The Graveyard Riddle: A Goldfish Boy Novel

by Lisa Thompson

Overview

Lisa Thompson returns to the world of her acclaimed novel The Goldfish Boy with this page-turning mystery.

Melody Bird has discovered an abandoned old building in the corner of the graveyard...

Though it's dark and creepy, she can't resist its pull. When she goes to explore, she finds a mysterious boy hiding out there. Hal tells Melody that he's a spy, using the house as a base for his undercover surveillance of a nearby suspected criminal. He's very secretive about the details, but Melody comes to trust him and starts helping him with his mission.

Melody is determined to decode the strange riddles Hal finds hidden in the graveyard, but her friends Matthew and Jake question Hal's story. They decide to turn the tables and find out the truth about him, uncovering the biggest mystery of all...

This extraordinary novel set in the world of The Goldfish Boy is a page-turning mystery with a sensitive story about friendship and trust at its core.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338679038
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/03/2021
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 5.00(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Lisa Thompson is the author of The Goldfish Boy, The Light Jar, and The Day I Was Erased. She has worked as a radio broadcast assistant, first at the BBC and then for an independent production company making plays and comedy programs. During this time she got to make tea for lots of famous people. She lives in Suffolk, England, with her family. Find her on Twitter at @lthompsonwrites and at lisathompsonauthor.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Goldfish Boy:

* "Thompson strikes the perfect balance, seemingly without compromise, between an issue-driven novel and one with broad, commercial appeal. This empathetic debut is a middle-grade whodunit with a very special heart." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A multilayered mystery at once suspenseful and heartrending." — Booklist

"The novel successfully weaves Matthew's personal struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder and the search for the missing toddler into a compelling story with a hearty dose of mystery and adventure." — School Library Journal

"This book is filled with intriguing characters and tragic, mysterious pasts. Thompson has created a modern teenage tale interwoven with classic literary themes like loss, guilt, neglect, and loneliness. This is a story for everyone, featuring mystery, drama, and enough realism to inspire students to research and understand the complexities of the mind." — School Library Connection

"Heart and humor, along with a strong message about the value of family, friends and facing fears... make this assured debut stand out." — Observer

"Both a genuine mystery and an emotionally charged examination of fear and loneliness, this is a terrific read with warmly engaging characters." — Daily Mail

"This carefully judged, poignant story should help those with OCD feel less alone — and help others to understand the impulses behind painful acts of repetition." — Guardian

"A genuinely clever mystery." — Robin Stevens, author of the Murder Most Unladylike series

"A great cast of characters and an intriguing mystery—I loved it!" — Ross Welford, author of Time Travelling with a Hamster

Praise for The Light Jar:

"Thompson's eerie story is tense and threaded with mystery, and readers will recognize that Nate's fears are legitimate ones born of an unsafe, fractured home. Thompson adeptly draws the storylines into a cohesive whole that rewards readers with a satisfyingly hard-won resolution." — Booklist

"This is an emotionally resonant story of loss, fear, and the development of inner fortitude... This is the kind of book that will matter most to kids facing loss and family disruption themselves, letting them know that imagination is a useful tool for developing courage in difficult times and that sometimes you need to go back in time in order to move forward." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A witty and courageous book." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2021-06-01
Thirteen-year-old Melody Bird faces several challenges in this sequel to Goldfish Boy (2017)—including a real puzzler hiding in a derelict house next to the local cemetery.

In an episode not just driven, but almost entirely populated by vulnerable characters, Melody wholeheartedly buys into the tale spun by notably reticent teenager Hal Vincent that he’s a secret agent using the old house as a stakeout. Why is she so naïve? Perhaps because she needs a little magic; not only has her OCD–afflicted friend Matthew Corbin taken to snubbing her in favor of hyperallergic frenemy Jake Bishop, but her mom has abruptly and secretly decided it’s time to move out of their neighborhood as they can no longer afford to remain there. Melody’s gullibility isn’t all that the author asks readers to swallow, as, without making the scenario sufficiently credible, she supplies Melody with clues that eventually lead to a startling discovery about Hal’s true history. In no time, she has helped Hal access the resources and support he needs, mended fences with Matthew, found a way to stave off the move, and helped save Jake from both a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction and a bullying teacher with major anger issues. By the time the tidy wrap-up rolls around readers may feel more relief than satisfaction. Characters read as White.

Mildly suspenseful but more a whirl of personal issues and interventions. (Mystery. 11-13)

Kirkus Reviews