This is such a fun book ! Full of adventure and mystery. It is well written and moves and good pace to not loose a reader. Main character through out the story works to build confidence and security in herself which is a good lesson for all children .Love the idea of a lie detector pen and reading brought a smile as this would have been a really fun story live I would have enjoyed as a child and I see this as a book that could bring more children to enjoy reading or want too read more.

I’m always looking for a book featuring a science loving girls. This book is a perfect fit. Riley is an inventive girl that has her project stolen and her favorite teacher has gone missing. Riley & her friend Henry take us on fun, fast paced, adventure to figure out this mystery. A great read for younger middle grade readers.

The Secret Notebook by D.A. D'Aurelio

The Secret Notebook written by D.A. D'Aurelio, is a delightful book for all readers in middle grade and above.
The settings, dialogue, and other story elements were spot on in my honest opinion. The story highlights the life and school experiences of the main character Riley Green who is a bit shy and often lacks confidence but Riley enjoys detective stories and inventing things. Riley loves science and all the investigative aspects. Riley discovers that her favorite teacher's classroom has been vandalized and a disturbing note was left behind. Riley decides to do whatever she can to solve the mystery along with how to overcome her issues with a bully.
The Secret Notebook is an engaging story with many life lessons that students in the middle grades and educators can relate to and enjoy.

As an educator, I highly recommend The Secret Notebook.

Future detective and spy-history loving Riley couldn't be more excited to show off her new invention - the lie detector pen - to her favorite teacher, Mrs. Schwartz, but when they get to the classroom, it has been ransacked and written on the board are the words "Cease and Desist or Die." But who would want to hurt a STEM teacher?? Soon after the discovery, Mrs. Schwartz goes missing, Riley finds herself in possession of a secret notebook that just might be filled with amazing and previously undiscovered inventions of the famed Nikola Tesla, and now Riley must enlist her closest friends to rescue her teacher, and solve a mystery on a daring adventure across Washington D.C. and New York.

This book is action-packed right from the start and is fun and engaging from start to finish. I loved Riley and how smart and passionate she was, though her friends felt slightly less developed. The backdrop of both D.C. and New York allows the audience to see lots of cool places, and I love the combination of science, history, and adventure. The premise feels slightly implausible and the bully/school storyline is less fleshed out than the rest of the story, but overall it is a fun adventure/mystery that will surely be a hit with my students.

Unfortunately, and this is 100% a me thing, I couldn't connect get into the story.
I feel like I will try with this book again at another point in time, but right now, I couldn't get into the story, which is a shame, because this looked really good.
And I generally love middle grade.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was such a fun book to escape into! Riley is OBSESSED with the spy world, so it only makes sense that she help solve the mystery of her STEM teacher's disappearance, right? I loved the history woven in and enjoyed the interesting facts about Nicola Tesla and his contributions to science throughout the book.

This was a fast read with lots of enjoyable characters. I know this is one that my students who are mystery fans will enjoy!

Riley is obsessed with the Spy Museum, so much so that when her teacher's classroom is destroyed and she goes missing, Riley decides that it is up to her to determine what is going on. With the help of her best friend and the new girl who just moved to DC, Riley is determined to solve the mystery and prove once and for all that she belongs.

This was an easy to read book with a plot that moves at a good pace. The characters are interesting and relatable. They have their flaws that children can relate to. The book does focus on Tesla quite a bit which was nice to see some educational material added in without being in your face educational.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this for an honest review.
With the way the world is currently I needed a good middle grade to escape in and The Secret Notebook did that. I found it easy to read, with a great friendship and lessons. I will be purchasing this book for my daughter.

This book is one of my favorites, mainly the way of writing, being English my second language I found it very easy to read, if there were difficult words but not so complicated that they did not make me understand the plot.
A beautiful story, with very friendly characters and who make you love them from the beginning. It is an entertaining, adorable story that you will definitely love when you read the book. It is a book that deserves a chance, if you want to venture into the English language this book is a highly recommended option and will help you a lot on your way.

The Secret Notebook is a cute middle grade story. The main characters are instantly lovable and you root for them from the get go! The mystery and history woven into this book was very well done. I would recommend this one for sure!

I enjoyed the story but something was missing. If this is the first book from this author I can't wait to read the next one. The story seemed to check all the boxes a historical mystery has but I don't think there were enough breadcrumbs along the way. The decision to highlight an inventor children don't usually hear about helped this book stand out. Overall The Secret Notebook was okay just not great.

I loved this book! Riley Green is the science-loving, inventor girl I wish I'd met when I was in middle school.

Riley just wants to fit in at her fancy DC school and make a splash at the Invention Convention with her entry - a lie-detector pen. But before the day is over her idea has been stolen, her classroom ransacked, her favorite teacher has gone missing, and Riley finds the lost notebook of Nikola Tesla in her backpack!

This is a funny, fast-paced book with mystery and history and characters that leap off the page. I loved mysteries as a kid and I hope this is the beginning of a series. Riley and Henry have too much personality for just one book!

Riley Green is happy with the invention she has made for her class. It is a lie detection pen. As she goes to school, she takes her project to school and meets her teacher Dr. Swartz outside the classroom. When she unlocks the door, Dr. .swaartz and Riley discovers hr classroom torn up and left with a message threatening her life. Riley asks what she can do to help. The teacher tells her to go to the principal’s office and tell what has happened. When the principal and Riley return to the classroom, she finds Dr. Swartz gone. What has happen to the teacher? Where is she? Riley wants to be a spy or detective so she wants to solve the mystery of what happened to her teacher. She enlists her best friend, Henry to help her. Will they be able to solve the disappearance of Dr. Swartz? If so, how?

An entertaining adventure-filled story to read that is well written. In the story, you learn about Riley’s lack of self confidence and feeling like she is an outcast in school. It doesn’t help that there is a self-righteous bully who bullies her. In this story, she gains confidence in herself as well as how to deal with a bully. It’s a book that allows how adults can be helpful to kids. It’s only problem for me was that I thought the book was a little slow when I first starting to read it but that didn’t last long. I enjoyed Riley’s cchacter and her plans to solve the mystery.

Thank you, Netgalley and Capstone Editions for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Secret Notebook follows the young protagonist Riley Green. She loves science and makes a lie detector pen to elevate her status in the school where students whose influential parents study. Her lack of confidence and her insecurities about her life is evident in her thought process. Her plan is derailed when her teacher goes missing and leaves her with an important document to protect. The book was a fun ride, with adventure and sleuthing to figure out the culprit who is planning to steal the document. Riley and her friends plan to take out the person. As the story progresses we get to see the kids solve the problem and secrets unravel. The story also adds some interesting facts about Nicola Tesla and his contributions to science. Overall the book was fun, entertaining, and quick to read through. I loved it and highly recommend checking it out. This book will be perfect for Middle-Grade readers who enjoy Nancy Drew, The Secret Seven, or The Famous Five series. I gave the book 4.5 stars and I had an amazing time reading it.

I received an e-arc from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Riley has been obsessed with spying and investigating ever since a trip to the Spy Museum. She believes this is where her skills are and what she wants to do.

When something mysterious happens at school to her favorite teacher, Riley believes shes the only one who can solve the case. With the help of her friend Henry and her new friend Charlotte, Riley dives in deep to the mystery to find the answer.


This was a cute little adventure story.

While I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions remain my own.

This is perfect for middle school aged girls (I would think the younger side). It is strong on the bonds of friendship and importance of being able to rely on your friends. There are some situations that are high tension but resolve quickly. I wouldn't have a problem letting my children read this (youngest is 11).

I thought Riley was a mostly likable kid. She is a smart kid in a place where she doesn't really feel like she fits in. I love that she gets involved in all kinds of things at her school like the invention fair! This pulls in famous inventor Nicholas Tesla, so that gives an opportunity for you to help your child learn more about him.

This book was full of mystery, adventure and all the things that kids love to read! They will get quite a knowledge of Tesla as well! it was quite a page turner and I finished this in one day! I will be adding this book to my purchase list. It will be a popular book in my classroom!

Bright but insecure Riley is a student at an elite Washington, D.C. academy who comes into possession of a notebook that belonged to Nikola Tesla. After discovering instructions to give it to "the Professor," she mistakenly gives it to Marcus, a visiting speaker at the school. Her quest to get the notebook back leads her and best friend Henry into a life-threatening situation.

Readers can easily identify with Riley's self-esteem issues and cheer her victories over the evil Marcus and (possibly even more evil) school bully Dillon. The glimpse into the inner workings of Washington also will be appealing in this election year.

A STEM mystery is afoot.

Riley lives in DC and attends a school with the kids of political high rollers. She feels like an outsider because her mom "only" works for a senator.

One day, she arrives early to chat with her teacher and finds the teacher's room ransacked and a ominous threat scrawled on the board. Then, her teacher mysteriously disappears.

Riley, who considers herself a detective in training, decides its up to her to crack the case.

She brings in a couple of friends along to help her out. Things don't go as well as she thought ... and she realizes she might not have skills she needs yet. Will they find her teacher?

I enjoyed the fast-pace of the writing, the vibrant characters, and the STEM lesson woven into the plot. If I had to quibble, maybe in a town as diverse as DC, there might be some more character diversity.

I really did want to love this.

I love stories about normal kids who somehow end up with a valuable possession and have to go on an adventure because of it. So, when I heard about this book, I was quite excited about it.

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me. I found the characters to be very childish (which I guess is a weird complaint when talking about a children’s book). More childish that most characters I’ve read in other kid’s books tend to be. And the story just didn’t hold my attention.

However, I can see where kids and other people would really enjoy this kind of story, so I would recommend to people who enjoy spy adventures.

Perfect for fans of Disney’s KIM POSSIBLE.