Book Review: The Strangers  

By Margaret Peterson Haddix 

4 Stars 

The book Greystone Secrets: The Strangers is a mix of a mystery and a fantasy novel that tells the story of 3 siblings: Chess, Emma, and Finn. The three one day find out that kids with their exact names and birthdays have been kidnapped in another world. Suddenly, the siblings find themselves without a mom since their mom just disappeared without a trace. This leads them down a rabbit hole of mystery, hidden messages, and a portal to a parallel dimension.   

I really enjoyed this book. The entire parallel universe subject is quite the thriller, in my opinion. I also enjoyed how this book wasn't too fast-moving and kept a steady pace throughout the story. The mystery was well balanced with the fantasy and parallel universe, and it didn't feel like the mystery was just overpowered by the other aspects; it remained a big part of the story since the two main questions were "Where did mom go?" and "Who are those kids from another universe with the same names and birthdays as us?".  Also, the three siblings were a perfect trio. Emma was smart, Finn was funny, and Chess was the brave older brother. Another thing is that the parallel universe didn't just pop out of nowhere out of context; it actually had a story and sci-fi aspect that made it feel even more real and not just some fictional story.  

I would recommend this book to older teen readers. It's a little difficult to understand if you are a younger reader. Also, I would recommend this to people who like sci-fi, mystery, and fantasy. This book was an amazing read in my opinion, and I recommend it to every other sci-fi enjoyer. 

Reviewed by Hayyan 

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