The Lost Cipher

by Michael Oechsle

Overview

Lucas has just lost his father in Afghanistan and to help him cope, his grandmother sends him to Camp Kawani. While there, he learns of the lost treasure of Thomas Jefferson Beale, a local legend of a hoard of gold buried in the mountains 200 years ago. The location is encrypted in a set of codes no one has ever been able to decipher. Lucas becomes obsessed with finding the gold to save his home and leads his newfound friends into a dangerous mission into the wilderness to uncover it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807580639
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	05/15/2016
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	860L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Michael Oechsle teaches elementary school art in the historic town of Hillsborough, North Carolina. He holds a business degree from the University of Virginia and another in Landscape Architecture from the University of Washington. He has been an advertising executive, a park designer, a professional photographer, and a stay-at-home dad.

Editorial Reviews

2016-03-02
After being sent to a mountain camp for grieving teens, impoverished Lucas learns of a multimillion-dollar treasure that may be buried nearby and can be found only by breaking a difficult cipher. With his father recently killed in Afghanistan, his grandparents have decided to sell their beloved West Virginia mountain to strip miners. This tragedy, on top of the recent loss of his only parent, is almost unbearable for Lucas. At camp, the white country boy befriends cabin mates George, white, overweight, exuberant, and absolutely refusing to be bullied, and Salvadoran-American Alex, who is grieving for his dead mother. He also makes an immediate, persistent enemy of angry, even vicious, white rich-kid-stereotype Zack. On an overnight hike, the threesome spots a cave and sneaks off to look for treasure, then—as a consequence of Zack's scheming—get lost in the wilderness. After Alex is injured, Lucas hikes down the mountain and enlists the reluctant aid of a surly recluse, Mr. Creech, who turns out to have just the clue needed to solve the mysterious cipher. Action-driven and with character development lagging, this fast-paced tale is based on a real, partially solved 19th-century cipher that could lead to actual treasure, adding a nifty element. Plucky kids, the spice of danger, the lure of treasure, and an ever-so-happy (if remarkably improbable) conclusion all combine to make this an enjoyable if undemanding read. (Mystery. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews

"Those who enjoy a strong male protagonist who is industrious, rugged, and intelligent will like this offering. The language is realistic, and the author captures regional dialects reasonably well. A plot-driven adventure with ample humor and likable characters."—School Library Journal

"Occasional rough language, graphic images, and strong emotions surrounding loss are balanced by plenty of humor and heart in this compelling adventure."—Publishers Weekly

"Plucky kids, the spice of danger, the lure of treasure, and an ever-so-happy conclusion."—Kirkus Reviews

"A well-paced story with appealing characters, cliff-hanger moments, and a resonant emotional core."—Booklist

"A solid wilderness adventure novel with a believable protagonist, quirky characters, and humor to offset insightful depictions of grief."—The Horn Book Guide

From the Publisher