Connect the Dots

Starred review from March 1, 2020
What are the odds of a life-or-death mystery in Elk Grove Park, Illinois? Sixth graders Oliver Beane, whose parents divorced last year, and Frankie Figge, whose working parents often leave him in charge of his twin toddler brothers, will never be popular. When a new, weird girl named Matilda Sandoval moves to town and sort of befriends them, it seems a good fit. But she is sure someone is surveilling Oliver. It can't have anything to do with the mysterious disappearance of Preston Oglethorpe, their middle school's eccentric-genius namesake, can it? The trio decides to find him themselves and sort things out. Oglethorpe's research into chaos theory had given him a mechanism to predict--even influence--events using mathematical equations. Some odd things are happening around town: There's a rock band forming in the old folks' home and a new man in Oliver's mother's life. Is there a pattern? Maybe the kids aren't the only ones on Oglethorpe's trail...and the competition may be deadly. Following A Drop of Hope (2019), Calabrese's smartly written sophomore effort is a Rube Goldberg-ian romp sure to please brainy kid readers with its trio of protagonists. All the kid characters have real-world problems on top of dealing with a possibly evil genius and wannabe supervillains, grounding the narrative nicely. Some Spanish surnames notwithstanding, the cast appears to be a mostly white one. There are plenty of surprises in this caper with heart. (Mystery. 8-12)

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May 1, 2020

Gr 3-7-When improbabilities abound, super smart sixth graders Oliver Beane and his best friend, math whiz Frankie Figge, decide to delve deeper. Their lives get more complicated when new girl Matilda Sandoval arrives, announcing that her passions are modern surveillance techniques and computer encryption. With an insightful eye, Matilda informs Oliver that he is being followed and that someone is spying on him and his mom. Soon Oliver realizes that everyone he cares about is in danger. Who can he turn to? Calabrese is a gifted storyteller, adept at character building and dialogue in this tech-centric mystery. VERDICT Readers will enjoy this tale of adventure and friendship.-Lisa Gieskes, Richland County Public Library, Columbia, SC

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