Nick's Secret

by Claire H. Blatchford, Laurie Harden (Illustrator)

Overview

In this exciting mystery, thirteen-year-old Nick and his faithful dog, Wags, are mixed up in a scheme even more exciting, and dangerous, than they have ever been in before. Daryl, a school bully, forces Nick to meet him at the creepy Tower Motel, a place that local legend says is haunted. On his way there, a snowstorm threatens, and a mysterious girl named Ionie warns Nick to stay away from the motel. Snowed in by the blizzard, Nick joins forces with Ionie and learns that she has a dangerous secret. Nick must keep Ionie's secret, or risk both their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467732024
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/01/2013
Series:	Fiction - Middle Grade
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	168
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	10 - 11 Years

About the Author

Laurie Harden was educated at Kansas City Art Institute, where she pursued a painting major. She also graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in illustration. She then returned to home state of New Jersey, where she got married and raised two sons. She freelanced in New York City and taught art classes. Harden has also established herself as a Fine Artist and has been represented by several galleries.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-6-One snowy day close to Christmas, Nick Wilder, a 13-year-old dog lover, meets a mysterious girl in the pet store where he works and is also threatened by a school bully who comes into the shop. This bully dares Nick to meet him at an abandoned hotel the next day. Nick, who is deaf, decides to go to prove he is not chicken. On his way to the hotel, a blizzard begins, he meets up with the same girl and her dogs, and has a run-in with the bully who is using the hotel as a hangout to smoke and sell pot with his friends. The girl is living alone in a house near the hotel, hiding with her famous sheepherding dogs and awaiting her father's return from Scotland. Nick helps her out and gets even deeper involved-a man is looking for her and plans to steal the dogs. The story builds slowly to a brave rescue by Nick, and all's well that ends well. A subplot revolves around the boy's concern that his divorced mother is planning to remarry. The characters are real enough, and the plot moves at a steady pace. A light, well-rounded story that will appeal to dog lovers and mystery fans.-Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Aloha, OR Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

The latest novel in the Nick Wilder Mystery series that began with Nick's Mission (not reviewed) continues the light mysteries that surround the boy who lost his hearing at the age of six. Because of his deafness, Nick has a highly sensitized ability to read facial expressions and body language. But it will take more than that to deal with the combination of problems that surround him. In a showdown with a bully named Daryl and his pot-selling friends, Daryl tries to intimidate Nick into becoming a lookout for their gang. But a mysterious new girl arrives, pointing a rifle at the boys and helping Nick escape. He learns that Ionie and her father breed, raise, train, and sell prize sheepdogs; she has been left alone to care for seven of them while her father takes her dying grandmother to Scotland. Because Daryl has stolen $350 from Ionie's cabin, she is unable to feed her dogs. To this plot, add the danger of dog thieves who will do anything short of murder to obtain these expensive dogs. Harboring Ionie in the basement of his work place (which happens to be a pet shop), Nick is able to provide a safe haven. However, it is only by trusting the adults in his life-his mother, her new boyfriend, and his boss-that Nick can finally assure Ionie's complete safety. While not high art, this simple mystery will satisfy young readers who will enjoy the intrigue, and it has the bonus of having a hearing-impaired hero. (Fiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews