The bedtime story my dad used to tell me began with my grandmother’s body.
With this eerie opening line, Rebecca Podos reels you into her intriguing YA novel The Mystery of Hollow Places. The reader will want to read on and unravel the mystery of Imogene Scott and her family. With a host of famous literary detective greats to help her on the way, Imogene discovers that truth and fiction often intertwine and that uncovering the past is sometimes not always the best course of action.
The plot thickens….
The Mystery of Hollow Places is a gorgeously written, stunningly original novel of love, loss, and identity, from debut author Rebecca Podos.
All Imogene Scott knows of her mother is the bedtime story her father told her as a child. It’s the story of how her parents met: he, a forensic pathologist; she, a mysterious woman who came to identify a body. A woman who left Imogene and her father when she was a baby, a woman who was always possessed of a powerful loneliness, a woman who many referred to as “troubled waters.”
Now Imogene is seventeen, and her father, a famous author of medical mysteries, has struck out in the middle of the night and hasn’t come back. Neither Imogene’s stepmother nor the police know where he could’ve gone, but Imogene is convinced he’s looking for her mother. And she decides it’s up to her to put to use the skills she’s gleaned from a lifetime of reading her father’s books to track down a woman she’s only known in stories in order to find him and, perhaps, the answer to the question she’s carried with her for her entire life. – Amazon.ca
Rebecca Podos’ debut YA novel The Mystery of Hollow Places has garnered much attention:
- Kirkus, starred review
- The Kirkus Prize 2016 Nominee, Young Readers
- Booklist 2016 Top 10 Books for Youth, Crime Fiction & First Novels
- Booklist 2016 Top First Novels for Youth
- Booklist, starred review
- BCCB, starred review
- A Junior Library Guild Selection
- Nominated for a 2016 Agatha Award
- Barnes & Noble Best YA of 2016 List
A graduate of the MFA Writing, Literature and Publishing program at Emerson College, Podos lives in Conneticut with her husband. Though writing for youth seems to be her passion…her day job also follows suit as Podos works as a YA and Middle Grade agent at the Rees Literary Agency in Boston.
Don’t take our word for it, others are singing the praises of The Mystery of Hollow Places as well:
“This heartfelt and page-turning debut introduces readers to a whip-smart and wise heroine.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Sharp plotting, unexpected twists, dynamic characters, and a sensitive treatment of mental illness make Podos a writer to watch.” (Booklist (starred review)
“Debut author Podos creates an engrossing mix of detective story and family story, as Imogene compulsively follows the trail but also begins to realize the fantasy that has driven her family narrative.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
“Debut author Podos makes capable use of believable characters and addictive clues to keep readers guessing.” (Publishers Weekly)
“Podos delivers an eerie debut novel that is a solid homage to mysteries and Gothic novels alike.” (SLJ)
Don’t forget! It’s all up to you now! So read and be ready!
Don’t Forget! It’s All Up To You Now! So Read And Be Ready To Vote!
Visit our CCRCE Teen Reader's Choice Award website to keep up-to-date on all the nominees and to have your say!
https://ccrsbteenchoice.wordpress.com/
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Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.
