It All Started with a Bicycle

by Plum McCauley

Overview

It All Started With a Bike is a hilarious mystery novel for readers nine through twelve. In it we find one level-headed youngster solving two mysteries, assisted (and occasionally hindered) by a cast of eccentrics both young and old.

Pam Fischer is coaxed into a treasure hunt by a daft, but well-meaning old woman who has come to stay next door to the Fischer's seaside Bed-and-Breakfast. This is agreeable to Pam, for it gives her a break from the seemingly never-ending list of chores her parents devise for her "benefit." Even more appealing to her is the idea of work that she would actually get paid for, which she attempts to arrange at the local candy shop, only to find out too late that the place is run by an absolute ogre. With all these forms of "torture" and solving a mystery, Pam barely has time to consider the most important question of all: Why does she keep seeing her stolen bike being ridden around town, and will she have the courage to confront the brazen thief?

The answer is quite unexpected, and in the course of the novel, Pam discovers a whole lot more than she bargained for. By novel's end, Pam is a changed person, and the very meaning of the word "treasure" has changed for her forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781432774127
Publisher:	Outskirts Press, Inc.
Publication date:	09/27/2011
Pages:	220
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.46(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

Editorial Reviews

★ 2014-05-21
In this fast-moving middle-grade novel, a tomboy spends her summer working for a witchy woman, searching for treasure in an old house and trying to track down her missing bicycle, all while making new friends and learning valuable lessons.Eleven-year-old Pam lives in the seaside town of Cape May, New Jersey, in her parents’ restored Victorian inn. Never one to sit still or stay indoors, she prefers bikes and the beach to books, and she’s less than enthusiastic about the company of other girls. As the summer begins, Pam is excited to start working at a boardwalk chocolate shop and to use her earnings to replace her stolen green bicycle. Unfortunately, the nasty old woman who works in the shop won’t stop berating Pam for everything she does, making her miserable; seeing her stolen bike being boldly ridden around town by a strange girl doesn’t help matters. Pam ends up finding fun in the most unlikely of places: the sprawling mansion next door, where a sweet but slightly batty old lady insists her mother once hid treasure. However, the house was long ago split in two and moved; no one knows where the other half is, let alone which half might contain the treasure or what the treasure could be. Pam teams up with friendly new girl Maddy and Maddy’s uptight best friend, Zara, to unravel the mystery; she rides a four-person bicycle, explores a garage’s junkyard and even reads a book or two. The sunny Cape May setting—a perfect backdrop for this quick, summery read—will have readers counting the days until they too can escape to the beach. In Pam, debut author McCauley has created a bright young heroine who’s energetic, impulsive and occasionally annoying—in other words, typical and relatable for young readers. Pam naturally makes mistakes, but she learns from them, too; important lessons, such as why you shouldn’t rush to judge someone, help make this story more substantial than most adventures.A delightfully fun summer vacation book for young readers.

Kirkus Reviews