by Varian Johnson
Excellent treasure hunt/mystery with loads of historical and mathematical clues/references and a thought-provoking snapshot of life in the South during the Civil Rights struggles of the 1950's. The style of storytelling reminds me of cross between "Holes" and "Chasing Vermeer". The only reason I didn't give this a 5 star rating was that it seemed to me that the author tried a little too hard to include absolutely EVERY current social hot-button issue in the story - I thought it was sufficiently challenging and complex without inserting overt bullying and LGBTQIA themes into the plot. The protagonists are precocious 11-12 year olds - I rate this for 5th grade +