Hannah Edwards Secrets of Riverway

In sardonic first-person narration, Hannah Edwards, the tween protagonist of this speculative small-town caper, advises tourists to “drive right through” the titular town of Riverway. She goes on to say that visitors are “consistently disappointed” by Riverway’s natural water feature—a raging river that was once the community’s crown jewel “is now a trickling stream.” Things in her sleepy locale get progressively worse after her father, the Canola King, who was “basically the soul of this town,” disappears. Now, Hannah’s uncle Fergus is helping her mother manage the canola farm, but Uncle Fergus seems to create more problems for Hannah than he fixes. When Hannah’s best friend Sam claims to have seen her father’s ghost, the duo attempt to contact him, resulting in Hannah suddenly hearing his voice in math class. But Hannah refuses to believe it’s him; at least, not until she sees the ghost for herself. As she and Sam navigate the paranormal, Hannah also discovers that Uncle Fergus is not all that he seems. Through depictions of Hannah’s skepticism and can-do attitude, debut author Hards introduces a heroine who handily propels this familiar yet exciting supernatural mystery. The cover depicts Hannah with pale skin. Ages 9–12. (Sept.)