Miller's Island Mysteries

Upper Middle Grade Mystery • STEM Adventure • Time Slip • Ages 11–14 When eighth-grader Grace Brooks moves to Miller's Island, she expects a sleepy town full of marsh grass, rusty bikes, and middle-school drama. What she doesn't expect is Jack Carter-a local kid who treats scientific curiosity like a competitive sport and is determined to make her his lab partner, whether she agrees or not. During science class, a strange note tucked inside an old textbook catches their attention. One moment they're examining the ink-an unusual, metallic-looking substance-and the next they're swept away in a dizzying flash of heat and light. When they finally catch their breath, nothing feels right. The streets look older. The cars don't belong in the present. And when Jack knocks on the door of a house he knows well, he's greeted by his uncle-alive and very much younger than he should be. Grace and Jack soon realize the impossible truth: they've traveled back to 1980s New Bern, North Carolina, right as the real-life Neuse River fish kill begins. As they investigate the environmental disaster, their curiosity pulls them deeper into a mystery involving river science, secret research, and unsettling hints about Jack's parents' future deaths. With no clear way home and more questions than answers, Grace and Jack must rely on science, teamwork, and quick thinking to survive the past without changing the future. And everything seems to lead back to that strange ink-something far more advanced than any eighth grader should ever have touched. Book One of the Miller's Island Mysteries - an upper middle grade series blending real science, time-slip adventure, and a fast-paced mystery rooted in history. Tropes: Accidental time travel, STEM mystery, real-world science, environmental disaster, friendship through curiosity, hidden research Tone: Smart, adventurous, suspenseful Heat Level: None / Age-appropriate Comps: Magic Tree House, National Park Mysteries, When You Reach Me

Upper Middle Grade Mystery • STEM Adventure • Time Slip • Ages 11–14 Grace Brooks and Jack Carter are still trying to understand what happened to them-and why time seems to bend whenever strange science is involved. They promise each other that if they ever slip through time again, they'll face it together. But time has other plans. In a sudden flash, Grace is pulled forward-alone-into a future version of Miller's Island she barely recognizes. Familiar places feel wrong, technology hums beneath the surface, and Jack is nowhere to be found. Grace has already seen parts of this future once before, but living inside it is far more frightening than glimpsing it from afar. As she searches for answers, Grace begins to uncover clues suggesting that her choices in the present may shape everything she's seeing now. And if she can't figure out what sent her forward-or how to get back-she may be trapped in a future that was never meant to exist. Meanwhile, Jack is racing against the clock to bring her home, even as new questions arise about the science behind their time slips-and who might be watching their experiments from the shadows. Book Two of the Miller's Island Mysteries - an upper middle grade adventure where science, friendship, and time collide in unexpected ways. Tropes: Solo time slip, future consequences, STEM mystery, friendship tested, choices shape destiny Tone: Suspenseful, thoughtful, adventurous Heat Level: None / Age-appropriate Comps: Magic Tree House, When You Reach Me, The Last Day of Summer

Upper Middle Grade Mystery • STEM Adventure • Time Slip • Ages 11–14 Grace and Jack know one thing for certain: the strange ink that keeps pulling them through time isn't finished with them yet. When details from the future begin leaking into the present-objects that shouldn't exist, symbols they don't recognize, warnings that arrive too soon-they realize the rules of time are starting to break. To stop it, they'll have to uncover the origins of the mysterious ink once and for all. Their search takes them into the past again, this time inside a secretive science lab experimenting with powerful magnetic materials and early rocket research. But the deeper they dig, the clearer it becomes that their discoveries are connected to a shadowy group known only as 21BUT22-and that their time slips may not be accidents at all. With timelines tangling and danger growing closer, Grace and Jack must rely on science, trust, and each other to keep the past from rewriting their future. Book Three of the Miller's Island Mysteries - a fast-paced STEM mystery that dives deeper into the science behind time travel. Tropes: Secret science labs, magnetic experiments, hidden organizations, rules of time, curiosity with consequences Tone: Fast-paced, clever, suspenseful Heat Level: None / Age-appropriate Comps: National Park Mysteries, The Einstein Prophecy, City of Ember

Upper Middle Grade Mystery • STEM Adventure • Time Slip • Ages 11–14 With the school year ending, Grace and Jack hope for one thing: a break. One final, harmless trip from their science classroom-the place where everything began-feels like the perfect goodbye. Until something goes wrong. When they return, Grace and Jack realize they've been seen. And worse, the mysterious ink is no longer behaving the way it should. Strange side effects begin appearing-not just in them, but in the places they've visited before. Reflections don't line up. Clues repeat themselves. Even time seems to echo. As questions pile up and answers grow scarce, Grace and Jack realize the mystery of Miller's Island is far bigger than they imagined. And if they don't understand what's changing soon, they may lose control of time altogether. Book Four of the Miller's Island Mysteries - an upper middle grade mystery where science misfires and time starts to reflect back. Tropes: Time side effects, being discovered, repeating clues, science gone wrong, escalating mystery Tone: Tense, puzzling, adventurous Heat Level: None / Age-appropriate Comps: Magic Tree House, The Time Museum, Greenglass House

Upper Middle Grade Mystery • STEM Adventure • Time Slip • Ages 11–14 Middle school is over, and Grace Brooks is ready for a normal summer. No experiments. No time slips. No surprises. But when Grace and Jack uncover a hidden tunnel connected to their past travels, they realize time still has one final test waiting for them. Curiosity pulls Jack deeper into the tunnel's twisting paths-one trip too many-and suddenly he begins slipping between moments, fading faster each time. With Jack running out of time, Grace must piece together everything they've learned about science, time, and the mysterious ink to save him. The tunnel holds the truth behind their journeys-and the cost of discovering it may change their futures forever. Book Five of the Miller's Island Mysteries - a high-stakes finale where science, courage, and friendship are pushed to their limits. Tropes: Hidden tunnel, race against time, friendship rescue, final mystery, science saves the day Tone: Urgent, emotional, triumphant Heat Level: None / Age-appropriate Comps: National Park Mysteries, The Last Kids on Earth (lighter stakes), When You Reach Me