What People are Saying About
Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe
A masterful debut. Cricket is my new hero, brave and funny and full of heart. Jo Watson Hackl’s new middle-grade novel has art, poetry, and adventure—and I couldn’t put it down.
—Augusta Scattergood, author of Glory Be
Our kids can’t put the book down!
–Sarah Parsons, Westmoore Elementary
Jo Hackl takes young readers on an adventurous journey filled with resilience, love and suspense. The way she intricately weaves together people and places kept my scholars wanting to spend hours combing through the novel. My scholars were able to escape the world’s “New Norm” of masks and quarantine and live vicariously through Cricket as she races the clock on her quest for “home.”
– N. Cole – Communities In Schools, Morningside Middle School
A heart-warming coming-of-age story.
—Kirby Larson, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hattie Big Sky
A tale of adventure, full of mystery and suspense.
—Robert Beatty, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Serafina and the Black Cloak
A charming mystery with a clever and resourceful protagonist. Cricket’s adventures, driven by a longing to heal her family, are as informational as they are exciting. This book grabs readers from the start and journeys with them though ups and downs and twists and turns that leaves he reader sad, hopeful, and above all, grateful for a delightful story well told.
—June Wilcox, M. Judson Booksellers & Storytellers/Kids’ Indie Next List Summer 2018
Set in Mississippi…the story is colorfully narrated by Cricket, who comes across as idiosyncratic, intrepid, and wholly likable…..An engaging first novel with a distinctive Southern setting.
—Booklist
A brilliant, utterly absorbing debut. I couldn’t get enough of Cricket’s adventures and Jo Watson Hackl does a remarkable job bringing this vibrant character and her world to life. Totally unputdownable.
—Carrie Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of The Map to Everywhere
