The determined sleuths from Balliett’s fine first novel, Chasing Vermeer (2004), return in another artful mystery, centered on one of Chicago’s architectural treasures. As sixth grade wanes, the vibrant Ms. Hussey reveals heartbreaking news: Because of the extraordinary costs of maintenance and repair, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, a city icon since 1910, will be dismantled in sections and donated to four museums. While the class’s spirited campaign to save the building ends with the school year, the passionately curious Petra and Calder press on, abetted by Calder’s good friend Tommy, just back from a traumatic year away. The shifting third-person narrative effectively captures the children’s tense struggle to transform from duo to trio, and transmits their shared delight in puzzling, excavating and thinking deeply, creating a similarly heightened alertness in the reader. The “Wright 3” take increasingly bold risks to recover a stolen, priceless jade fish (Wright’s own lost talisman) and save the Robie House. Many of the elements that made Chasing Vermeer such a success reappear here, from the culturally rich setting, to Calder’s pentominoes (now three-dimensional), to Helquist’s intriguing illustrations (not seen in their final state). Another tour de force blending art, math, philosophy, history and literature. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-439-69367-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
Kids tackle problems both supernatural and real in this atmospheric story.
During a summer in coastal Maine, the kids of Spruce Point work to break a ghostly curse and save a family inn.
The Home Away Inn has been in 12-year-old Parker Emerton’s family for generations, and he wants to keep it that way, but unlucky occurrences mean money is tight, and Parker’s parents are contemplating selling. He worries about having to leave this place he loves. Along with his younger sister, Bailey; two cousins; and summer friend Frankie, Parker is convinced that a ghost has placed a curse on the place. The kids also suspect grouchy neighbor Mrs. Gruvlig of being a witch. In seeking to contact the ghost and investigate suspected supernatural phenomena, the kids end up solving some of the inn’s problems—just not the way they expected. Most of the phenomena turn out to have rational causes, but a bright green flashing light remains unexplained. The strange happenings draw television ghost hunters to Spruce Point, guaranteeing full rooms at the inn. This is a well-paced mystery with a strong sense of place and solidly developed, realistic relationships. Siblings, cousins, and friends work together closely—they have a high degree of independence but do not lack parental oversight. Parker is adopted, and his school counselor believes he has obsessive tendencies; these facts come up in passing. Main characters default to White.
Kids tackle problems both supernatural and real in this atmospheric story. (Mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8611-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A mismatch between voice and story weakens this otherwise promising novel.
World War II brings U-boats, spies, and adventure to a North Carolina island community.
Even before the United States entered the war, 12-year-old Sarah Stickley Lawson, called Stick by family and friends, and her two best friends, Neb and Rain, longing for adventure in their quiet Hatteras Island town, formed a group called the Dime Novel Kids to solve mysteries while they awaited assignments from the FBI. Neb, also 12 and also White, is the son of the former lighthouse keeper, so the trio uses the abandoned Hatteras lighthouse as a lookout. Rain, 10, born on the beach to a mysterious White woman who can’t remember her past, has brown skin, stirring up prejudice from some White islanders. While the kids are suspecting the town’s postmistress of being a spy, real trouble comes in the form of German U-boats bombing cargo ships off the coast. Meanwhile, Stick’s Papa is missing at sea. Turnage takes a little-known piece of American history and sets it solidly among realistic characters and an entertaining saga of island life. Her trademark folksy narration and love of metaphor do this particular tale a disservice, however: The Dime Novel Kids are so quirky and imaginative that it takes readers a long time to realize that the U-boats and possible spies are real, and the plotting and pace sag under the weight of the charm.
A mismatch between voice and story weakens this otherwise promising novel. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7352-3125-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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