To Emily, who has moved 8 times in her 12 years, San Francisco seems the ideal place to live. She quickly finds a good friend in her neighbor James, and the city is the headquarters of her beloved Book Scavenger game, which combines reading, puzzle solving, and treasure hunting. After Garrison Griswold, the game's creator, is mugged, Emily finds a unique book near the crime scene. Soon she and James are playing Griswold's new game, trying to elude the thugs who attacked him and investigating who is behind the crime. The occasional black-and-white illustration, cipher picture, or map adds to the fun for readers, who will want to play along d they can, too, at www.bookscavenger.com. Well paced and involving, the story will intrigue kids with an interest in mysteries and codes as well as books. The writing includes references to local landmarks as well as literary allusions to Jack Kerouac, Robert Louis Stevenson, and, especially, Edgar Allan Poe. A lively first novel, this could be the start of a new mystery series.

Gr 4-6 Twelve-year-old Emily doesn't have enough time to get attached to places. She and her family move yearly, pursuing a Kerouac-inspired, footloose family adventure. Through their travels, Emily anchors herself through an online community called Book Scavenger, a geocaching-style game where participants hide books in public places and reveal the locations through encoded clues. Book Scavenger is the brainchild of Garrison Griswold, the "Willy Wonka of publishing," a San Francisco-based publisher with a penchant for elaborate spectacles and games. When Emily's family moves to San Francisco, she's excited to encounter the elusive Griswold and to participate in his newest game. Unfortunately, he is attacked on his way to a press conference, and even Emily's beloved Book Scavenger may be in jeopardy. The key to it all just might be in a mysterious book that Emily and her new neighbor James found at the BART station, but time is running short, and sinister (if bumbling) forces pursue them. Sprinkled with ciphers, San Francisco landmarks, and literary allusions, Book Scavenger is a fun, light, implausible adventure. The action drags occasionally, and the characterizations are sparse and sometimes overly cute, but the book's goofy, feckless charm is undeniable. VERDICT This will appeal to fans of Blue Balliett's art-world mysteries. Katya Schapiro, Brooklyn Public Library

Twelve-year-old book lover Emily and her family move to San Francisco just as her idol, Garrison Griswold, eccentric creator of an online game site called Book Scavenger, is to make a grand announcement in that very city. Unfortunately, he is attacked in a subway station by thieves in search of a valuable book he possesses. Emily and a new neighbor, who happens to love codes and puzzles, investigate the crime scene. Emily finds a book stuffed behind a trash can. Is it from Mr. Griswold? Soon, she becomes the new target of the thieves. Along the way, she discovers clues hidden within the book, meets old acquaintances of her idol, navigates a rocky friendship with her neighbor, deals with a school bully, and eludes a couple of dumb thieves.The novel describes a race against time as she interprets puzzles and locates new ones in a literary geocaching sort of way. Griswold is like Willy Wonka and the thieves like the oafs in 101 Dalmatians, but the plot is clever and the pace of the book will keep the readers curious up to the climactic end. Several other books with themes related to puzzles and games are alluded to in the story. This book will be fun for lovers of this genre.Kevin Beach.