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Summary

Book Scavengers is an intriguing middle grade mystery full of ciphers, puzzles and literary allusions. It is also an engaging story of friendship, families and feeling at home. The setting, all over the city of San Francisco, adds to the interest as do the spot illustrations by Sarah Watts. This is author Jennifer Chambliss Bertman’s first novel. A sequel is already in the works. I recommend Book Scavenger for kids 9 to 14 years old.

The Story

Twelve year old Emily Crane, her brother Matt and her parents are moving to San Francisco, but while the story centers around Emily, even before they meet her, readers learn all about two things: Book Scavenger and the attack on the inventor of Book Scavenger, Garrison Griswold.

Book Scavenger is an online “community of book lovers, puzzle lovers, and treasure hunters.” Members hide books and find books in an attempt to earn points that will take them from the lowest Book Scavenger level, known as Encyclopedia Brown, to the highest level, Sherlock Holmes. They also post book reviews.

Garrison Griswold is on his way to a press conference at the library where he’s to make a big announcement. Many people hope he’ll be announcing a new game. At the BART station, while waiting for a train, he’s attacked by two men, Barry and Clyde. The two have been told to steal an old book from Griswold. Clyde ends up shooting Griswold and tossing aside the only book Griswold has with him, a copy of The Gold-Bug by Edgar Allan Poe, because it’s obviously new, not old.

At the same time, Emily and her family are moving into a tall, narrow row house on a hilly San Francisco street. The three story house has one apartment on each floor. Emily quickly meets James Lee, a neighbor her own age. Because her parents can work anywhere and love to travel, this is the ninth state Emily has lived in. They even have a popular blog named 50 Homes in 50 States. Emily is tired of moving and is intrigued by James’ stable situation. James’ family has been in San Francisco for several generations, ever since his great-grandfather came to the United States from China and he has a large extended family living nearby.

Moving so often has made it difficult for Emily to make friends and has let her feeling like an outsider. Her older brother Matthew used to go book scavenging with her, but since he discovered the band Flush and began making fan videos about them, he has little time for Emily. In addition, unlike Emily, Matthew seems to be a magnet for friends and never seems to mind moving.

James, a puzzle lover like Emily, becomes her friend. When Emily finds out what happened to Garrison Griswold and finds the copy of The Gold-Bug, she and James become swept up in trying to solve the clues in the book and the mystery of what happened to Griswold. Emily becomes so obsessed with solving the mystery that she disregards James’ need for help with a class cipher project and gets a hard lesson in the give and take necessary to being a good friend.

Bertman introduces a number of interesting characters as Emily and James seek to solve the puzzles, including a bookseller who used to be a close friend of Griswold’s,  a teacher who assigns a weekly cipher challenge to his class and a stuck-up girl in the class who always wants to win and will cheat if necessary, plus a mean book collector.

At the same time the mystery is in the forefront, Emily is learning to be a friend and becoming closer again with her brother Matthew who also becomes involved in the mystery. While most of the story is told from Emily’s point of view, interspersed are several chapters about Barry and Clyde’s attempts to get the book back.  While it’s immediately clear that Clyde and Barry aren’t smart enough to be the masterminds behind the plot to steal the book, who the villain actually is remains in question for much of the book. In the end, the mystery is solved, Garrison Griswold recovers, and Emily’s parents decide it’s time to let their kids have a say in when they move again and agree the family will stay in San Francisco for the foreseeable future.

AuthorJennifer Chambliss Bertman

It’s not surprising that Jennifer Chambliss Bertman is so knowledgeable about San Francisco. She was born and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. As for the inspiration for the Book Scavenger game and mystery, in the book’s Author’s Note, Bertman mentions being inspired by Book Crossing, geocaching and letterboxing and wanting to create a story “in the spirit of some of my favorite movies and books when I was young. Bertman’ list includes It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, among several others.

Book Scavenger is Jennifer Chambliss Bertman’s first book. Bertman earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Irvine and earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California. A few of the many authors and books Jennifer Chambliss Bertman enjoyed when she was growing up include: Lois Lowry, Beverly Cleary, E. B. White, Madeleine L’Engle, Anne of Green Gables and the Little House books.

Jennifer Chambliss Bertman has two more books in process. In 2016, her sequel to Book Scavenger, The Lightkeeper's Revenge will be published. Her stand-alone middle-grade mystery, The Mystery of the Séance Swap will be published in 2017.

(Sources: Littlest Bookshelf Interview, June 12, 2015; Jennifer Chambliss Bertman, Macmillan: Book Scavenger, Book Scavenger, Author’s Note, pages 348-349)

Illustrator Sarah Watt

Sarah Watts is an illustrator/designer whose artwork can be found in books, posters, stationery and textiles. She earned her BFA in illustration from Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. The more than a dozen black and white illustrations by Watts add to the book's appeal.

(Sources: Sarah Watts, Blend Fabrics: Sarah Watts)

My Recommendation

I recommend Book Scavenger for ages 9 to 14. The book will appeal to kids on many levels - readers who enjoy mysteries, kids who like stories of families, readers who enjoy ciphers and puzzles, kids who love reading and those who are drawn to stories of friendship, as well as those who enjoy reading about different locations.

(Christy Ottaviano Books/Henry Holt/Macmillan, 2015. Hardcover ISBN: 9781627791151; eBook ISBN: 9781627795265, Paperback (June 2016) ISBN: 9781250079800)

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.

Resources for Kids Who Want to be Book Scavengers

After your kids read Book Scavenger, if they want to be book scavengers, they can. To learn about hiding and finding books, go to the Hide & Find Books section of the Book Scavenger site. For clues and photos, go to the Latest Activity page.

Additional Recommended Mysteries and More

The Westing Game is a classic middle grade mystery, the 1979 John Newbery Medal winner for young people’s literature.

Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective will appeal to kids who enjoy the challenge of solving mysteries.

If your kids enjoy science, they may find the Nick and Tessla STEM-based science series intriguing.

For realistic stories of kids, their families and their daily lives at home and school, see 11 Top Picks: Realistic Fiction for Middle Grade Readers.