A sure-to-please series opener.
An energetic boy takes on both a school fair project and the mystery of who’s trying to shut down the event.
Between his lively family and his schoolwork, fifth grader Harper Sharp has a lot on his plate. Harper is also a detective, one who embraces the challenge of closely observing the world around him. To hone his skills, he notices the tiniest details about kids on the school bus. He also carries a sketchbook for drawing, one of his other passions. In art class, Ms. Mapleleaf informs everyone that they’ll have to create projects for the annual Young Inventor’s Fair. In only two weeks they must design and create something they can sell. When someone posts flyers around school that say “Beware the fair!”, Harper, with the encouragement of Principal Toughcook, springs into action to solve the mystery. His sleuthing leads him through campus, exploring various possibilities. Harper’s conversations with his grandmother and parents energize him, and he comes up with an idea for his project. An escalation in the vandalism attracts everyone’s attention, causing great upset, but Harper’s clever mind and detective skills lead him to the culprit. This jam-packed graphic novel combines beloved elements of school and mystery stories. Exuberant African American Harper is irresistible as he interacts with family members and a diverse group of friends while exploring his creativity. The vibrant panels with their stylized illustrations are full of color and energy and will captivate readers.
A sure-to-please series opener. (Graphic mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780593303054
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
Slick sleuthing punctuated by action on the boards and insights into differences that matter—and those that don’t.
Brothers, one neurodivergent, team up to shoot baskets and find a thief.
With the coach spit-bellowing at him to play better or get out, basketball tryouts are such a disaster for 11-year-old Green that he pelts out of the gym—becoming the chief suspect to everyone except his fiercely protective older brother, Cedar, when a valuable ring vanishes from the coach’s office. Used to being misunderstood, Green is less affected by the assumption of his guilt than Cedar, whose violent reactions risk his suspension. Switching narrative duties in alternating first-person chapters, the brothers join forces to search for clues to the real thief—amassing notes, eliminating possibilities (only with reluctance does Green discard Ringwraiths from his exhaustive list of possible perps), and, on the way to an ingenious denouement, discovering several schoolmates and grown-ups who, like Cedar, see Green as his own unique self, not just another “special needs” kid. In an author’s note, King writes that he based his title characters on family members, adding an element of conviction to his portrayals of Green as a smart, unathletic tween with a wry sense of humor and of Cedar’s attachment to him as founded in real affection, not just duty. Ultimately, the author finds positive qualities to accentuate in most of the rest of the cast too, ending on a tide of apologies and fence-mendings. Cedar and Green default to White.
Slick sleuthing punctuated by action on the boards and insights into differences that matter—and those that don’t. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66590-261-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
A promising fiction debut.
Family secrets, an unsolved bank robbery, summer on a lake, a treasure island and a first romance are the ingredients for this inviting middle-grade mystery.
Unhappy with his new life and new stepfather in Southern California, 13-year-old Trav runs away to the small town in Minnesota where his dad grew up and his grandmother lives. He quickly learns why his mother won’t talk about his father, who died before he was born. Suspected of having robbed a local bank, the man disappeared in a storm, his boat washed up on an island in the lake. Everyone figures Trav knows where the money is, a theory confirmed when some of the burgled money turns up in local stores after his arrival. Trav manages to convince neighbor kid Kenny and his hot cousin Iz of his innocence, and together, they try to figure out where the loot might have been stashed and who has sent Trav a threatening note. Careful plotting and end-of-chapter cliffhangers add to the suspense. The first-person narration suggests that Trav’s imagination has been fed by too much television, but the imagined threats become frighteningly real as the story progresses. Trav’s voice is believable, Bullard’s Minnesota setting full of convincing detail, and the boy’s hesitant romantic efforts add a pleasant embellishment.
A promising fiction debut. (Mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-544-02900-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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