If You Find This
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
Three boys, two grandpas, a tree, a map and some hidden treasure... Let the adventure begin.
Eleven-year-old Nicholas Funes knows he's weird. He plays the violin far too well to be cool, he collects square roots and prime numbers and, weirdest of all, he talks to a tree who he believes is his brother. Plus, he doesn't have all that many friends. But even he is about to struggle with how strange his life is about to get. His long-lost and never-spoken-about Grandfather Rose turns up on Nicholas's doorstep one day, fresh out of a lifetime's prison sentence and suffering from dementia.
Curious about this grandfather he's never known, Nicholas tries to unravel Grandfather Rose's stories. In particular, one about the family treasure that he hid years ago and that will be the solution to all their rather pressing financial woes. Because his mother needs to sell their house, and if they leave the house, they'll leave Nicholas's brother behind. And Nicholas is desperate to keep what little family he has together. With the help of two extremely unlikely allies, Nicholas must unwrap the secrets of his family's past in order to give them a shot at a future.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Eleven-year-old Nicholas Funes, a musical and mathematical genius and all-around outcast, tells this adventure story through notes left behind in a dresser drawer, leading readers to believe that something awful has befallen him. Quirky Nicholas (his closest relationship is with a tree planted in memory of his deceased brother) meets his ex-con grandfather, whose disjointed tale of missing family heirlooms gives Nicholas hope to save his family's house. "Help me find what I buried, and you won't lose anything," promises Grandpa Rose. Other misfits, young and old, join in the search for the heirlooms and form a tight bond. Smugglers caves, graveyards, ghost houses, s ances, and tattooed maps come together to make an intriguing mystery for the group to solve as the characters wrestle with their past selves in hopes of a better future. The story is enhanced with musical and mathematical notations (terms like "forte" and "piano" appear as subscript throughout, modifying actions and dialogue), giving readers a glimpse into Nicholas's impressive brain and adding an unusual layer of interest and beauty to debut author Baker's storytelling. Ages 8 12.
