Hey, there, faithful readers! (I’m sure you’re there but just hiding 🙂
It’s time for the second edition of KidLit Adults Will Actually Like! If you’re interested in reading previous recommendations, you can find them here. Currently, there is only one previous recommendation, but you gotta start somewhere, right?
Okay. With no further ado, here’s Kidlit Adults Will Actually Like for October 2025.
Synopsis
When the three Greystone siblings learn that three kids with their exact names, ages, and birthdays have been kidnapped, they’re curious, but it’s mostly just a crazy story to them. Then their mom goes away on a business trip, leaving them in the care of an acquaintance they barely know, and they discover that the update texts she’s sending them were scheduled in advance. Suddenly, everything they thought they knew is called into question as their ordinary lives take a frightening turn into mystery. They start finding strange clues hidden around their house — codes, messages, and even secret passages that lead them to places that are both familiar and somehow… off. As the story unfolds, the siblings must rely on their different strengths — Chess’s protectiveness, Emma’s analytical mind, and Finn’s empathy and curiosity — to piece together the truth and decide how far they’re willing to go to find their mother and uncover what’s really happening.
Why Adults Will Actually Like It
There’s so much to dig into here:
- Multiple POVs with distinct voices. In an unusual move for middle grade, Haddix splits the point-of-view between the three Greystone siblings. Even better, their ages, personalities, and ways of processing fear and curiosity all feel authentically different.
- A clever high-concept hook. The idea of discovering doubles of yourself taps into questions of identity and fate that resonate well beyond middle-grade audiences.
- Real-world start, speculative payoff. The story begins as a grounded mystery before revealing a more complex, speculative twist — perfect for readers who enjoy when realism shades into science fiction.
- Smart structure and pacing. Each chapter ends with a small revelation or emotional beat, keeping momentum without sacrificing depth.
- Themes with adult resonance. Loyalty, truth, moral responsibility, and what it means to protect family are explored with subtlety.
- Series with scope. The unfolding mystery make it ideal for readers who love long-arc storytelling and speculative worldbuilding. Fair warning, though: this is very much the first book in a series, and it ends on a cliffhanger. If you don’t want to have to immediately buy the next one, maybe hold off until you’re ready to commit to a longer journey.
As much as I loved reading this on my own, if you are a parent or otherwise have kids in your life, this book is especially fun because if they read it (or you read it to them), they get to live inside the heads of three kids of varying ages (11, 9, and 7), with Haddix deftly shading their experience and worldview based on what they’ve experienced — or not experienced.
Have you read The Strangers or other Greystone Secrets books? Tell me what you thought in the comments.