The Jigsaw Jungle

Starred review from May 1, 2018
Levine sends her readers on a quest for buried treasure and buried truths.In 2015, Claudia Dalton's life is suddenly turned upside down. On the last day of school, Claudia's father, Jeff, sends a short email to his family saying that he will be home late--and then does not return. A few days later, Claudia's mother, Jennifer, attends a conference in Switzerland, and Claudia stays with her recently widowed and still grieving paternal grandfather, Walter. While with Walter, Claudia frequently emails her father and finally receives an unlikely answer: a puzzle piece with a cryptic message telling her to find a time capsule buried in Jeff's youth. With the help of her new friend, budding filmmaker Luis, Claudia begins a quest to find the time capsule and the secret that has suddenly separated her family. Using emails, text messages, telephone transcripts, Luis' video footage, and other artifacts, Levine has created a masterwork of mystery that slowly unravels as Claudia learns more about her father's life. Astute readers may guess what life-changing secret drove Jeff away from his family, but even if they do, they'll keep reading to find out how this saga ultimately ends. The biggest trick is Levine's ability to keep the characters both likable and realistic--this holds especially true for Jeff's disappearing act and Jennifer's slow-burn emotional journey. Both an excellent read and an excellent puzzle. (Mystery. 9-12)

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June 1, 2018

Gr 4-6-Unlike her previous two novels, Levine's latest is set in contemporary times, with email, text messages, and movie ticket purchases all very much part of the plot. The novel aggregates these mementos in the form of a scrapbook put together by 12-year-old Claudia, whose world has recently been rocked by her father's sudden disappearance. Confused and angry, Claudia decides to stay with her recently widowed grandfather rather than accompany her mom to an upcoming business conference. There, she meets Luis, a budding documentarian, and she also gets something weird in the mail: a puzzle piece, with the mysterious words "find the time capsule" scrawled on the back. Soon, Luis and Claudia begin following a convoluted trail of clues that seem to lead to a secret about Claudia's dad. Luckily, Luis, Claudia, and her grandfather (who provides the cache of home movies Claudia must examine for answers about her dad's childhood) are all assiduous collectors of detail, and, as we peer into Claudia's dad's adolescence, it becomes clear that his absence results from a long-repressed struggle with his identity and sexuality. Readers are treated to a fast-paced narrative filled with feeling and subtle family tensions. Levine's clever mixture of modes-including screenplay, transcripts, text threads, emails, receipts, and first-person narration from Claudia-illustrate beautifully the ways multiple perspectives on a subject can provide a nuanced, vibrant picture. VERDICT Mystery lovers and budding filmmakers will love this well-paced, touching, and creatively executed coming-of-age tale.-Abigail Garnett, Brooklyn Public Library.

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 2, 2018
Levine (The Lions of Little Rock) crafts a powerful puzzle of a novel about a missing father and his daughter’s search for the truth. The memorable narrator, 12-year-old Claudia, pieces together this “scrapbook” of a story through an inventive collection of notes to the reader, texts, emails, video transcripts, phone logs, Google directions, receipts, and other items. The fragments and ephemera serve to document and help Claudia to come to grips with the sudden, unexplained disappearance of her father. When Claudia’s mother must attend a work conference in Switzerland, Claudia has to stay with her introverted grandfather, Papa, who is still grieving the recent death of her big-hearted grandmother. As Papa and Claudia forge a closer relationship, she also meets a budding filmmaker, who helps her decipher the intricate clues that her father (a lover of brainteasers) left behind. Through the story’s patchwork format, Levine reveals characters’ inner complexities while maintaining tension and uncertainty leading up to the story’s moving revelation. This taut mystery is also a portrait of a family coming to terms with truth and identity. Ages 10–up. Agent: Kathy Green, Kathryn Green Literary Agency.