The Treasure of Maria Mamoun

Gr 4-7--A city girl moves to an island and finds her true place in the world. Twelve-year-old Maria Mamoun has never met her father, her mother works long hours at two nursing jobs, and Maria's chief entertainment is watching the birds and flowering weeds in the vacant lot across from her dingy Bronx apartment. But after bullying classmates attack Maria, her mother takes a new position as a personal nurse to an elderly film director living on Martha's Vineyard. The protagonist soon uncovers a mystery involving pirates, hidden treasure, and possibly the enigmatic film director himself. Chalfoun's deft prose captures the glories of the New England oceanside, and her well-portrayed major characters change and grow throughout the narrative. The author draws on her own experiences for well-integrated details of the heroine's half-Lebanese background. Although unfamiliar sailing terms are defined in the text, a glossary would have been a helpful addition. The tale wraps up a bit quickly, but happy endings all around fit well within this slightly old-fashioned tale, and Maria's blossoming connections with a large local family and the island itself prove to be the true treasure of the title. VERDICT Readers who enjoyed Jeanne Birdsall's "Penderwicks" series and Elizabeth Enright's "Gone Away Lake" books will appreciate this satisfying summer adventure.--Beth Wright Redford, Richmond Elementary School Library, VT

Adult author Chalfoun's (The Width of the Sea) first book for children opens in a gritty section of the Bronx, where 12-year-old Maria Theresa Ramirez Mamoun (her mother is Lebanese-American, her absentee father Puerto Rican) lives with her single mother, Celeste, who works two nursing jobs to support them. Friendless and solitary, Maria is regularly taunted at school by the "Bad Barbies," and one violent bullying episode impels Celeste to find a job as private nurse to a bedridden film director on Martha's Vineyard. Arriving on the island, Maria transforms--a little too quickly and easily--into an adventurous and secretive girl with a mission: to find the buried treasure promised by the old privateer's map she has discovered. She befriends the housekeeper's wayward son, Paolo; warms up the crusty director; cleans up an old sailboat; and takes on the unfamiliar waters, first in a rowboat and eventually, with Paolo's help, in a sailboat. The plot builds smoothly and suspensefully as Maria puzzles over mysterious clues, and the happy, if somewhat predictable, ending is warmly satisfying. Ages 8-12. Author's agency: Mary Evans, Inc. (July)

"A city girl moves to an island and finds her true place in the world . . . Chalfoun's deft prose captures the glories of the New England oceanside, and her well-portrayed major characters change and grow throughout the narrative. The author draws on her own experiences for well-integrated details of the heroine's half-Lebanese background . . . Happy endings all around fit well within this slightly old-fashioned tale, and Maria's blossoming connections with a large local family and the island itself prove to be the true treasure of the title . . . [A] satisfying summer adventure." —School Library Journal

"The plot builds smoothly and suspensefully as Maria puzzles over mysterious clues, and the happy . . . ending is warmly satisfying." —Publishers Weekly

"A quiet book that affectionately portrays its locale and carefully constructs and uses its characters." —The Bulletin

"I practically flew through this book, loving every minute . . . A well-written story with believable characters, The Treasure of Maria Mamoun will draw readers in and make them root for Maria." —Barnes & Noble Kids Blog