From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler meets Chasing
Vermeer in this clever middle grade debut
When Theodora Tenpenny spills a bottle of rubbing alcohol on her late
grandfather's painting, she discovers what seems to be an old
Renaissance masterpiece underneath. That's great news for Theo, who's
struggling to hang onto her family's two-hundred-year-old townhouse and
support her unstable mother on her grandfather's legacy of $463. There's
just one problem: Theo's grandfather was a security guard at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she worries the painting may be stolen.
With the help of some unusual new friends, Theo's search for answers
takes her all around Manhattan, and introduces her to a side of the
city--and her grandfather--that she never knew. To solve the mystery,
she'll have to abandon her hard-won self-reliance and build a community,
one serendipitous friendship at a time.
"Uniquely readable, entirely charming, and a pleasure from start to
finish. Debuts this good are meant to be discovered." --SLJ Fuse 8
Blog
"Riveting from start to finish." --BookPage