Book picks similar to
The Mysterious Mummer by Lucy Falcone


juvenile
fiction-season-autumn
teen-fiction
fiction-month-12-december

The Book of Mormon Sleuth


C.B. Andersen - 2000
    What the unhappy seventh grader hasn't counted on is Aunt Ella's ability to bring alive their daily reading of the Book of Mormon. From its pages she spins an intriguing game, turning her house, dairy farm and daily routines into a puzzle — a labyrinth that can be solved only by using clues taken from the scriptures.Brandon's reward for solving the puzzle is to be a rare copy of the original edition of the Book of Mormon. But when a mysterious Dr. Anthony shows up and attempts to steal the valuable book, Brandon must use his newfound knowledge of the Book of Mormon to confront real dangers.For more information check out the author's webpage at CBAndersen.net.

Winterhouse


Ben Guterson - 2018
    Upon arrival, Elizabeth quickly discovers that Winterhouse has many charms―most notably its massive library. It’s not long before she locates a magical book of puzzles that will unlock a mystery involving Norbridge and his sinister family. But the deeper she delves into the hotel’s secrets, the more Elizabeth starts to realize that she is somehow connected to Winterhouse. As fate would have it, Elizabeth is the only person who can break the hotel’s curse and solve the mystery. But will it be at the cost of losing the people she has come to care for, and even Winterhouse itself?Mystery, adventure, and beautiful writing combine in this exciting debut richly set in a hotel full of secrets.

Wonder


Rachel Vail - 1991
    Everything changes for twelve-year-old Jessica when she enters junior high school and finds herself a social outcast, ignored by all her former friends.

The Other Side of Blue


Valerie O. Patterson - 2009
    The color of the sea. Since her father's death last year, she’s felt just as mercurial and dark as her namesake, and the distance between Cyan and her mother has grown as wide as an ocean. Now they're returning to the island of Curaçao in the Caribbean, where her father's mysterious accident occurred, and joining them will be Kammi--who may soon become a stepsister. Haunted by the secrets of the past, Cyan will explore all the depths of her blueness this summer, discovering the light, the darkness, and the many shades in between that are within her—and within us all.

The Witches' Kitchen


Allen Williams - 2010
    Dangling over that kitchen's cauldron, pinched between the fingers of two witches, is a toad. And the Toad has no idea how she got there, and no memory of even her name. All she knows is she doesn't think she was always a Toad, or that she's ever been here before. Determined to recover her memories she sets out on a journey to the oracle, and along the way picks up a rag-tag team of friends: an iron-handed imp, a carnivorous fairy, and a few friendly locals.But the Kitchen won't make it easy. It is pitch black, infinite, and impossible to navigate, a living maze. Hiding in dark corners are beastly, starving things. Worse yet are the Witches themselves, who have sent a procession of horrific, deadly monsters on her trail. With some courage and wisdom, the Toad just might find herself yet-and with that knowledge, the power to defeat the mighty Witches. Filled with forty stunning pencil illustrations from the author, the Witches' Kitchen is a rich, well-imagined fantasy setting unlike any other.

The Ruby in the Smoke


Philip Pullman - 1985
    Her knowledge of English literature, French, history, art and music is non-existent, but she has a thorough grounding in military tactics, can run a business, ride like a Cossack and shoot straight with a pistol.When her dear father is drowned in suspicious circumstances in the South China Sea, Sally is left to fend for herself, an orphan and alone in the smoky fog of Victorian London. Though she doesn't know it, Sally is already in terrible danger. Soon the mystery and the danger will deepen - and at the rotten heart of it all lies the deadly secret of the ruby in the smoke...

The Doldrums


Nicholas Gannon - 2015
    Helmsley has grown up in a house full of oddities and treasures collected by his grandparents, the famous explorers. He knows every nook and cranny. He knows them all too well. After all, ever since his grandparents went missing on an iceberg, his mother barely lets him leave the house.Archer longs for adventure. Grand adventures, with parachutes and exotic sunsets and interesting characters. But how can he have an adventure when he can’t leave his house?It helps that he has friends like Adélaïde L. Belmont, who must have had many adventures to end up with a wooden leg. (Perhaps from a run-in with a crocodile. Perhaps not.) And Oliver Glub. Oliver will worry about all the details (so that Archer doesn’t have to).And so Archer, Adélaïde, and Oliver make a plan. A plan to get out of the house, out of their town entirely. It’s a good plan.Well, it’s not bad, anyway.But nothing goes quite as they expect.

We Are SO Crashing Your Bar Mitzvah!


Fiona Rosenbloom - 2007
    But Stacy refuses to accept this social blacklisting in the hilarious follow-up to You Are SO Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah!.

Murkmere


Patricia Elliott - 2004
    Then, the crippled master of the nearby manor, Murkmere, sends for Aggie to become a lady's companion to his ward, Leah. Aggie accepts and even starts to befriend the wild and strange girl who seems to want nothing but to escape Murkmere and its powermongering steward, Silas. As preparations begin for the ball celebrating Leah's sixteenth birthday, Aggie finds herself further and further enmeshed in the sinister plots that surround Murkmere, Leah, and the mysterious Master. Suspenseful and haunting, Murkmere pulls the reader into an unforgettable world between history and myth.

Latitude Zero


Diana Renn - 2014
    “You will call? Please? It is very important.” “Yes. I will call. Definitely. At two.” That’s what Tessa promises. But by two o’clock, young Ecuadorian cycling superstar Juan Carlos is dead, and Tessa, one of the last people ever to speak to him, is left with nothing but questions. The media deems Juan Carlos’s death a tragic accident at a charity bike ride, but Tessa, a teen television host and an aspiring investigative journalist, knows that something more is going on. While she grapples with her own grief and guilt, she is being stalked by spies with an insidious connection to the dead cycling champion. Tessa’s pursuit of an explanation for Juan Carlos’s untimely death leads her from the quiet New England backwoods to bustling bike shops and ultimately to Ecuador, Juan Carlos’s homeland. As the ride grows bumpy, Tessa no longer knows who is a suspect and who is an ally. The only thing she knows for sure is that she must uncover the truth of why Juan Carlos has died and race to find the real villain—before the trail goes cold.

Once on This Island


Gloria Whelan - 1995
    For young Mary O'Shea, the hardest change is the departure of her father, who leaves Mackinac to join the American Army. With her sister and brother, Mary must tend the farm, deal with the hardships of British occupation, and hope for the safe return of their father.

Finn's Going


Tom Kelly - 2007
    He may be the burping champion of the universe. He may be the demon farter of the planet--capable of mind-boggling impressions (a hissing cat, a creaking door in a haunted house, a boiling egg). Or not. Take Danny. "He" may be the burping champion of the universe. "He" may be the demon farter of the planet--capable of mind-boggling impressions (a hissing cat, a creaking door in a haunted house, a boiling egg). Or not.Danny and Finn. Identical twins. Best friends. Big brothers to Angela. Playing with Donut the dog. Sons of Mum and Dad. Living together in a house on Holt Street. Happy.All of that is about to change.

Do It Like A Dude


Dark-Shadow - 2011
    I may act like a normal teenage girl during the day, but I’m the most fearful street racer the moment the night falls. The thing is that nobody knows I’m a girl. In their eyes I’m just a guy who has a talent for street racing. My whole world turns upside down when Blaze, my sworn enemy, finds out my secret. That, my friend, is the very moment that hell breaks loose.

Bliss


Kathryn Littlewood - 2012
    It’s the Bliss Cookery Booke—an ancient, leather-bound volume of enchanted recipes like Stone Sleep Snickerdoodles and Singing Gingersnaps. Rose and her siblings are supposed to keep the Cookery Booke under lock and whisk-shaped key while their parents are out of town, but then a mysterious stranger shows up. “Aunt” Lily rides a motorcycle, wears purple sequins, and whips up exotic (but delicious) dishes for dinner. Soon boring, non-magical recipes feel like life before Aunt Lily—a lot less fun.So Rose and her siblings experiment with just a couple of recipes from the forbidden Cookery Booke.A few Love Muffins and a few dozen Cookies of Truth couldn’t cause too much trouble . . . could they?Kathryn Littlewood’s culinary caper blends rich emotional flavor with truly magical wit, yielding one heaping portion of hilarious family adventure.

The Glass Mermaid


Susan Clymer - 1986
    Exactly at midnight on Christmas Eve, she stole downstairs - but suddenly stopped at the foot of the staircase. Something was moving on one side of the tree. And her favorite ornament, her glass mermaid, was swaying in a ghostly light. Becca's mermaid was going to come alive. And Becca was about to have the greatest adventure of her life.