Cragbridge Hall, Book 1

The Inventor's Secret

By: Chad Morris

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Imagine a school in the year 2074 where students don't read history, but watch it happen around them; where running in gym class isn't around a track, but up a virtual mountain; and where learning about animals means becoming one through an avatar. Welcome to Cragbridge Hall, the most advanced and prestigious school in the world. Twins Abby and Derick Cragbridge are excited as new students to use their famed grandfather's inventions that make Cragbridge Hall so incredible. But when their grandfather and parents go missing, the twins must follow a mysterious trail of clues left by their grandfather. They must find out where their family is, learn who they can trust, and discover what secrets are hidden within Cragbridge Hall. Abby and Derick soon realize they are caught in a race with a fierce adversary to discover their grandfather's greatest secret - a dangerous discovery that could alter both history and reality.

©2013 Chad Morris (P)2013 Shadow Mountain

Critic reviews

"A fantastical futuristic read that should engage kids and families." (Brandon Mull, #1 New York Times best-selling author)

young person fantasy story

I am not quite sure what motivated the purchase of this book, it may have been a daily deal, whatever the rationale I can't say it was a disappointing book but it's definitely a written for the young reader. I don't mind this however as I often find myself reading in the young adult section.

This book has a futuristic setting with technology that allows the students at Cragbridge Hall to witness history, kind of a cool concept especially for us history buffs. As with any young adult book there is a villain and hero both of whom are fairly predictable to the mature listener. All that said I found the story overall to be engaging and enjoyable. Who always needs to be serious anyway?

Harry Potter meets National Treasure and Avatar!!!

This is the story of two twin teenagers, Abby and Derek who go to this amazing school for geniouses named Cragbridge Hall, named after their grandfather - Oscar Cragbridge, a scientist and inventor who invents amazing devices thinking about the human kind's wellfare. However, some people are trying to put their hands on those inventions, and if they fall into the wrong hands, human kind's hystory as we know it might change altogether.

This is not a school of magic, but I mentioned Harry Potter because of the style in which the author chose to write. If you are a fan of Harry Potter you might enjoy this one very much. There are many twists of events and there is a lot of adventure too.

The thing is, because of his invention, Oscar, his son and daughter-in-law are kidnapped and blackmailed in exchange for this some precious information that only Oscar can provide. Before any of this would happen, Oscar leaves his grandkids a pair of lockets that would only be activated if he went missing, and also, some clues that might help them solve the puzzle as to why he might have been missing, kidnapped, or even killed.

I also compared it to National Treasure because this journey is full of clues, and without solving them, Abby and Derek cannot go on in the search for their loved ones.

Why did I mention avatar? Well, you have to listen to it, I don't want to spoil it for you. But there is a mixture of styles here.

Even though the narrator was very good, he will not get 5 stars because he did not do the accent of the Brazilian character correctly ( I know that because I am Brazilian). Brazil speaks Portuguese, and the accent the narrator chose to adopt was clearly Spanish. #disappointed.

As a YA fan, I do recommend this book. I am sure that if you are an YA fan like me, you will enjoy it.

Very enjoyable ⭐️

The story is very interesting and the audio version is voice acted well.
I’ve laughed out loud many times, I love this story👍

Great young adult novel for adults too

This was a great novel meant for young adults or younger. Not as rich or intense as Harry Potter but an enjoyable read. I am an adult and would defiantly listen to others in the series.

A Must Read (er... Listen)

This is a wonderful series to listen to with your kids or alone. Great Read!