Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

"Through her years of using Book Scavenger, she'd become accustomed to keeping an eye out for the odd detail." page 185

Age Range: 9 - 14 years
Grade Level: 4 - 6
Reading Level: 5.5
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First Edition, Fifth Printing edition (June 2, 2015)
Rating: 3 out of 4

Summary:
When 12-year-old Emily teams up with James to follow clues in an odd book, they hope to figure out its secrets before the men who attacked Emily's hero, publisher Garrison Griswold, come after them. 

This book is a dream story for those readers who love puzzles and codes. The entire book is based on a game played in San Francisco where Emily finds a book clue in a book scavenger game that hasn't even started yet. The inventor of the game was mugged and the first book clue was accidentally stashed. The criminals are after Emily and her book!

San Francisco, Edgar Allen Poe and the Beat Generation of authors are focuses of this book. Since most 4th - 6th graders have limited if any knowledge of these topics, I think it may be a stumbling block for some comprehension and interest in their reading. At least I found it true for me as an adult.  I wish the book had connections more in line with the grade level it targets.  

I got a good start to this book, but I found the ending to get long and wished for a quicker wrap up. Overall, I liked the main characters and the quirky family Emily lived with. I also felt that the teacher character in the book left us hanging. Perhaps he was a red herring and his appearance was to trick the reader into thinking he had more to do with the mystery. It looks he appears again in book #2.

I rate this book a 3 out of 4 because of my concerns about the background knowledge. I think such a game might be fun for a puzzle hobbyist!

Mr. Quisling is up to something mysterious, and Emily and James are on high alert. First, there's a coded note, and then Emily and James uncover a trail of encrypted messages in books by Mark Twain hidden through Book Scavenger. Book #2