This book was a great mix of being entertaining and engaging while also digging into issues of racism in America. The book alternates between two primary timelines – the present day, where Candice Miller and her mom have moved to her deceased grandmother’s house in Lambert, South Carolina for the summer, and Lambert in the mid 1950’s.
James Parker is a mysterious millionaire who made anonymous donations to Lambert towards the end of his life. Candice’s grandmother thought that there was some kind of treasure – his whole fortune, buried underneath the city tennis courts. She had them dug up, nothing was found, and she was forced out of her job and left the town in shame.
Candice asks “What if Grandma was right? What if there really was a hidden fortune?” That starts her on a journey to put together the pieces of a sixty year old puzzle with her new friend, Brandon. In her grandmother’s attic, she finds a box of things labeled “For Candice”
“And that’s when she saw the puzzle book.
“Candice recognized it immediately. It was a thick paperback, full of logic games and brain teasers that she’d solved years ago. She brought the book to her nose – maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she smelled traces of lavender. She cracked the book open, and an envelope slipped out and floated to the ground.
“Candice picked up the letter, thinking it was an old piece of mail that had been used as a bookmark long ago. She flipped it over, looking for an address. Instead, she found a small note.
“Find the path. Solve the puzzle.”
The story alternates between the present day, following Candice and Brandon as they work to solve the puzzle, and Lambert in the mid 1950’s, where racism violently divides the town.
The book is a great middle-grade novel, and I would recommend it.