Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung
Thirteen-year-old Trav has always wondered about his dead-before-he-was-born dad. But when he heads from California to his grandmother's house in rural Minnesota, hoping to learn about his past, he gets more than he bargained for.
It turns out his dad was involved in a bank robbery right before he mysteriously disappeared, and the loot from the take is still missing. Along with Kenny and Iz, the kids next door, Trav embarks on a search for the cash. But the trio's adventure quickly turns dangerous when it becomes clear that someone else is looking for the money--someone who won't give up without a fight!
Rezensionen (4)
School Library Journal-Rezension
Gr 5-8-When 13-year-old Travis set off from his stepfather's home in California to find out the truth about his dad, he never realized that he'd be embarking on a wild treasure hunt. He arrives in Minnesota only to learn that the dad he never knew is a local legend who robbed a bank and was never heard from again. Everyone in town has spent more than a decade trying to discover where the money was hidden, and no sooner has Trav arrived than he is enlisted by neighbors Iz and Kenny to help discover the missing loot. However, things get complicated when he begins to suspect that his grandmother might be in on the cover-up, while others think Travis, himself, is guilty. Along the way, this mystery not only sheds light on Trav's past, but also involves friendships, first loves, and finding a place to belong. Through strong character development, Bullard is able to explore family dynamics in a way that is both relatable and informative. Fans of books like Shelia Turnage's Three Times Lucky (Dial, 2012) are sure to enjoy this suspenseful and heartwarming novel.-Kerry Roeder, Professional Children's School, New York City (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book-Rezension
Trav goes to rural Minnesota to visit his grandmother and finds more than he bargained for. The father he never got to meet supposedly held up a bank fourteen years ago, and a threatening stranger thinks Trav knows where the money is. Trav's entertaining (if occasionally credulity-stretching) struggle to solve this family mystery plays nicely against the comic turbulence of early adolescence. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus-Rezension
Family secrets, an unsolved bank robbery, summer on a lake, a treasure island and a first romance are the ingredients for this inviting middle-grade mystery. Unhappy with his new life and new stepfather in Southern California, 13-year-old Trav runs away to the small town in Minnesota where his dad grew up and his grandmother lives. He quickly learns why his mother won't talk about his father, who died before he was born. Suspected of having robbed a local bank, the man disappeared in a storm, his boat washed up on an island in the lake. Everyone figures Trav knows where the money is, a theory confirmed when some of the burgled money turns up in local stores after his arrival. Trav manages to convince neighbor kid Kenny and his hot cousin Iz of his innocence, and together, they try to figure out where the loot might have been stashed and who has sent Trav a threatening note. Careful plotting and end-of-chapter cliffhangers add to the suspense. The first-person narration suggests that Trav's imagination has been fed by too much television, but the imagined threats become frighteningly real as the story progresses. Trav's voice is believable, Bullard's Minnesota setting full of convincing detail, and the boy's hesitant romantic efforts add a pleasant embellishment. A promising fiction debut. (Mystery. 9-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist-Rezension
When Travis Stoiska runs away from his lovey-dovey mother and stepfather in California and heads to his grandmother's house in Middle-of-Nowhere, Minnesota, he thinks he is undertaking a quest to learn about the father he never knew. He gets much more than he bargained for, though, and lands headfirst in a 14-year-old mystery involving a bank heist, missing money, and a town full of people who believe his father did it. Trav befriends next-door-neighbor cousins Kenny (a smiling giant of a football hero) and Iz (the freaky girl with a special something), and the three set out to solve the mystery and claim the reward, which means something different to each of them. Bullard has a good sense of family and community dynamic and articulates complex conflict and resolution with honesty and humor. Her characterizations breathe with life, and she paints the setting, all church-basement hot dishes, patriotic parades, and live-bait vending machines, with affectionate respect. With a warm narrative, careful plotting, actual danger, and the beginnings of romance, this adventure has something for everyone.--Barthelmess, Thom Copyright 2010 Booklist