I received a free "advanced reader" copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Please keep in mind that this is my opinion...yours may differ.

Button Hill by Michael Bradford

The book is about a young boy named Dekker and his sister Riley who must spend some time with their aunt in Button Hill while their mother works and goes to school. The children are swept up into some secrets that both the aunt and mother know about but they have decided not to tell the children.

Riley is kidnapped by a "boy" named Cobb and taken into Nightside...where the dead reside. The adventure follows the two children and some other characters as Dekker tries to retrieve his sister, his heart (literally) and get back to Dayside before they both become permanent residents of Nightside. The story touches on loyalty to family and sacrifice for those you love.

The story was well thought out and had many "neat" ideas rolled into it. However,I just never felt wow'ed by it. I liked it and it was a quick and fun read...but I would not buy a part 2 or read it again. I just felt like something was missing.

The story (in my opinion) is more suited for children a bit older as it touches on death and some things that might scare the younger ones.

I want to give it 2.75 stars but maybe that is being too picky. 3 stars. ( )

Dekker and his sister Riley have to spend the summer with their aunt Primrose, who they think is a little weird. They want to go home. But they are stuck in Button Hill and have to try to find ways to entertain themselves. And that's when Dekker unknowingly opens a door to a world no one has crossed into for a long time. The Nightclock had stopped working and closed the way to Nightside, the dark world under Dayside. After the door is opened, Riley is kidnapped and taken to Nightside, where everyone is dead and Riley has little chance of making it home by herself, because she is still alive. Dekker has to go to Nightside to save his sister, but his heart is stolen in the process and he must fight to stay human long enough to rescue Riley, retrieve his heart, and get them both home before it is too late. Button Hill feels like a cross between Coraline and A Series of Unfortunate Events - heavier on the Coraline, with the other, dark world. I liked the characters and the trials they had to go through to accomplish their goals. This was a fun story that had a good pace and clearly defined characters; you know who is the good guy and the bad guy, except for one surprise. A quick, good read! ( )

Button Hill is a fun, slightly macabre adventure story for middle grade readers. When Dekker’s sister Riley is kidnapped and taken to Nightside, the realm of the dead, Dekker sets out to rescue her. He loses his heart in a dangerous bargain and it seems that he might have to stay in Nightside forever. Kids will enjoy this imaginative tale, with its vivid descriptions of the afterlife and its inhabitants. The story is creepy and has a few gross-out moments, but its frequent humour keeps it from getting too dark. I found the brother-sister relationship between Dekker and Riley quite touching, and for a little kid Riley exhibits a lot of courage and smarts, which young girls will admire. The ending seems to set up a sequel, and I think Bradford has created a world worth revisiting.

Dekker and his little sister Riley have temporarily moved to Button Hill while their mom is taking college classes at night. They assume they are going to be bored out of their minds living with their Aunt Primrose. She is old, smelly and weird. But, things take a drastic turn when Dekker finds an old clock made out of bones, with a skull for a face in his aunt’s basement. His first mistake was moving the skull face. His aunt has told him not to touch it. When he locks his sister in the basement while playing a game, thing go from bad to worse. When she doesn’t respond to him he goes into the basement and finds the old well is now open and his sister is gone. He goes down the well only to find his sister, his neighbor Harper who he kind of likes, and someone who wants to replace him in his world named Cobb. Dekker and Riley have traveled from Dayside to Nightside. Dayside is where the living are, and nightside is where the dead are. Harper has lived in both places. In Nightside, making a bargain can have severe consequences as Dekker and his sister both find out. Will they be able to escape Nightside? Will their Aunt Primrose be able to help? This was a wonderful book. It was fun to read and creepy at the same time. This is a story of friendship, family, love and sacrifice. It is the type of book I know my students will love.

I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own. ( )

I received an advance readers copy of Button Hill through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program. Dekker and Riley are less than thrilled at the prospect of spending the summer with their strict Great Aunt Primrose while their mom, a single parent, works and attends college classes. Dekker, who lacks discipline stumbles across a mysterious clock in the basement and is warned by his aunt not to touch it, of course he does, which begins a struggle between good and evil as the thin veil between Dayside and Nightside slides open. The initial pace of the book was rather slow and I thought I would struggle to finish this book but about a third of the way in it started to become interesting. Button Hill is a largely atmospheric book with great world building and wonderfully macabre descriptions but short on character development. That being said I think the middle grade target audience will love the descriptive language the uncomplicated plot and the gory details. I liked all those things as well but wanted characters that were more fully fleshed out. Overall this was a good read and I liked it enough that I would check out other books from this author. ( )