Varian Johnson

Great audiobook narrator; he was the perfect narrative voice.

10-year-old Ant is teased about being small and weak. But is it really weak to be a nice person and talk about your feelings? Ant's best friend has bullying tendencies and seems to be carrying on the tradition of toxic masculinity, but luckily Ant makes a new friend who is 1000% better. Her name is Shirley and she gets teased about being tall and confident.

This was kind of like a sports story, but with a card game called Spades instead of athletics. It reminded me a bit of [b:Not an Easy Win|61356472|Not an Easy Win|Chrystal D. Giles|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1664754617l/61356472._SY75_.jpg|96769757] which featured chess. Spades is often accompanied by trash talk, but the "yo mama" jokes in this book are so old and corny. I cringed.

From the description I read, I thought Ant's recently deceased grandfather would play more of a role in the story, and while he definitely has a presence in the story, he's not talked about much. This is not a book about grieving the loss of a grandparent. It's more of a book about emotional maturity, friendship, trust, and coming to terms with a very flawed parent.

Content notes: Ant's father is an alcoholic but tries to hide it. He also has a gambling addiction. There is nothing super traumatic on the page.… (more)

An homage to [b:The Westing Game|902|The Westing Game|Ellen Raskin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1356850909s/902.jpg|869832] with historical context that adds a lot of depth. I liked that the plot shifted between the present-day when Candice and Brandon are trying to solve the mystery and the past events on which the mystery is based in the 1950s. Young readers will learn a lot about American history and segregation while also considering the prejudices that still run rampant today.

I thought the plotting could have been tighter and that the kids could've gotten to the puzzle-solving earlier in the book. As a mystery, this wasn't as carefully constructed as I think it could have been (not like The Westing Game, for example). But when you consider that the author was trying to give the book more of a conscience/soul than just a standard mystery, it makes sense. The twist, when it comes, is a doozy that I didn't anticipate at all.

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