Bubblegum Shoes: The Case of the Contraband Closet
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Jul 1, 2025
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
When a stock-pile of confiscated classroom items go missing, (self-appointed) seventh grade PI Maya is on the case. From the New York Times bestselling author of Kill the Boy Band comes a whip-smart middle grade debut and the start of a sharp cul-du-sac crime-solving series.
9:48 AM. Math class. Marlowe Middle School.
Life isn't easy on the streets, er, hallways of Marlowe Middle School. Luckily, private eye Maya Mendoza never stops paying attention. She knows who is passing notes in class. Spots which teacher wore shoes a half-size too tight. And she certainly notices when her former best friend Jordan suddenly stops talking to her.
Then, the legendary Contraband Closet is robbed. Every Hotwheels car, spray paint canister, bouncy ball, and other prized possession teachers have collected since the dawn of time are seemingly lost forever--including an item of Jordan's. Suddenly, Maya sees a case that may set things back to the way it used to be because contraband--and friendships--don't vanish into thin air...right?
A wise-cracking start to a new mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Goldy Moldavsky.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Moldavsky (Of Earthly Delights) makes her middle grade debut in this sharp series starter about an amateur detective who reveres adult investigators from classic noir movies. New Jersey seventh grader Maya's snooping lives in infamy, especially since an incident severed her friendship with BFF Jordan. In detention yet again, Maya uncovers a link between her "fellow inmates" Jordan, Clementine, and Ava: all three tweens have had something confiscated and tossed in the Contraband Closet, where students claim decades' worth of forbidden items languish. Lucky for them, Maya knows how to break into it. But when the girls find the closet empty—and school principal Mr. Spade witnesses their B&E—the administrator presents an ultimatum: Maya and company must find the true perpetrator behind the missing objects within a month, or Maya faces suspension. Maya's maturation, rediscovery of the joys of friendship, and developing crush on spray painter Frito are heartfelt and grounding. Witty noir references add theatrical gravitas to the tenuous allies' ensuing investigation, which includes a hilarious retooling of traditional detective film settings, as when the group plies their school's "underground Legends gambling ring" for information. The cast is racially diverse. Ages 8–12.
