Books with author Brian Hall

Step back in time and visit Georgia during the Colonial period. What began as a place where poor people could start over and learn to stay out of debt grew to a colony that immigrants from Ireland, Sweden, Germany, and England called home. Find out what made Georgia unique, why its citizens were divided during the Revolutionary War, and what daily life was like in Colonial times and the early days of statehood.

In 1853, Mary McCradden and her family head for a new life in California. Their wagon train knows that it faces danger and hardships crossing the rugged terrain, but Mary's greatest danger lies in a renegade minister named Hyrum Diggins, who calls himself Preacher Man. His flock are all heading west in search of religious freedom with their caravan. What Mary doesn’t realize is how deranged Preacher Man really is, or how far he will go to make sure she becomes his new wife. During a massive thunderstorm, Diggins whips his followers into a frenzy. They sabotage the wagon train, forcing Mary, her new sister-in-law, Lindsey, and her wounded brother to escape into the darkness on horseback. Lost, with no provisions or weapons, they face a hopeless situation. Stumbling through the night, they find a mining town on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains called Rivendale. It’s here Mary finds friendship she never expected in the people who save them. But Hyrum Diggins won’t give up. His pursuit of Mary puts him on a collision course with her, the strangers who live among the ruins of the town, and Rivendale itself. For it’s like no other town on earth, and its secrets are about to be exposed. If you are a fan of Alma Katsu's "The Hunger", Victoria McKernan's "The Devil's Paintbox" or the works of Kristiana Gregory and Jennifer L. Holm, you will want to dive into this thrilling and mysterious novel!

The year is 1920 and Cathy Harmon arrives with her family to the remote community of Bullet Creek, West Virginia. Her father, Reverend Harmon, discovers a town in chaos: prostitution, gambling, moonshining. But her father also finds an ally in Sam Buchanan, who helps the Harmons build a new church and mission, unaware that Sam is one of the most prolific moonshiners in the area. Sam’s son, Johnny, wrestles with his growing attraction to Cathy and trying to keep the family business a secret, but more importantly, Johnny wants to protect Cathy and Ella from the Halseys, a family living on an isolated farm in the mountains. Cathy and her sister, Ella, are determined to get to the truth. What sort of bargain has Bullet Creek made with this family, the Halseys, that has caused such moral laxity? Why are other communities on the creek line besieged with disappearances? Why has Bullet Creek established The Pickin’, a ritualistic drawing of names where folks give livestock just to keep the Halseys away. Cathy and Ella find themselves caught in the thicket of the strange customs of the people and come face-to-face with the infection that has turned the Halseys into something less than human; something that has taken hold and fastened itself like roots in their veins; something that has made them very hungry for flesh. If you loved Darren Shan's "Cirque Du Freak", Ransom Riggs "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" and the work of R.L. Stine, you will love this story!

Gold! Gold from the American River! These words sparked the California Gold Rush and caused adventure seekers to head west in hopes of discovering gold. Some did strike it rich; others went broke. But they all had the adventure of a lifetime. Lively language, historical photos and illustrations, and primary source accounts help readers understand the highs and lows of life as a miner. Meets Common Core critical thinking standards, and provides strong ties to social studies standards on westward expansion.

Men may have fought the battles of the American Revolution, but women played an important part too. Some women fought the battle at home, speaking their minds about the British occupation or gathering supplies for their soldiers. Others fought openly for their cause, secretly joining the military or becoming spies. Get to know these heroic women and their importance to the colonists' victory during the Revolutionary War.

Step back in time and visit Georgia during the Colonial period. What began as a place where poor people could start over and learn to stay out of debt grew to a colony that immigrants from Ireland, Sweden, Germany, and England called home. Find out what made Georgia unique, why its citizens were divided during the Revolutionary War, and what daily life was like in Colonial times and the early days of statehood.

If you are a fan of Harry Potter or Charlie Bone, you will be thrilled by this action-packed story in which a group of Depression-era children unearth a set of old books and the town of Carson Corners, North Carolina will never be the same. The most famous creatures of all time explode from the pages of fiction and spill out into the autumn of 1935. Now the Book Battling Kids must arm themselves and attempt to force the characters back between the pages before it’s too late. But they will have to hurry. The lake rises, winged monkeys descend from the skies and a centuries-old evil prowls the night. The adventure is just beginning!

Kayle Dalton is a typical seventh grader at Cobbler’s Grove Middle School. She has her best friends, Tonnie and Joe, she’s joined the debate team, and her dreams of being a journalist are on target with a great new internship at the local newspaper. Then her grandfather, Tub Pearson, dies unexpectedly. Tub had been a celebrated detective in Missouri, and had retired just four years ago, moving back to the tiny hamlet of Cobbler’s Grove, North Carolina to be near his granddaughter and her mother. But the last unsolved case Tub worked was the Kansas City Killer. You probably remember the case? Sure you do. It was in all the papers, splashed across Buzzfeed and Yahoo News. All those women found missing their heads? When Kayle starts receiving cards that indicates the killer is stalking her, resuming some sort of twisted game he played with her grandfather, she enlists the help of her friends, and Tub’s old partner, to try and catch an elusive killer and draw him into the open. But as the suspects grow, Kayle doesn’t know who to trust, or what to believe. The killer is consumed with a horrible set of paintings from 1973 called The Dark Spot Seven and he seems to be ritualistically acting out the gruesome murders from the paintings.Details about the case continue to surface making Kayle question if the Kansas City Killer is just a man praying on his victims, or something inhuman. If you are a fan of Gillian Flynn, Caroline Cooney, R.L. Stine, or Christopher Greyson, you will want to dive into this intriguing murder mystery!