Edie has grown up at her mother's plant store in Paris, when her parents decide to take an extended trip to participate in protests around the world. Edie ends up living with her paternal grandmother in a fancy chateau. But they don't really get along. Mostly Edie is lonely in this giant castle and her grandmother is locked in a room that seems to be filled with art, which she won't let Edie in. Edie though, steals the key and makes a duplicate. And then, she foils a robbery of that very art! Grandmere is over the drama and ships Edie off to a boarding school in England, run by the coolest nuns ever (the headmistress is the book's narrator.) There she can take classes in light helicopter maintenance and spycraft. She even teaches a class one day on barricades! (After all, she is French).
Then her school plans a trip to Paris! And her grandmother volunteers that everyone can stay at the chateau! And Edie sees the same robber again!
Along with her two best friends, she wants to figure out what on earth the robber wants and why, what her grandmother is not telling her about the art in that room, and of course she also wants to foil the robbery. And introduce her classmates to the excellent Parisian patisserie, while she's at it.
This is a super fun and creative middle grade book about a group of girls and nuns who are adventurous, creative, and supportive. It's like an updated Madeline (and the girls are slightly older.) If Miss Clavell encouraged saying "poo-poo" to the tiger in the zoo. And the tiger was an art thief.
This book is published by Henry Holt BYR, a division of Macmillan, my employer.
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