A successful turn by a promising new author.
A tale bursting with intrigue and adventure finds its setting deep in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
Twelve-year-old Abbey Force has had a rough time of things lately. Her beloved father has suffered an accident and now lies in the hospital in a coma. Meanwhile, he has been accused of stealing from a client named Miss Lydia Jenkins, and his law firm, in an attempt to salvage its reputation, has sold the Force family home, Reward Plantation, in order to repay her. Abbey is forced to go and live with her good-for-nothing Uncle Charlie and his wife, Ruth. Her luck begins to change when the new owners, also named Force, well-to-do descendants of the slaves who once lived at Reward, take up residence at the plantation. She and new best friend and neighbor Bee Force stumble upon a mystery—someone is digging holes at Felony Bay, perhaps in search of buried treasure. Soon, they are neck deep in a dangerous mess involving Abbey’s father’s so-called crime, her Uncle Charlie, Miss Jenkins’ riches and possibly the town sheriff. A predictable outcome, lengthy final explanations seeking to tie up loose ends and one too many subplots weigh this one down. Bee and Abbey are amiable protagonists, though, and their spunk and perseverance, combined with the realistic and richly developed setting, deliver considerable appeal.
A successful turn by a promising new author. (Mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: April 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210446-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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
Warm, delicious and filling.
What do you get when you take some scrumptious pie recipes, stir in a mix-up of a mystery involving an overweight cat and a legacy, then add a sly satirical nod to the Newbery Medal? This irresistible confection.
In 1955, 10-year-old Alice’s beloved Aunt Polly, the peerless “Pie Queen of Ipswitch,” who has always given away the extraordinary products of her oven simply because it makes her happy, dies. She bequeaths her incomparable piecrust recipe to Lardo, her cat—or does she?—and leaves Lardo to Alice. Thus the stage is set for a rich, layered and funny tale about friendship, family relationships and doing what’s right. The characters are wonderfully drawn. While doing her best to carry on Aunt Polly’s legacy, trying to figure out how to wrest the secret from the cat, dealing with a nefarious woman poking around town and learning about the renowned “Blueberry Medal,” which everyone in town is trying to win, Alice draws closer to her mom, a resolution Aunt Polly would have cherished. Alice and her family eventually discover the solution to the mystery in a plot twist that is both comical and plausible. An epilogue, set in 1995, is deeply poignant and gratifying. In addition to the beautifully wrought story, readers will savor and want to attempt the 14 recipes, each of which precedes a chapter.
Warm, delicious and filling. (recipes, pie credits) (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-545-27011-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
