The Art of Secrets - Softcover

Klise, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1616204826 ISBN 13: 9781616204822

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers, 2015

Synopsis

An Edgar Award Winner, Best Ya Novel 2015Where there's smoke . . . When Saba Khan's apartment burns in a mysterious fire, possibly a hate crime, her high school rallies around her. Her family moves into a rent-free luxury apartment, her Facebook page explodes, and she begins (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 worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Saba's life turns upside down again. Should Saba's family get the money? Or the students who found the painting? Or the school? Monologues, journal entries, interviews, articles, and official documents expose a tangled web of greed, jealousy, and suspicion as students and teachers alike debate, point fingers, and make shocking accusations about what's really going on. “Relationships, secrets and lies aplenty.” -Kirkus Reviews “Will stay on readers' minds long after the last page.” -Booklist, starred review “This story . . . culminates in a shocking twist of an ending that will engrossreaders until the very last page.” -The Christian Science MonitorA Booklist Editor's Choice Book A Booklist Top Crime Fiction Book A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book A Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award Nominee

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: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1616204826
• ISBN 13: 9781616204822
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272