The action stumbles at times, but it takes place against the rich backdrops of gritty New York City and history-laden Dobbs Ferry and is made all the more colorful by references to graffiti art and parkour.Ī quick, agreeable caper, this may spark some discussion even as it entertains.Ĭurtis debuts with a ten-year-old's lively account of his teenaged brother's ups and downs. Savvy readers will put the pieces together, too, although false leads and red herrings are cleverly interwoven.

Alternating first-person chapters allow peeks into how Myla, Peter, and Randall unravel the story and decipher clues. But Myla possesses a necklace that holds a clue. Even after Peter and Myla bond over being the only people of color in an otherwise white school (Myla is Indian-American mixed-race Peter is Indian, African-American, and white), Peter can’t believe the gang is after Myla. The duo’s collaboration is initially an unwilling one fraught with misunderstandings. Now everyone is searching, including Randall. She was rumored to have hidden his diamonds before her suspicious death, leaving clues to their whereabouts. It started long ago when the boys’ grandmother, a diamond-cutter, partnered with the head of the gang.

Myla and Peter step into the path of a gang when they unite forces to find Peter’s runaway brother, Randall.Īs they follow the graffiti tags that Randall has been painting in honor of the boys’ deceased father, they uncover a sinister history involving stolen diamonds, disappearances, and deaths.

Eggs by Jerry Spinelli