The Many Mysteries of the Finkel Family
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- USD 7.99
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- USD 7.99
Descripción editorial
Fans of the Penderwicks and the Vanderbeekers, meet the Finkel family in this middle grade novel about two autistic sisters, their detective agency, and life's most consequential mysteries.
When twelve-year-old Lara Finkel starts her very own detective agency, FIASCCO (Finkel Investigation Agency Solving Consequential Crimes Only), she does not want her sister, Caroline, involved. She and Caroline don't have to do everything together. But Caroline won't give up, and when she brings Lara the firm's first mystery, Lara relents, and the questions start piling up.
But Lara and Caroline’s truce doesn’t last for long. Caroline normally uses her tablet to talk, but now she's busily texting a new friend. Lara can't figure out what the two of them are up to, but it can't be good. And Caroline doesn't like Lara's snooping—she's supposed to be solving other people's crimes, not spying on Caroline! As FIASCCO and the Finkel family mysteries spin out of control, can Caroline and Lara find a way to be friends again?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Joining the shelf of books about autistic characters drawn to sleuthing, this quiet family story by Kapit (Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!) centers two autistic sisters navigating life's mysteries. Sorely hoping to find a "thing" of her own, avid reader and writer Lara Finkel, 12, starts FIASCCO (Finkel Investigative Agency Solving Consequential Crimes Only)—her sister Caroline, 11, who communicates through an app, has art; their brother has science. As the siblings head back to school, Lara, dodging Caroline's interest in FIASCCO, begins looking into the secrets behind various events: why their father, an investigative journalist with ADHD, forgets to pick up the kids and ruins the Shabbat brisket. Caroline, meanwhile, grows increasingly annoyed with Lara's protective overtures and befriends a fellow student. Employing a sometimes-formal voice, Kapit straightforwardly renders the siblings' perspectives, including emotional and somatic responses, while building familial tensions to a High Holiday climax. She also emphasizes a diversity of experiences—of autism, Jewish traditions (Ashkenazi and Sephardic), and family and school life—showing that there's no single iteration of any identity while highlighting a close-knit family that prioritizes making amends and learning to recover. Ages 8–12.
