Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Scholastic Inc.
Pages
281
Description
With a swimming medal, the key to a mansion, and a comic book about a half-man/half-rat as her only clues, a twelve-year-old girl seeks the true story of her father's mysterious death four years earlier near an island in the Pacific Northwest.
Description
Margaret's father died in a mysterious drowning accident when she was eight years old. Four years later, her mother still won't talk about it -- in fact, she doesn't talk about much of anything. But when Margaret's mother takes her and her little sister, Sophie, to a strange abandoned mansion and puts a FOR SALE BY OWNER sign in the front yard, Margaret is determined to solve the puzzle of her family, once and for all. Armed with three strange clues -- a swimming medal, a key, and a handwritten comic book -- Margaret returns to the mansion alone. With the help of Boyd, the lonely, comic-book-obsessed boy next door, she discovers that truth can be stranger than fiction -- depending on who's telling the story.
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2002
Physical description
281 p.; 7.6 inches
ISBN
0439569656 / 9780439569651
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User reviews
LibraryThing member simply00complex
This is one of my favorite books ever! I've read it four times so far and will definitely read it again. It offers a very unique plot like nothing else I've read before and it didn't remind me of any other story. This story is told in a variety of narratives, including first person, third person,
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and comic strip, but flows nicely. It's a great mystery filled with twists and turns along the way. I think readers of any age will enjoy this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member mstrust
Twelve year-old Margaret and her seven year-old sister live on the Washington coast with their indifferent mother, their father having drown several years before. Life is dull as Mom wakes up from her naps only to go to work and do laundry. So a sudden trip to a nearby island to see a broken down
This story is sad at first, with the mother's parenting being affected by depression, and Margaret filling in much of the mothering for her little sister, but the story becomes about Margaret's determination and courage. She meets Tina Louise, a girl whose mother is a therapist and who gives Margaret such encouragement to start her adventure that Margaret hears the other girl's voice offering advice throughout, like the Cheshire Cat. Included in the story are pages of of the comic book that a local boy, Boyd, collects about his hero, Ratt, which tend to predict the future and relay the past and an editor who occasionally butts in to clarify a few points.
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house makes Margaret suspicious and sets her, along with new friend, Tina Louise, to solving the mystery of why the family owns a house she never knew about, why is it filled with so much junk, and how a reclusive comic book author knows so much about her dad.This story is sad at first, with the mother's parenting being affected by depression, and Margaret filling in much of the mothering for her little sister, but the story becomes about Margaret's determination and courage. She meets Tina Louise, a girl whose mother is a therapist and who gives Margaret such encouragement to start her adventure that Margaret hears the other girl's voice offering advice throughout, like the Cheshire Cat. Included in the story are pages of of the comic book that a local boy, Boyd, collects about his hero, Ratt, which tend to predict the future and relay the past and an editor who occasionally butts in to clarify a few points.
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LibraryThing member bragan
I'm not at all sure how kids' books are classified these days, but I think you'd probably call this one a middle grade novel. The dust jacket seems to indicate it's recommended for fifth graders and up, and that seems about right to me.
The story features two girls whose father drowned four years
It's well-written, in a way that doesn't talk down to its young audience, the story's interesting and odd, and the snippets of the comic that are integrated into the story are very well-drawn. I kept going back and forth a bit on whether it was entirely working for me or not, though, I think mainly because I wasn't quite expecting some of the slightly surreal aspects of it. Well, that, and I'm not really in the book's target demographic these days. I suspect I would have really liked it when I was 12.
Rating: 3.5/5, but that's from jaded adult me. I would, in fact, recommend it to kids of the appropriate age, if they like slightly weird and off-kilter stories (and aren't too afraid of rats).
The story features two girls whose father drowned four years
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ago under circumstance their depressed mother never talks about; a crumbling, spooky mansion their mom has apparently just inherited; and a mysterious hand-drawn comic book about a half-man/half-rat creature and a drowned ghost.It's well-written, in a way that doesn't talk down to its young audience, the story's interesting and odd, and the snippets of the comic that are integrated into the story are very well-drawn. I kept going back and forth a bit on whether it was entirely working for me or not, though, I think mainly because I wasn't quite expecting some of the slightly surreal aspects of it. Well, that, and I'm not really in the book's target demographic these days. I suspect I would have really liked it when I was 12.
Rating: 3.5/5, but that's from jaded adult me. I would, in fact, recommend it to kids of the appropriate age, if they like slightly weird and off-kilter stories (and aren't too afraid of rats).
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LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
Margaret overcomes the walls built up around her since her father's death and Boyd tears down his own walls by conquering his fears instead of just reading about it in his comic books.
LibraryThing member bnbookgirl
Found this young reader book at a thrift store. Have never seen it before so I was intrigued. A good mystery with some scary parts for kids who like that scared feeling. The use of comic books as clues was a neat idea. I loved the library that only housed books that were never published. Such a
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cool idea. This would be a good adventure story for boys or girls. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Nebraska Golden Sower Award (Nominee — 2006)
Sequoyah Book Award (Nominee — Children's — 2005)
Georgia Children's Book Award (Finalist — Grades 4-8 — 2005)
Sunshine State Young Reader's Award (Nominee — 2006)
Colorado Blue Spruce Award (Nominee — 2004)
Call number
J4B.Nic