ROOM ONE: A Mystery or Two
by Andrew Clements
Cover by Brian Selznick
Aladdin Paperbacks
Hardcover: 0689866860
Paperback: 9780689866876
Ages 8-12
192 pages

• Read an Excerpt

Ted Hammond loves to read and solve mysteries. In ROOM ONE, this amateur detective has to solve two mysteries in his very tiny town of Plattsford, Nebraska.

Ted is in the sixth grade. In fact, he is the only sixth-grade student in his one-room school. You see, Plattsford's population is 108 and shrinking. Unless something changes, Ted's Room One school will have to close, which would be a major blow to the entire little town. A very big mystery to solve, indeed!

One morning, while delivering newspapers, Ted rides past an old, deserted, boarded-up farmhouse. He happens to glance up --- and sees a girl's face in the window. Wait a minute! Unless he saw a ghost (which Ted doesn't believe in), someone is hiding in that deserted farmhouse. Well, if you're an amateur detective and love to solve mysteries, what better place to start than at that mysterious farmhouse?

That's exactly what Ted does. He discovers that not only is the girl he saw in the window hiding there, but her mother and little brother are as well. Why are they hiding? What are they afraid of? And how can Ted possibly help them? Ted meets the girl he saw and finds out that he can help them --- by bringing them food and supplies.

When he confides in his teacher, Mrs. Mitchell, and tells her their story, Ted learns that this runaway family needs much more than merely food. So now Ted has another mystery to solve: how can he truly help this family?

When he finally tells his mother about the problem, she swings into action. And what happens next is nothing short of amazing!

   --- Reviewed by Robert Oksner (oksnerinc@attglobal.net)

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