Summary
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler meets Chasing Vermeer in this clever middle grade debut
When Theodora Tenpenny spills a bottle of rubbing alcohol on her late grandfather's painting, she discovers what seems to be an old Renaissance masterpiece underneath. That's great news for Theo, who's struggling to hang onto her family's two-hundred-year-old townhouse and support her unstable mother on her grandfather's legacy of $463. There's just one problem- Theo's grandfather was a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she worries the painting may be stolen.
With the help of some unusual new friends, Theo's search for answers takes her all around Manhattan, and introduces her to a side of the city-and her grandfather-that she never knew. To solve the mystery, she'll have to abandon her hard-won self-reliance and build a community, one serendipitous friendship at a time.
Author Notes
Laura Marx Fitzgerald studied art history at Harvard and Cambridge Universities. Her books for young readers include Under the Egg and The Gallery.
(Bowker Author Biography)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-In this fast-paced art mystery, 13-year-old Theodora tries to glean meaning from her recently deceased grandfather's last words about a letter and a treasure hidden under the egg. Her search leads her to an egg painting hanging in her grandfather's art studio. After accidently spilling rubbing alcohol and removing a layer of paint, Theo discovers a mysterious painting underneath the egg image. This discovery kicks off her quest for answers about the original artwork and leads her to the public library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a church, an auction house, and the Center for Jewish History. At each location, Theo and her friend, Bodhi, enlist the help of experts to uncover the painting's history and discover its rightful owner. Jessica Almasy's narration perfectly captures each character's personality, and her use of different voices and accents ensures listeners always know who is speaking. VERDICT Middle grade mystery lovers will be captivated by Theo's search, and history fans will be drawn in by the World War II backstory and flashbacks.-Anne Bozievich, Friendship Elementary School, Glen Rock, Pennsylvania © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Thirteen-year-old Theodora Tenpenny lives with her mentally scattered mother in a run-down 200-year-old townhouse in Greenwich Village, N.Y. When her artistic grandfather, the family provider, dies suddenly, Theo finds a letter from him suggesting that a treasure is hidden "under the egg." Reader Almasy gives the protagonist a credible young-sounding voice and can-do attitude, as well as portraying a colorful cast of secondary characters who assist Theo on her treasure hunt. There's Theo's friend Bohdi, the child of movie-star parents whose roller-coaster Southern California accent Almasy captures "for sure," and the guttural-accented deli owner Mr. K., who supplies Theo with the occasional free lunch. Antagonists include a dismissive art expert named Gemma, whose speech Theo describes as "deliberately pretentious," Madame Dumont, a very French next-door neighbor who wants to evict Theo and her mother, and Lydon Randolph, a retired art curator who is convinced Theo possesses a painting of great value that Lydon wants for himself. Almasy gives him a mellifluously aristocratic Southern accent that turns hard and vicious when riled, which is how the ever-crafty Theo inevitably leaves him. Ages 8-12. A Dial hardcover. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
With only $463 to her family's name, remarkably self-sufficient thirteen-year-old Theodora Tenpenny wonders how she will support herself as well as her inattentive (possibly unwell?) mother after her grandfather's tragic death. His puzzling final words send her in search of what she believes to be a secret treasure (hidden somewhere within her family's dilapidated townhouse). After accidentally spilling a bottle of alcohol on one of her grandfather's original paintings, she discovers a much older painting beneath -- possibly a lost masterpiece. Theo resolves to ascertain if the painting is authentic or fake, rescued or stolen, in the hopes of saving her family from financial ruin, but she can't do it alone and learns to lean on her friends and other members of the community for help. After delving into her grandfather's military past -- he was one of the famous Monuments Men -- she realizes the mystery stretches all the way back to Nazi Germany and Hitler's fine-art plundering. Fitzgerald moves beyond the all-too-familiar conventions of the "X marks the spot" story line to offer a gripping mystery with high stakes and moving historical context (and in fact the WWII flashbacks are more vivid than her modern settings and characters); her focus on restitution and the personal value of art adds considerable depth to the narrative. Fans of Blue Balliett's art mysteries (Chasing Vermeer, rev. 7/04) will likely appreciate this similar fare. shara l. hardeson(c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
This debut novel weaves art appreciation, restoration and dating techniques, and bits of history from the Renaissance and World War II into a fast-paced mystery. As the novel opens, 13-year-old Theodora Tenpenny explains her thrifty hobby of collecting trash from the city streets and turning it into useful objects. Then she recounts what happened merely three months ago: She found her adored grandfather, Jack, lying bloodied on a city street and heard his dying exhortation to "Look under the egg." Theodora, who has spent her life living with her emotionally incapacitated mother and her crusty, artistic, capable grandfather, knows she must follow this clue in order to become the family's next breadwinner. (Readers must suspend disbelief regarding social services in Manhattan.) Fortuitously, Theodora befriends Bodhi, also 13 but a member of a family of Hollywood celebrities. Theodora's knowledge of art history and Bodhi's skills in acting and in technology enable the girls to puzzle out the importance of Jack's final words. All the characters are relatively flat, including first-person protagonist Theodora, but an original plot with humorous swipes at rich-and-famous lifestyles and authentic references to New York City will keep readers interested. Occasionally, there are awkward or dense passages, but they are balanced by quirky encounters, as with Eddie, a tattooed librarian. If Dan Brown of The Da Vinci Code wrote middle-grade novels, this would be the one. (Mystery. 9-13)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Following her grandfather's death, 13-year-old Theo shoulders the responsibility of looking after her mentally unfocused mother and keeping their Greenwich Village household running with no income. When Theo uncovers an old painting, possibly an original Raphael, she hopes to save their home. But is it a Raphael? Why was it hidden under a layer of paint? Was it stolen? By her beloved grandfather?! Theo and her friend Bodhi begin investigations that lead them to a church, an auction house, the public library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Center for Jewish History, and two Holocaust survivors. Theo's household is vividly portrayed, from her grandfather's creative ingenuity to her mother's tenuous hold on reality. Smart and determined, down-to-earth and insightful, Theo makes an engaging narrator as she follows a winding trail of discovery. Along the way, Fitzgerald includes a good bit of art history, which becomes as interesting as the interplay between the two friends. In the end, the mystery's solution depends a bit too much on adult intervention, coincidence, and even amnesia to be wholly satisfying. Still, it's a riveting narrative. Readers who loved E. L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1967) and Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer (2004) won't want to put this one down.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2014 Booklist