Great Opening Lines

 

Recently I've turned to some of my favorite middle grade books for guidance in revising the opening sentence of my work-in-progress. Here are a some awesome openers with killer voice and an amazing hook, right from the get-go. Feel free to add your favorites in the comments box, below!

 

ALL THE ANSWERS, by Kate Messner: "The pencil didn't look magic."

 

 

BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE, by Kate DiCamillo: “My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog.”

HOLES, by Louis Sachar: “There is no lake at Camp Green Lake.”  

 

 

THE SECRET HUM OF A DAISY, by Tracy Holczer: "All I had to do was walk up to the coffin."

 

 

WISH GIRL, by Nikki Loftin: "The summer before I turned thirteen, I held so still it almost killed me."