The Hike to Home
by Jess Rinker
Adventure
Mystery
Realistic Fiction
* * * * Stars (Great!)
Lin Moser is having the worst summer of her life. She’s used to traveling around the world with her famous parents (her dad renovates houses and her mom films him, and in their spare time they go on all kinds of adventures), and now she’s stuck in a tiny town in New Jersey with nothing interesting to do. After she gets her dad to let her quit summer camp, Lin actually makes some friends, Tinsley and Leo, and they introduce her to all the cool stuff about their home – the ice cream shop, and the local legend of the castle in the clouds. Lin gets pretty excited about the castle, which is supposed to be somewhere up in the mountains nearby (though, no one has ever found it), and they decide to find out as much as they can about it – researching the stories at the library, breaking into the Freemason’s lodge, and interviewing folks around town. When Lin’s father isn’t able to take them hiking as planned, the kids decide to go searching for it on their own. Lin is a pretty experienced explorer due to her unusual upbringing, but their expedition still takes some unexpected turns and way more time than they had anticipated. They are going to be in a LOT of trouble if they ever do make it home again. To make things worse (or more exciting?) they’re being pursued by some local bullies and a mysterious woman who seem to be searching for the same thing. Will they find the castle? And if so, who will be first? A fun summer adventure story with a little bit of history and mystery. For tweens (grades 5-8).
Reviewed by YA Librarian
