Blog Tour and Review Cragbridge Hall: The Inventor’s Secret

26 Mar, 2013 by in Shadow Mountain 2 comments

By Chad Morris
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published March 5th 2013
by Shadow Mountain
ISBN 1609073266
Book source: Publisher
4.5 stars
Book Summary from Amazon: Abby and Derick have been accepted to the most prestigious secondary school in the world Cragbridge Hall. Due to the inventions of their grandfather, Oscar Cragbridge, they will be able to experience history in 3D, use their minds to literally project visual interpretations of classic literature, and become animal avatars for zoology. But when their grandfather and parents go missing, Abby and Derick must follow clues Oscar left for them that will reveal a dangerous secret. Along the way, they discover there is much more to one of their grandfather s inventions than anyone has ever dreamed. Saving their family will take all of Derick s mind and Abby s heart as they come face to face with a crazed scientist who desperately seeks to change the past. If they fail, the world past and future will never be the same. This book is a page-turning, time-travel adventure that teaches powerful lessons about choice and consequence, believing you can do hard things, and valuing your history.
I’m so excited to be a part of Deseret Book’s blog tour for Cragbridge Hall, Book One: Inventor’s Secret. I heard of this book the week I recived it from my elementary aged children who had a visit from the author, Chad Morris at their school. They were so entertained and excited about his presentation that they tried to wrangle the book away from me and I’ve been in a hurry to finish it ever since so they can have their turn! It’s always  a good sign when they get book envy.

Chad spends a lot of time weaving obscure and not so obscure elements of history into his storyline which takes place at a prestigious school for brilliant students of the future. The two main heroes are brother and sister team Abby and Derick who are on a mission to find out what happened to their grandfather, the schools founder as well as their parents….before it is too late.  There is plenty of adventure packed into the quest to find clues. The team and their peers are allowed to use “the Bridge” which takes allows them to see history come to life and feel it as it is happening. Readers get sucked right along with them into scenes as horrifying as a bear attack and as thrilling as a slave escape.

I really loved the characters and my ability to relate to them. It is truly middle grade perfect. Everyone knows the annoying best girl friend who is vying for the attention of your brother, the mean girl who is trying to turn her clique of friends against you, and the teachers who you can’t tell are on your side or not. The main voice, Abby is good just the way she is and is not perfect or fatally flawed. 

My children are going to eat this one up and I am pleased to pass it on to them as it is clean and not overly violent. Well done Chad Morris for keeping me and my family fascinated with the past and the future!

About the author: Chad Morris grew up wanting to become a professional basketball player or a rock star. (Inspired by Animal from the Muppets, he’s been banging on drums since he was eight years old.) After high school, he wrote and performed sketch comedy while going to college, and eventually he became a teacher and a curriculum writer. He lives in Utah with his wife and five kids. Chad would love to teach at Cragbridge Hall.Unlike Oscar Cragbridge, however, he hasn’t really invented anything, though his son once sketched out blueprints for a machine that would turn celery into cookies

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