Simon is tired of moving. His move to Tangerine Pines Apartments is the 26th time he and his parents have ended up at a new place via the family van. Simon wants to stay in one location and the town of Rigsby seems like the perfect choice.
He has a plan but convincing his parents won’t be easy when on their first night a priceless ruby necklace is stolen from one of the residents. Not the best start to have a robber on the loose in this possible forever home. He hopes to crack the case with the help of new friend Amaya. They become detectives, trying to discover who is guilty, and hopefully putting his parents’ thoughts of moving again to rest.
The third person narration shines through 34 chapters. It’s an engaging whodunit that will have you guessing right to the end. Anyone who likes middle grade contemporary mysteries has a new companion with TROUBLE AT THE TANGERINE.
FIVE MORE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: TROUBLE AT THE TANGERINE by Gillian McDunn
- Living in an apartment building is portrayed memorably with the quirks and necessities of being a resident. Lots of middle grade readers who have never lived in one will be fascinated at the comparison to single family home life.
- The secondary characters are not just fillers but become an important part of the plot. This includes Oscar the doorman and Mrs. Kobayashi, an elderly lady and former detective who tends the community garden. Simon has quite the different interactions with each.
- Simon is not so sure about his parent’s social media presence on their “Hydes Go Seek” posts about the family travels. Simon has a believable and honest exchange with them about changing the site to being more of an honest portrayal rather than just showing the good parts.
- Friendship and family are the perfect pairing. The read-aloud and discussion possibilities lend this to be a great asset.
- The pacing is fantastic and you will keep turning the pages to read the next chapter.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gillian McDunn is the award-winning author of children’s books about friendship and family dynamics. She is a former technical writer, summer camp counselor, and boa constrictor handler, and she has never met a beach she didn’t love. She lives in North Carolina with her family. You’ll find free discussion guides, book trailers, and resources on her website at www.gillianmcdunn.com
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I love mysteries and like to read MG and YA ones to see how to write one. Trouble at the Tangerine sounds like one I’d like. I’ll keep my eye out for it at my library.
I always find books set in apartment buildings to be very exotic, and this one worked well. I’ve loaned the ARC to several of my students, who seemed to like it. Much more upbeat than a lot of books by this author.
I like the honest interaction between Simon and his parents about not just showing the best side of the family. More families need to be honest about what their family life is really like.
This is my first time hearing about this one- but it sounds great. I love that there is a mystery to solve! I also think my students would enjoy learning about apartment living- as there are very few apartments in the town where I work. Thanks for sharing!
I really liked this book as well. I thought it was great the way Simon went about solving his problem with his wandering parents. And it was a fun mystery. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and reminding I need to get my review up on this one.
This looks good! I will have to check it out. I’m on a bit of a mystery kick right now!
Sounds good!