Hannah West in Deep Water: A Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

Linda Johns (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Hannah West may look like any other funky, artistic, street-smart Seattle twelve-year-old, but there’s more to her than meets the eye. In addition to being a detective, adopted, and having a sixth sense for bus schedules, Hannah’s also homeless, a fact that she and her single mom deal with by moving from one house-sitting job to the next. This time, they’re taking care of a houseboat on the tranquil waters of Lake Washington. Before long, someone starts making waves, and before you can blink an eye, Hannah West is on the case. Hannah’s not sure who is dumping chemicals in the water—or why—but one thing’s for sure: if Hannah doesn’t get to the bottom of things soon, they’ll all be in deep water!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This follow-up to Hannah West in the Belltown Towers (2006) finds the 12-year-old Chinese adoptee and her mom house-sitting a houseboat and a dog. It seems idyllic, with beautiful water and cute houseboats, and there's the excitement of a television series filming in the community, which brings some inconveniences but also a friend for Hannah. Mysterious goings-on soon pique Hannah's interest: people in black raingear scurry around with big buckets, dead fish in the water, folks on yachts dump materials at odd hours. Hannah investigates, ultimately discovering villains whose personal agendas have potentially harmful environmental impact. Hannah is inquisitive, lively, and outspoken, and her often-droll first-person narrative incorporates plenty of local flavor, as well as a growing awareness of marine conservation issues. Steer satisfied readers to Carl Hiaasen's children's books. Shelle Rosenfeld
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Linda Johns lives in Seattle, Washington.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 151 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (October 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142407003
• ISBN-13: 978-0142407004
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,284,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Linda Johns is a writer and librarian living in Seattle, Washington. By day, she works at the Seattle Public Library's downtown library. By night, she writes children's novels and reads novels by other people (and also wastes too much time online). She shares a 100-year-old house with her husband, son, basset hound and cat.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hannah West in Deep Waters, January 27, 2008

By 

M. Graviett "an old homeschooling mom" (Missouri) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hannah West in Deep Water: A Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Hannah West in Deep Water (Hannah West)

My nine-year old daughter is enthralled with all the Hannah West books. She can't wait to read and re-read every one of the books. I'd highly recommend this book and its 'sisters' to any 9-12 year old girl who likes a good mystery.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ...Hannah West is the girl-sleuth of the new millennium whose name will soon be on everyone's lips, November 3, 2006

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hannah West in Deep Water: A Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

When twelve-year-old Hannah West, and her adoptive mother are recruited to housesit in the exclusive Portage Bay, living aboard a houseboat, Hannah is thrilled that she will finally have the chance to walk on water. What makes the new gig even more thrilling is the fact that not only does Hannah have the opportunity to dog-sit a friendly Labradoodle (part Labrador, part Poodle) named Mango, but she's also thrown into the midst of a TV shoot for the show Dockside Blues, where Marcus Dartmouth (pronounced Dartmuth), director, is traipsing around the docks demanding that everything remain still. Suddenly, Hannah is displaced from her temporary humble abode, and forced to spend her days traipsing around Seattle, Mango in tow, instead of lollygagging about in a comfortable houseboat. However, when Hannah does finally manage to make her way home, she begins to notice some suspicious things going around. For instance, there are various strangers trotting around the docks wearing black-hooded raincoats. And it's not even raining! As if that weren't suspicious enough, these people appear to be dumping something into the water. Something toxic that is polluting Portage Bay, and killing the fish. Now, in the midst of bright lights, demanding divas, obnoxious stage hands, and a best friend searching for her fifteen minutes of fame, Hannah must find the strength and the time to do a little detective work and uncover who exactly is polluting the clear blue waters of Portage Bay, and what exactly their motive is for committing such a heinous act. But if Hannah's not careful, the fish may not be the only things landing themselves in deep water.

I quickly became a fan of Hannah West after reading Linda Johns' first Hannah adventure, and was ecstatic to learn that the sequel was being released so soon after the first installment. My excitement has not waned since devouring HANNAH WEST IN DEEP WATER, for Hannah's quick-thinking sleuthing skills, artistic abilities, and photography smarts have only made a deeper impression upon me. The idea to have Hannah and her mother move around in each installment is thrilling, and the fact that there is always a dog on hand is absolutely perfect for animal lovers. Hannah is a wonderfully enchanting character whose oft-times sarcastic, yet sugary sweet personality is catching, while her interactions with her zany friend, Lily, make her even more appealing. Featuring an array of eccentric characters who will make you laugh out loud, and cheer for a fabulous outcome, Hannah West is the girl-sleuth of the new millennium whose name will soon be on everyone's lips.

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

5.0 out of 5 stars So Glad to Have More Hannah West Stories to Read, July 2, 2010

By 

KJD (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hannah West in Deep Water: A Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

I just recently re-discovered the Hannah West stories. I had read the first one (Hannah West in the Belltown Towers: A Mystery) when it first came out; and then loss track of when the subsequent stories were published. So I ordered and have read Hannah West in Deep Water: A Mystery and Hannah West in the Center of the Universe, and I'm just starting Hannah West on Millionaire's Row. I love Hannah West --I wish she lived in my neighborhood, I'd love to ask her to run some errands and visit with my cat and do some sleuthing around here to figure out who's putting their trash in my trash can!

There's nothing like a great book to get me to bed at a decent hour (I have a tendency to stay up too late), and with the Hannah West stories, I get to bed early now so I have lots of time to read! I don't know what I'm going to do when I finish on Millionaire's Row. Ms. Johns, do you have more coming out? (Please?!!!)

And in the spirit of full disclosure, I'm not the target audience for this series (I'm over 40-years-old). I started to buy them for my nieces, but they haven't received them yet because I'm still reading them. But I'll forward them along --or perhaps buy them their own copies.

They are great reads!