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Summary
Summary
Winston Breen says the only thing better than discovering a puzzle is stumping someone else with it. But when his sister uncovers mysterious strips of wood with words and letters on them, even Winston himself is stumped. Soon the whole family (and some friends) are caught up in the mystery and off on a scavenger hunt that just may lead to a ring worth thousands of dollars! Chock-full of puzzles to solve, some tied to the mystery and some not, this treasure hunt will keep readers' brains teased right up to the exciting ending!
Perfect for fans of The Westing Game , exciting mysteries, and, of course, puzzles!
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-A delightfully clever mystery. Winston Breen loves puzzles and finds them everywhere, including in the antique box he gives his younger sister, Katie, on her birthday. The siblings discover that it has a false bottom containing wooden strips with words and single letters on them. When two somewhat sinister strangers with their own wooden strips arrive looking for Winston, the boy realizes that the only way to crack the mystery is to pool their clues. A group that includes the town librarian, a giant ex-policeman, a young reporter, the two strangers, Winston, and Katie faces dangerous threats, mistrust, decades-old clues, and in-fighting as they set out on what turns out to be a treasure hunt. There is plenty of suspense to engage readers, who are sure to enjoy tackling the brainteasers and word games along the way. (A note sends readers to a Web site to download printable versions of the puzzles. Answers are included at the end of the book.) Recommend this to fans of Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game (Puffin, 1992) and Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer (2004) and The Wright 3 (2006, both Scholastic).-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
For her tenth birthday, puzzle enthusiast Winston Breen gave his little sister Katie a decorative box with a secret compartment containing four curious strips of wood with numbers and letters. Their efforts to solve this mystery lead the two into a treasure hunt requiring them to cooperate with the local librarian and two unsavory strangers, under the supervision of policemen, an attractive journalist and Winston's helpful junior-high friends. The puzzle's creator, like Winston's father, wants siblings to share. Although Katie inexplicably is not a part of Winston's first meeting with the treasure hunters, and is consistently seen as a bit young for the action (which may annoy some readers), she plays an important part in the solution of one of the more complicated puzzles that make up the plot. Along the way, the author includes a number of relatively simple word and number games, some old and some new, for readers to solve. (The answers are in the back.) Both the children and the adults do learn to cooperate, an obvious message but one puzzle-loving readers may not mind. (Fiction. 10-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Twelve-year-old puzzle addict Winston Breen notices brainteasers everywhere, even in baseball players' uniforms or the toppings on a pizza: The only thing better than discovering a puzzle is stumping someone else with it, he says. But Winston is stumped himself when his younger sister finds a set of wooden tiles printed with random letters. Both siblings guess the tiles are part of a larger puzzle. Sure enough, they point the way to the town librarian's inheritance, but the holders of all the other missing pieces must agree to cooperate. This ingenious novel, which conjures up Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game and good old Encyclopedia Brown, peppers a classic treasure-hunt plot with nifty puzzles from familiar crosswords and word scrambles to number games. As one would expect from a professional puzzle creator, Berlin's puzzles are challenging yet satisfying, but they're also backed by a lot of storytelling flair. The author dexterously sustains the plot's momentum while leaving kids space to work things out on their own, and he shores up over-the-top aspects with nicely delineated characters, sharp dialogue, and an exciting twist. Readers both avid and reluctant will surface from this unusual mystery with their hearts pounding and their brains limbered up for more. Recommenders wary of overeager solvers may choose to circulate the book along with printouts of the puzzles, helpfully posted on the book's Web site.--Mattson, Jennifer Copyright 2007 Booklist