Hannah Edwards Secrets of Riverway by Ashley Hards

Hannah Edwards Secrets of Riverway by Ashley Hards
Publisher:  Fabled Film Press
Format Read:  E-ARC
Number of pages:   268 pages
Publishing:  April 22nd, 2026
Source: Edelweiss+

Opening Lines:  "Are you looking for a place where the fun flows as fast as a mountain river?"

Eleven-year-old Hannah lives in Riverway, a once-thriving farming town now half-abandoned and broken down, its population down to just 2000.  Irrigation problems plague the area, and the river that once sustained the community for generations is slowly drying up.   Life here is usually quiet, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone, but four months ago Hannah's father, known around town as the "Canola King," vanished.  

Law enforcement searched at first, but with no new leads the investigation stalled, and the town has largely moved on.  Hannah hasn't.  She's begun her own search, determined to find out what happened to him.  In the meantime, her Uncle Fergus has stepped in to help her and her mother keep the canola farm running, but his overbearing presence rubs Hannah the wrong way, adding tension to an already fragile home. 

The next day during class, Hannah's best friend Sam slips her a note claiming he saw a ghost at the Old Grain Mill that looks just like her missing father.  At first, Hannah doubts Sam actually saw a ghost, but the possibility gnaws at her.  Despite her skepticism, the two of them hold a seance with a Ouija board, hoping for answers.  Later, determined to follow up, Hannah visits the Mill where she has a chilling encounter with a ghostly figure who delivers a warning to be careful around her uncle.

Since her father's disappearance, Hannah has been meeting with Ms. Grant, the school counselor.  Hannah secretly calls her the "dragon lady," convinced that her therapy methods are useless and that she doesn't really understand what Hannah is going through.  During one of their sessions, Hannah notices something strange, a piece of her father's business stationery locked inside Ms. Grant's file cabinet.  Angered by the sight of it, she later ropes Sam and their classmate Tim to help retrieve it.  

As Hannah digs deeper, she uncovers a troubling truth, her Uncle Fergus has been pressuring her mother to hand over half of the family farm.  The more the trio investigates, the more suspicious Fergus becomes.  Clues even begin to point toward the possibility that he knows far more about her father's disappearance then anyone initially believed. 

Hannah is a sweet young girl doing her best to cope with her father's sudden disappearance and the unsettling way the town seems to have quietly stopped searching for him.   She worries alot about being seen as a "bad kid," yet she often says what's on her mind, a habit that lands her into trouble more often than she'd like.  To help her process her feelings, her mother gives her a grief journal to record all of her negative thoughts, instead of directing them at Uncle Fergus.

School is another challenge, Hannah struggles to stay focused in class and relies on several clever strategies to cover for the moments when she's caught daydreaming.   She hides these difficulties from everyone, but it's clear she has ADHD.  She's really good at understanding her own brain, yet she's reluctant to let anyone else in on that part of her life.  

The ghost that Hannah encounters at the Old Grain Mill isn't frightening so much as mysterious.  The spirits follow a set of unusual rules, they can't stay in the light for long without losing their shape.  If they have to reform, they lose a memory.  These limitations add urgency to Hannah's investigation, every moment counts if she and her friends are going to uncover what Uncle Fergus is really up to.  

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the story is that it is told with interview transcripts, journal entries, and even an entire chapter written in verse about "Tim's Crime."   The bonus material at the end included discussion questions and a Q&A with the author added even more depth.  It's there that readers learn the book is actually a reimagining of Hamlet, which casts the mystery in a whole new light.

  I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog  HERE