Finding Fortune

August 24, 2015
After Ren catches her mother flirting with another man (Ren’s father is a
soldier stationed in Afghanistan), the 12-year-old runs away to a dilapidated school turned boardinghouse in Fortune, a virtual ghost town on the Mississippi River. There, she finds strange characters and an irresistible mystery. Former beauty queen Hildy Baxter, the establishment’s elderly owner, is eager to chronicle Fortune’s history by opening a pearl button museum, if only she can find the treasure box her brother hid years ago. Assisting Hildy is Mayor Joy, his donkey, and jack-of-all-trades Garrett, who is building a labyrinth of shells in the backyard. Together with friends Hugh and Tucker, Ren helps with the museum and searches for Hildy’s lost treasure, despite threats of closure. Ren’s confusion over her parents’ troubled relationship is lovingly handled through Ray’s whimsical characters and heartfelt moments between Ren and her mother. Ray (Here Lies Linc) expertly incorporates the forgotten history of shell harvesting towns along the Mississippi in an absorbing
and well-written story that recalls Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie. Ages 10–12. Agent: Laura Langlie, Laura Langlie Agency.

September 1, 2015
Ren (short for Renata) spends her summer after sixth grade in a long-abandoned town near her Midwest home not far from the Mississippi River. Though the sign for Fortune shows the population as 12, down from 128, Ren has never seen anyone in the dusty streets of the old town. It's only when a temporary falling out with her mother leads Ren to try to rent a room at the old Fortune Consolidated School, recently turned boardinghouse, that she discovers both the lively past and present of the town. The boardinghouse's owner, spry but elderly Hildy, plans to create a museum in what was once the school gymnasium. The museum will be filled with memorabilia from the town's heyday making buttons from clam and mussel shells pulled from the Mississippi. There's a fortune hidden somewhere in the school-left for Hildy by a brother who never returned from the Korean War. The discovery of its hiding place is left to Ren's sleuthing with the help of newfound friends. Ren as narrator is appealing: pragmatic, smart, and candid. Ray's narrative is rich and diverting, full of real history and a complex story for each character, and she adroitly gathers all the threads together. An author's note explains the novel's back story in the true history of the Mississippi's button towns, now faded away. Like its protagonist, full of heart. (Fiction. 9-12)

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July 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-Like the small town of Fortune, Mississippi, once the "Pearl Capital of the World," Ren feels that her little family it slowly breaking apart. With her father fighting in Afghanistan, Ren's mother is moving on with her life and is dating a "creep" named Rick Littleton. Ren has had enough and decides to run away. The 12-year-old makes her way to the neighboring town, where she discovers an old school that's been turned into a boardinghouse-and a mystery. The owner, Ms. Baxter is convinced that a treasure-a bag of pearls-is hidden somewhere in the house. With her new friend Hugh, Ren sets out to help Ms. Baxter find the long lost treasure. Ren is a good kid with a kind heart. Ray's characters are realistic and relatable. VERDICT A heartwarming story about forgiveness, acceptance, and friendship.-H. Islam, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2015
Grades 5-8 When 12-year-old Ren runs away, she lands just one town over in Fortune, Iowa, a ghost town along the Mississippi Riveror more specifically, in an abandoned school now used as a boarding house. There she meets proprietor Hildy Baxter, old Mayor Joy and donkey Wayne, and eight-year-old Hugh, who just loves a good mystery. Subsequently balancing the boarding house's secrets and treasures and a homelife troubled by a deployed dad and a mom uncertain about her marital future, Ren proves herself to be a resourceful, thoughtful, sensitive child who desperately wants her family back the way she remembers it. Hildy, meanwhile, plans to open a museum celebrating the pearl button industry that once was the lifeblood of many riverside Iowa towns. Ray gives her characters strong ties to Fortune's past and a compassionate kinship that reinforces the idea that friends are the family you choose. A delightful choice for a classroom read-aloud or for young readers who prefer their history with a mysterious twist. Back matter includes pearl button industry history and photographs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)