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How far would you go to find something that might not even exist?
All her life, Cricket's mama has told her stories about a secret room painted by a mysterious artist. Now Mama's run off, and Cricket thinks the room might be the answer to getting her to come back. If it exists. And if she can find it.
Cricket's only clue is a coin from a grown-over ghost town in the woods. So with her daddy's old guidebook and a coat full of snacks stolen from the Cash 'n' Carry, Cricket runs away to find the room. Surviving in the woods isn't easy. While Cricket camps out in an old tree house and looks for clues, she meets the last resident of the ghost town, encounters a poetry-loving dog (who just might hold a key to part of the puzzle), and discovers that sometimes you have to get a little lost . . . to really find your way.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 25, 2020 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781705208717
- File size: 119849 KB
- Duration: 04:09:41
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Lexile® Measure: 720
- Text Difficulty: 3
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Reviews
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July 16, 2018
In this emotional first novel, the 12-year-old narrator, Cricket, poses an essential question: “Just how far will you go to get your mama back?” After the death of Cricket’s grandmother, her mother “went to pieces” and then “ran off.” Cricket is left with her steady father, but his sudden death thrusts her into the care of a scheming aunt. When lonely Cricket learns that she’ll be sent to a greedy second cousin, and she’s subsequently abandoned in a grocery store, she flees to the woods, along with a new pet—an actual cricket, which she names Charlene. Together, they set out to solve a mystery that Cricket hopes will bring her mother home. Hackl crafts an authentic, memorable character in Cricket as she pieces her mother’s mood swings, medicine, and eccentric behavior into a penetrating and mature realization about mental illness. This piercing, often humorous adventure demonstrates how facing the truth can bring freedom and hope. Ages 8–12.
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