‘Ethan’s Secret’ is a wonderful sequel to ‘Joshua’s Island,’ and yet another wonderfully written novel by author Patrick Hodges. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced reader’s copy of Hodges’ sequel.

Whereas in ‘Joshua’s Island,’ we were introduced to Kelsey Callahan, a new-to-town fifth grader who wasn’t afraid to stand up for what (or who) she believed in, ‘Ethan’s Secret’ introduced us to the softer side of Kelsey. Even though she will still stand up for what’s right, she comes to learn that she sometimes might have to take time out for herself, namely in the form of Ethan, the mysterious boy who is new-to-town and not necessarily looking for friends.

This is easier said than done, though, as he and Kelsey find themselves interested in each other. Kelsey’s fascination with detective work might possibly bring out more curiosity than would normally be warranted, but being an over-analyzer myself, Kelsey’s choices to delve deeper into who Ethan really is made her more like a teenager than anything else.

Hodges’ writing style stayed consistent from book to book, putting readers at ease from the very first pages. I especially enjoyed the prologue that helped readers make sense of what had happened three years ago to lead Kelsey to be more of who she is today. The side characters – April, Bree, Baz, and Penny – rounded out the cast of characters quite well, each helping to populate the story with personalities that were indicative of all the issues that plague teenage life – indecision, lust, courage (or sometimes the lack thereof), and even love.

I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. The only detail I would have loved to have seen added would have been more cameos, especially of the Joshua and Eve variety, since they were the basis of ‘Joshua’s Island.’ Cameos in sequels always make me feel more situated in the world I’m reading about. ‘Ethan’s Secret’ did have great areas that mentioned past characters to help bring the story more in focus based on Kelsey’s past experiences, though, and these helped provide readers with a window into the past, without Hodges having to include full flashbacks to remember everything.

If you have yet to read ‘Joshua’s Island,’ I recommend that you pick it up and find yourself breezing your way through it so that you’ll be ready for ‘Ethan’s Secret’ once it’s released in August 2015! You’ll be happy you did!

You can find ‘Ethan’s Secret’ by Patrick Hodges for pre-order on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/1LhBa70