Review
The Mostly True Story of Jack is downright creepy. Something very evil is lurking just beneath the surface in the small town of Hazelwood, Iowa. Literally beneath the surface - under the cornfields, under the local school, under the forest, and under the houses where Hazelwood's residents try to live normal lives. And this evil thing has come up out of the landscape before. Fourteen-year-old Frankie, and his twin sister Wendy, know this. Frankie was abducted six years earlier and came home scarred and silent. No one knows exactly what happened or why. But Frankie, Wendy, and their friend, Anders, have a strong sense that it was this sinister under-the-ground thing that is to blame.
Jack has been sent to live with his eccentric uncle and aunt in this strange and eerie town. He has spent most of his childhood feeling invisible and alone, but when he gets to Hazelwood,...
Beyond the Book
Kelly Barnhill is a very cool person. I don't know her personally, but you can just tell about some people.
She is a mother of three, a teacher, and a writer (and probably a million other things too). She has written poetry and short stories for adults, non-fiction books for children and, now, her first middle grade debut novel,
The Mostly True Story of Jack. As she has said, "I write fiction and nonfiction - things that are Literary and Speculative and Informative and Funny and Frightening and Lyrical and Odd. Sometimes, I do all of these things at once."
Kelly is a...
