The Art of Secrets - Hardcover

Klise, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1616201959 ISBN 13: 9781616201951

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers, 2014

Synopsis

A Fire Destroys . . .
A Treasure Appears . . .
A Crime Unfolds . . .

An Edgar Award Winner, Best YA Novel 2015
A Chicago Public Library "Best of the Best" 2014
A Booklist Editors' Choice, Books for Youth 2014
A Booklist Top Ten Crime Fiction for Youth 2014

When Saba Khan’s apartment burns in a mysterious fire, possibly a hate crime, her Chicago high school rallies around her. Her family moves rent-free into a luxury apartment, Saba’s Facebook page explodes, and she starts (secretly) dating a popular boy. Then a quirky piece of art donated to a school fund-raising effort for the Khans is revealed to be an unknown work by a famous artist, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Saba’s life turns upside down again. Should Saba’s family have all that money? Or should it go to the students who found the art? Or to the school? And just what caused that fire? Greed, jealousy, and suspicion create an increasingly tangled web as students and teachers alike debate who should get the money and begin to point fingers and make accusations. The true story of the fire that sets events in motion and what happens afterward gradually comes together in an innovative narrative made up of journal entries, interviews, articles, letters, text messages, and other documents.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

A Fire Destroys . . .
A Treasure Appears . . .
A Crime Unfolds . . .

When Saba Khan’s apartment burns in a mysterious fire, possibly a hate crime, her high school rallies around her. Her family moves rent-free into a luxury apartment; Saba’s Facebook page explodes; and she starts (secretly) dating a popular boy. Then a quirky piece of art donated to a school fund-raising effort for the Khans is revealed to be an unknown work by a famous artist and worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Saba’s life turns upside down again. Should Saba’s family have all that money? Or should it go to the students who found the art? Or to the school?

Greed, jealousy, and suspicion create an increasingly tangled web as students and teachers alike debate who should get the money, begin to point fingers, and make startling accusations. Through mon-ologues, journal entries, interviews, articles, and official documents, characters reveal how they see what happened. How readers see the truth will depend on their own ideas about empathy, generosity, and the darker corners of human nature

From the Back Cover:

Saba Khan:
In a way, the fire might have been the best thing that ever happened to me. But maybe even writing that is t.o.o. r.e.v.e.a.l.i.n.g.

Steve Davinski:
Well, okay, yes, there has been some whispering the past couple of days here at Highsmith. Something exciting is going on, and I understand your curiosity. However, it is totally premature for us to discuss that topic today.

Jean Delacroix:
All right, then? Moving forward. I was the first person to realize that the Spoons’ “garbage art” was something special. The style of the work is unmistakable.

Kendra Spoon:
I’m not sure what to say. I’m more comfortable in a behind-the-scenes, stuffing-envelopes kind of role. I’m not a spokesperson or anything. Maybe you can talk to my brother, Kevin?

Kevin Spoon:
To be honest, it still blows my mind that I am one of the people who got this going. For the rest of my life, no matter what else I do, I can tell myself: How cool that you pulled that off. You changed that family’s life

About this edition

• Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1616201959
• ISBN 13: 9781616201951
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272