Happy Book Birthday: The Girl from the Attic Plus Giveaway

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I’m usually singing Happy Book Birthday to picture books…but today we have something a bit different. I connected with author Marie Prins because she wanted to subscribe to my blog but was having tech trouble doing so. In her email, I noticed her signature included a captivating cover – and so I asked her about it. THE GIRL FROM THE ATTIC is exactly the type of book I loved to read when I was a kid. Geared for grades 5-7, it’s definitely a page turner!

THE GIRL FROM THE ATTIC

Written by Marie Prins

Published by Common Deer Press (2020)

And here’s a little snippet from Amazon to tantalize you

Maddy Rose lives in two worlds. A hundred years apart. In the same strange house built as an octagon. When a mysterious black cat leads her into its unknown attic, she meets Clare and his very sick sister Eva. Together Maddy and Clare jump into a money-making scheme in his uncle’s dangerous soap factory to buy a cure for Eva. But an unexpected tragedy befalls them. And then Maddy is pulled back into her own time to confront the premature birth of her own sister. Will Maddy be able to deal with hardships of two lives? Will the skills she learned in the past help her solve the problems of the present? Can the strange shape of the house make a difference? As the Girl from the Attic, Maddy must rise to the challenges of both worlds in order to find her own place in the life of the octagon.

I’m a huge fan of time-travel stories! And this one really hooked me in! And the lovely Marie and her publisher are offering a copy as a giveaway! Don’t miss the chance to snag a copy…leave a comment – why not tell us what time you would travel to if you had a time machine or a doorway into another world. And please share the post on social media for more tickets in the giveaway hat.

Here’s a bit about Marie:

Marie is a certified K-8 teacher in Ontario with a private practice in remedial reading at The Reading Room, now located in her home in Colborne, Ontario.

She has trained in the remedial PhonoGraphix Program with Read America, the children’s Discover Reading Program in Calgary, and the Association Method for Language Deficient Children.

As a reading/writing specialist, Marie has worked with many children teaching them reading, writing, and spelling skills that have greatly enhanced their abilities to read and work at grade level in their classrooms.

You can find out more about Marie and her books here.

In fact, if you go to her website, you'll find out how come she is such an expert on octagonal houses!

We have another double header coming up this weekend – For Perfect Picture Book Friday: The Boy and the Gorilla by Jackie Kramer…and on Saturday, Beth Anderson Will Write for Cookies as she shares a bit of the writing journey of her newest nonfiction pb bio, SMELLY KELLY.

Hoping everyone is staying safe and well! I’m staying busy, opening boxes and putting stuff away – and I just sent an R&R to my agent to pass along to the editor who is interested in that story. Fingers crossed!

19 thoughts on “Happy Book Birthday: The Girl from the Attic Plus Giveaway”

  2. When I hear the phrase “girl in the attic” my mind immediately thinks of Anne Frank. Of course, the contemporary girl on the cover quickly tells me that this is about someone different and I want to learn more. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. Vivian, this reminds me of the Nancy Drew books I loved as a young girl, too…but I love the added element of time travel!! I would travel back to the Elizabethan era if I could. I definitely want to read this one. Congratulations, Marie!

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  11. If I could go through a door to take me back in time, I would go to Hercegovina where my grandparents had a farm. My maternal grandfather passed many years after I met him when I was ten. I would go back to spend more time with him. I remember his blue eyes and smile. I never met my paternal grandfather so I would like to meet him too. In some way, I miss him even though I never knew him. He lived about 30 km away from my mother’s village. I would take the trek to meet him and ask him about his fields of tobacco and work with him in the field. I would bake with my grandmothers and make ustipke (deep fried bread pieces). Or maybe I would go to pasture with their sheep. Thanks for the inspiration Vivian! Best, Lily

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  13. Oh, this sounds like a fun book. I also love time travel. I would like to travel back to the early 1900s when my grandparents were married (1908) and experience what their life was like back then. Congratulations on your book birthday, Marie!

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  16. This is an interesting “snippet.” Time travel stories catch my attention, and this one, written by a fellow Canadian, seems a good one to add to my TBR stack.
    I would like to go back in time to get to know my grandmothers – one before she was ill, and the other whom I never got a chance to meet – and to meet my great-grandparents, too.

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  17. Good luck to you, Vivien. Unpacking boxes, writing and interviewing to present new books to us. You are a joy to me. This book sounds like what I would read, too. Now and 60 years ago!!! Maybe my own time travel story is brewing.

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  18. This sounds like a very intriguing story, and I’ll be on the lookout for it. Congratulations on your book birthday, Marie! As for time travel, maybe I’d take my kids back with me to the 80s–that would be fun.

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