When Callie Garcia is falsely accused by her teacher of cheating on the entrance test for the invitation-only Briarwood summer camp, she believes her dreams of becoming an inventor have been dashed. Little does she know, she is exactly who the camp director is looking for:
“I want you to make yourself at home here and poke around. Let your imagination meet technology.”
“You mean, you want me to invent things?”
“I want you to let magic happen.”
There was that word again. “Magic?”
Dr. Archer smiled. “Precisely.” (pg.101)
A child of a working class immigrant, Callie’s father insists she “work hard, behave”, not embarrass him, and focus on school instead of inventing. Scientifically minded like her grandfather was, thankfully she has her grandmother on her side:
“Do you want them all to be fishwives and goat milkers? Gammie gestured wildly with her arms in a big circle. “No. They are smart girls. This is a new world, not the backward times I lived in. I was better than all my brothers in school, but did I get a chance to study? No. I had to tend the livestock and make cheese. That was what I got to do with all my intelligence.” (pg.37)
Part Harry Potter, part Nancy Drew with a steampunk aesthetic, and weaving in elements of women in STEM, Briarwood is a typical middle school novel about what it feels like to be the odd one out (both at home and in school), only to find where you do belong in a new place with new people. What sets Briarwood apart is its fantastical location; a summer camp set high in the treehouses of maples, pines and birches, where kids get around using zip bridges and spend their days not only sunning, swimming and keeping their treehouse cabins clean, but inventing and solving scientific mysteries.
Author Natalie Hyde, inspired by an article about the scientific discovery of nanoparticles that allowed water to boil within twenty seconds, has created an environmentally friendly camp community fuelled by steam, science and friendship.
Author Natalie Hyde, inspired by an article about the scientific discovery of nanoparticles that allowed water to boil within twenty seconds, has created an environmentally friendly camp community fuelled by steam, science and friendship. With age-appropriate elements of corporate espionage, mystery and a missing mentor, this middle school novel is a delightful read for any child, but especially for those interested in the natural world and the current and future science and invention aimed at its protection.
Shout out to Tim Zeltner who does an exceptional job of visually summarizing the story on the book cover. I lost count of how many times I closed the book to see what I was currently reading about playfully depicted on the front.
Overall, a great read for children 9-12 (any time of year, but especially fun over the summer break!) and an excellent read aloud option for upper elementary classroom teachers with lots of curriculum connections to reference and explore: environmental issues, forces and simple machines, properties of and changes in materials, electricity, and more.
Natalie Hyde is a mother of four, which is where her inspiration to write came from. She is the author of several children’s books, including Saving Armpit, Glow-In-The-Dark-Creatures, and Hockey Girl. Natalie currently lives in southern Ontario, with her husband and kids, where she continues to write both fiction and non-fiction children’s books.
Publisher: DCB Young Readers (February 28, 2026)
Paperback: 5.4″ x 8.0″ | 246 pages
ISBN: 9781770868199
Author. Educator. Theatre Maker. Producer. Typewriter Enthusiast. Gatherer of creative folk.
Aren A. Morris is a Halifax-based arts educator and novelist.
She has been writing, directing, facilitating, and producing student theatre in education for two decades and now works with Halifax Regional Arts. She loves finding ways to incorporate the Performing Arts into Curriculum Delivery.
Aren’s debut, We Happy Few, is a historical fiction novel taking place in Halifax, NS at the end of the Second World War and was released in May 2022. She is now editing and revising her sophomore novel (another historical fiction set in NS) and recently co-hosted the third installment of The Fantastic Grown Up Book Fair in Mahone Bay.
Her other endeavours include women’s creativity retreats, writing and producing youth theatre and dance shows, and multidisciplinary collaborations with local artists, dancers and writers.
She is one half of the short lived and now defunct Black Box Publishing House, which is now evolving to become Black Box Creative Development Agency, a container large enough to hold and promote all of Aren’s creative interests and pursuits.
