Sam is almost 11 when he discovers a locked box in the attic above his grandfather Mack’s room, and a piece of paper that says he was kidnapped. (spoiler) It turns out that, surprise!, the man he always thought was his grandfather really is his grandfather.If, like me, you adored "Pictures of Hollis Woods" by Patricia Reilly Giff, don't expect that level of literary quality in this novel. And the solution to the great mystery of Sam's origins and the newspaper article are quite anticlimactic. There is no other reason for his illiteracy, nor is there any resolution along those lines at the end. Sam can't read simply because for the story to exist, he needs to get someone's help. The growing friendship between Sam and Caroline - a girl whose family moves to another town several times each year - is the one highlight of this mediocre novel for young readers. The part sticking out has a picture of him, and he can manage to read, "Sam Bell, Missing." Since his last name is not Bell, he jumps to the conclusion that his grandfather is not his grandfather, and that he must enlist the aid of a fellow student at school to come home, sneak in the attic, unlock the mystery box, and read the materials to him so he can discover his origins.Caroline is a new student in school, and she is the one he enlists. Lily's Crossing was also chosen as a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book.Sam, a functionally illiterate ten-year-old who is being raised by a man he believes is his grandfather, is snooping in the attic and finds a small piece of a newspaper article sticking out of a locked box. They include The Gift of the Pirate Queen All the Way Home Water Street Nory Ryan's Song, a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Honor Book for Fiction and the Newbery Honor Books Lily's Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods. Several of her novels for older readers have been chosen as ALA-ALSC Notable Books and ALA-YALSA Best Books for Young Adults.
Patricia Reilly Giff was the author of many beloved books for children, including the Kids of the Polk Street School books, the Friends and Amigos books, and the Polka Dot Private Eye books. Lily's Crossing was also chosen as a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book.
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