THE MOON ROCK HEIST

Joseph's school has borrowed a moon rock from NASA (yes, that is possible); while on display in the library where he works, it is stolen. Joseph--small but aggressive--and his Vietnamese friend Huy embark on tracking it down. Much of the subsequent action takes place on the docks of Galveston and in Huy's family's shrimp boat. The plot has a lot of standard features: a mysterious foreign art collector; a heavy; a pretty girl who is led astray by the heavy; and a chase scene. It also has some delights, such as an FBI agent hanging around the library shelving books because he likes the librarian, and a glimpse of shrimpers and the Vietnamese colony. Best, it has some engaging conversation between two appealing friends, and interesting information about the moon rock.