The Spaghetti Detectives
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
1 String of Spaghetti + 2 Friends = A Noodle-Cooking, Crime-Solving Adventure!Sometimes Rico acts a bit odd -- his mom calls him a "proddity" -- but he's GENIUS at noticing little things nobody else does. Like a string of spaghetti stuck to the sidewalk. Or the big buckteeth of that boy in the blue motorcycle helmet. Or the strange behavior of the neighbors in his apartment building. Oscar is a true prodigy, with a high IQ and high anxieties to match. He's the one who wears the blue helmet -- to protect his precious brain! Oscar may have a lot of book smarts, but he needs Rico's help to face his biggest fears. And when other kids mysteriously start going missing, it's up to the two friends to use their noodles, keep track of the clues, and crack the case! Funny, sweet, and just the right amount of scary, THE SPAGHETTI DETECTIVES shows how two opposite, seemingly mismatched kids can put their heads together and be better as a pair.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Originally published in Germany, this novel, which has the feel of a middle-grade variation on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is narrated by Rico, a self-described "child proddity. That's a bit like being a child prodigy, but also like the opposite." Though Rico never specifies his medical condition, he notes that his "head is sometimes as topsy-turvy as a barrel full of lottery balls," an analogy borne out by monologues that ricochet from topic to topic. After finding a strand of spaghetti on the sidewalk outside his Berlin apartment building, Rico goes in search of additional pieces of pasta. At a playground, he meets Oscar, an actual prodigy who, expecting the worst, insists on wearing a helmet. Though readers may find the pace languid, it picks up when Oscar becomes a victim of a serial kidnapper and Rico attempts to find his friend. In his English-language debut, Steinh fel introduces a diverse and well-developed cast; Rico's scattershot narration won't be for everyone, but his singular, inquisitive perspective makes for a drily funny and gratifying mystery. Ages 8 12.
