Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Excellent adventure/mystery read for middle grade children! Hidden treasure maps, pirate ships, a mysterious mansion. What more could you want?

Maria Mamoun doesn't know how much more she can take of the Bad Barbies, a group of girl bullies intent on making her life miserable. When they finally go too far, Maria's mom, Celeste, takes a new job caring for a bedridden man on Martha's Vineyard. With the bullies far behind her, Maria begins the adventure of her life.

This book was a joy to read! ( )

This novel is realistic fiction.

Maria doesn’t like her life. In fact, there’s no happiness in it at all. She has one happy memory--going to the beach with her mom on a day off. Unfortunately, her mother works two jobs just to make ends meet. They live in the Bronx, which means Maria takes the train or buses wherever she needs to go or walks. Her mother leaves before she does and returns after Maria gets home from school, so Maria is lonely. On the walks and at school, Maria is treated badly by a group of girls that she labels the Bad Barbies. After they beat her to the ground, Maria’s mother believes a change is in order. As a nurse, she can live anywhere. Therefore, she finds a job tending to an old, rich man on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.

This move to the island gives Maria a new life. There’s fresh air, space, new food, and a treasure. On her first night, she finds a hidden map. Convinced it will lead to treasure, she begins investigating. She gets help from the “bad boy” of the island, Paolo, who really isn’t bad. She also gets help from the old man, whom she really likes. He also enjoys talking to her. He pays her to walk the dog and then she voluntarily spends time with him, reading to him and questioning him about the pirates in the area. Consequently, she and Paolo make a plan and have every intention of discovering this old treasure.

You’ll like the characters. The families are solid families; there isn’t any beating, abuse, or abandonment. This novel is just kids being kids--the adventure of seeking something new and the courage it takes to do something new. They, however, should have asked for more help from adults because they get in over their heads. It’s a really nice novel. The cover looks elementary, but I would say this novel is for fifth through seventh grade. ( )