Benjamin Pratt's harbor-side school is going to be bulldozed to make room for an amusement park. It sounds like a dream come true ... or is it more like a nightmare? Something about the plan seems fishy, and Lyman, the new assistant janitor, seems even fishier. When Ben and his friend, Jill, start digging for answers, they find things that the people with money and power don't want them to see. Could the history hidden deep within an old school building actually overthrow a thirty-million-dollar real-estate deal? and how far will the developers go to keep that from happening? Ben and Jill are about to discover just how dangerous a little knowledge can be.
First Line: "As the ship's bell clanged through the school's hallway for the third time, Ben ran his tongue back and forth across the porcelain caps that covered his front teeth, a nervous habit."
Random Quote: "The seagulls clearly felt tricked. They gave him a good scolding and then veered off to chase a fishing boat."
Review: This is the first book in a series written for children aged 9-12. In it, Benjamin Pratt and his friends learn that they must save their historic school from being bulldozed by developers. The story is an old-fashioned mystery in the spirit of Encyclopedia Brown. It's well-written with believable middle school-aged characters and really wonderful pencil drawings illustrating it throughout.
Image by Extra Medium via FlickrI enjoyed the book, but I wish that it had been more able to stand on its own. I think that books written in series should work together, but should also finish a complete story on their own and this one just doesn't manage that and that was disappointing.
FTC Disclosure: Advance copy received from the publisher for review
Rating: White
I'm interested in the fact that Clements has gone in a new direction.
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