Hidden Strings

In this high-interest accessible novel for middle-grade readers, a fourteen-year-old girl must confront her grief over her grandmother’s passing in order to save her friends from a magical puppeteer hoping to entrap them forever as marionettes.

Fourteen-year-old Tessa has always loved her grandmother’s family fun park. Once a dazzling display of roadside attractions, highlighted by her grandmother’s puppet show, the park is now struggling after her parents inherited it. This might be the park’s last summer. Tessa, missing her grandmother, can’t bring herself to take over the puppet show, no matter how many times her parents ask. Luckily, a strange traveling puppeteer offers to do the show for free, which might save the park from ruin. Liza captivates her nightly audiences with tales of ghosts, monsters, and witches. She is magnetic and mesmerizing—a master storyteller—but her sharp gaze often sends chills crawling over Tessa’s skin. When children begin disappearing from the park and adults seem to fall under some kind of spell, Tessa goes undercover as the puppeteer’s apprentice to investigate. But when a friend goes missing, she must untangle a web of lies and magic in time to save them all. That’s not so easy when someone else is pulling your strings. Characterized by exciting, fast-paced plots and age-appropriate themes, Harbor’s Hi-Lo books are both engaging and easy to read. Short chapters, simple sentence structures, and an accessible format make these books perfect for tween reluctant readers. Harbor books are written at a 2nd- to 3rd-grade reading level with an interest level of ages 10 and up.