanding books that have crossed my desk. Bookmark these for your young readers.
'One Day' by Shirley Marr, illustrated by Michael Speechley
Written by Shirley Marr and illustrated by Michael Speechley, 'One Day' is a life-affirming meditation on time, wonder, and truly living in the moment.
We accompany Mayfly as she embraces her single day with unbounded curiosity and joy (fun fact: a mayfly lives for 24-48 hours). Her world is new and bursting with possibilities: friends to meet, places to go, things to marvel at. The essence of Mayfly's life is perfectly captured in the line: “Mayfly has not regretted a second of the incandescent experience that is life. It has been a perfect day.” Incandescent. What a word!
Speechley’s illustrations are layered and luminous. From the calendar-inspired endpapers (that cleverly encourage readers to rotate the book) to the subtle visual cues and hidden details in building signs, to the colour palette, every element has been so carefully and artfully composed. It feels light and effortless, but the craft behind it is undeniable.
This is a book for all ages. My Prep-Year Two students have loved it but it will be equally as moving for older readers. I can picture it as a graduation gift, a thoughtful companion in times of transition, or simply a reminder to pause and marvel at the everyday.
If ever a book captured the spirit of carpe diem, this is it.
‘Noisy Noisy City’ by Andrew Kelly and Helene Magisson
'Noisy Noisy City' takes us through the streets of a busy city. Readers will have lots of fun mimicking the noises found in the Noisy Noisy City and this dynamic read-aloud picture book will be a hit for kids aged 3 and up.
This is a fabulous book for a super young audience about all the great noises they might come across when out and about in the community. Andrew Kelly has levelled up from your ‘classic’ transport noise books with a range of noises that includes jackhammers, car radios, trams and helicopters.
Helene Magisson's illustrations showcase a beautifully diverse community in ethnicity, ability, gender roles and homes. This book is just crying out to be placed in kindergartens, and the old ‘community’ books tossed in the recycling – they just don’t represent us and they never really did.
HELLO FROM ALLISON RUSHBY
The award-winning, bestselling author of many, many books for children and adults, Allison Rushby’s novels are firm favourites in the Your Kid’s Next Read community. Her latest illustrated junior fiction series, The Wish Sisters, is fast gaining fans. More about Allison R here.
Allison R is back home and recovering from jet lag. Paid subscribers were lucky enough in June to receive her insights into how she plans a research trip and just what she’s looking for.
She’ll be back with full reports next month, but, in the meantime, please enjoy a few of her holiday happy snaps – and yes, Allison T and Megan are FULL OF ENVY.
HELLO FROM ALLISON TAIT
Writing as A. L. Tait, Allison is the internationally published, bestselling author of three middle-grade series: The Mapmaker Chronicles, The Ateban Cipher and the Maven & Reeve Mysteries. She is an in-demand speaker, a writing teacher for kids and adults, and co-host of the YKNR podcast. Her latest novels include THE FIRST SUMMER OF CALLIE McGEE, WILLOW BRIGHT’S SECRET PLOT, and the brand-new DANGER ROAD. More about Allison here.
One of the things you very quickly have to get used to as an author is the fact that you don’t get to just sit in a room and write your books – oh no, you have to TALK about them as well.
So the past month has been an interesting mix of editing one novel (coming early next year – we’ll save it for later…), and then either talking about, or preparing to talk about, ‘Willow Bright’s Secret Plot’ and ‘Danger Road’.
The good think about preparing to talk about books is that it makes me think really hard about my own work. It’s not always easy to articulate where the idea for a story came from – but if you’re going to stand up in front of 200 year eight boys (as I did last week) and talk about your book and writing, you’re going to need to drill down into your inspiration.
The result was not just my author talk and a new workshop, but this blog post about the story behind the story for ‘Danger Road’.
You can also hear me talk a bit about ‘Danger Road’ and all of my books in episode 12 of Between The Bookshelves: A NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge Podcast
You can also hear me read the first chapter of ‘Danger Road’ in this brand-new YKNR podcast Friday First Chapters episode, just published today.
I set out to write a cold-case crime thriller that had all the hallmarks of that genre but was suitable for a middle-grade readership.
And then I handed ‘Danger Road’ to Candice Fox to see what she thought of it.
’A tense, immersive thriller that’ll be your next addiction.’ – Candice Fox, #1 NY Times Bestselling Author
I hope you and your young readers love ‘Danger Road’, too!
JULY BOOKMAIL WINNER
Each month, we give away a prize pack consisting of some of the brilliant bookmail sent to us for the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast. One winner** is chosen from our full subscriber list by random draw and announced here!
There are SIX books in the JULY prize pack.
The JULY bookmail giveaway winner is … AFlaherty.
Congrats! We’ll be in touch by email.
Want a chance to win next month? All you have to do is subscribe.
Subscribed
We hope you’ll read a mystery story with us this month!
Allison T, Allison R and Megan
**Australian mailing addresses only. Prize consists of one copy of each book pictured, sent as a pack to the winner by Australia Post. Winner will be contacted by email and prize must be claimed within 14 days or a redraw will take place. You must be subscribed to the YKNR newsletter by midnight (AEST) the night before publication each month to be eligible to win. No correspondence will be entered into.
I love this piece! If only I could solve the mystery of my own life ...