SNEAKS

An unlikely pair of tween detectives solve a neighborhood mystery in Boston.

Twelve-year-olds Valory and Rook come from vastly different worlds—she’s the street-smart daughter of a single mother who cleans homes (including Rook’s); he’s a gifted pianist from a privileged background. Yet both face problems. Sassy Valory got suspended from school for theft and she resents her mother’s growing relationship with police officer Burke. Timid, home-schooled Rook, who likes to “notice the different kinds of quiet,” struggles with agoraphobia and his overprotective mother’s expectations. A chance meeting and Rook’s sighting of a mysterious occupant in an apartment across the street lead to them joining forces. When news of a kidnapped child makes the headlines, the duo, convinced she’s being held in the apartment they’re surveilling, decide to stage a rescue. Along the way, Rook learns to stand up for himself and confront his fear of going outside, Valory realizes she must take responsibility for her actions and their consequences, and both children mend relationships they once thought irredeemable. With chapters alternating between Valory’s and Rook’s perspectives, debut author Tern offers readers a cracking adventure that also gently examines what it takes to be brave. “Love is not a cage,” Valory’s mom reminds her, and this sentiment manifests in each character’s developmental arc in ways both affecting and uplifting before a denouement that’s as satisfying as it is surprising. Valory reads white, and Rook has a Japanese father and a white-presenting mother.

Beautifully realized: charming, fun, and poignant.