Review by Booklist Review
During spring break of sixth grade, Rami feels isolated and unseen: his once-close friends have rejected him, and he wonders more and more about the father who abandoned him when he was two. Meanwhile, his mother's workplace, an art museum, has been rocked by the sudden, unexplained theft of a painting. Determined to solve the mystery and prove his worth, Rami finds himself face-to-face with what seems to be the ghost of a young girl who has forgotten her own identity. With the help of new friend Veda, Rami must make sense of the missing painting, the nameless girl, and his own feelings of loss. Warga's spare prose, sweet characters, and gentle narration offer early middle-graders an accessible, even poetic read, and while the mystery component is somewhat straightforward, this is a story concerned less with thrills and more with a sense of wonder. The budding relationship between reserved Rami and upbeat Veda is a highlight, nicely illustrating the power of affirming friendship in an uncertain period of life. A treat for bighearted, bookish sleuths.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Sixth grader Rami Ahmed is having a terrible time. His best friends dropped him for no apparent reason, and now someone has stolen a painting from the Penelope L. Brooks Museum, where his mother works. It's bad enough that security is suspicious of him, but his mother, who leads the cleaning staff, is considered a suspect, too. Since his father left before he was two, his mother is all Rami has. To make matters worse, he's now hearing and seeing a girl floating in the museum--and she looks like the girl in the missing painting. She soon approaches Rami: she doesn't know who she is and wants his help to figure it out. With assistance from his crime-podcast-obsessed new friend Veda and an artistically inclined turtle called Agatha, Rami determines to find the painting thief and clear his and his mother's names. Though the resolution feels thin, the meticulously fleshed-out museum backdrop evokes impeccable ambiance for a mystery in this cozy tale. Grayscale illustrations by Rockefeller, who collaborated with Warga on A Rover's Story, depict the museum and cast through vivid portraiture. Rami's parents are from Lebanon and Veda's are from India. Ages 8--12. Author's agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--7--Versatile Crouch adroitly adapts ages, genders, backgrounds, species (!) to embody a sizable cast, opening with Agatha the turtle, sole witness to theft at the Penelope L. Brooks Museum. Rami, whose immigrant single mother is the museum's cleaning crew supervisor, was also there that day because he's not allowed to stay home alone, even though he's almost 12. He didn't see the thief, but he does meet a girl--shoeless, floating--who's somehow related to the stolen painting. Rami wishes he could tell his mother everything, not just about his spectral encounter but also his terrible middle school struggles. An unexpected new friendship with classmate Veda--a true crime podcast enthusiast--begins to alleviate his loneliness. Working together will solve plenty of problems. VERDICT While effortlessly enlivening Warga's notable characters, Crouch expertly imparts that "singular feeling to be understood. Seen. Connected. It is the best feeling in the whole world."
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Review by Horn Book Review
Sixth grade is not going well for Rami Ahmed: his friends no longer want anything to do with him, leaving him feeling lonely and invisible. His single mother, a Lebanese immigrant to the U.S., works as the cleaning-crew supervisor at the local art museum, which is where he must hang out over spring break. When a painting is stolen from one of the rooms in the museum, Cherry Hall, Rami's mother falls under suspicion, and he starts seeing an apparition of a girl almost no one else can see, which underscores his feeling of being invisible. But the ghost girl has a link to the stolen painting, and Rami believes that if he can find the painting, it will right his life's wrongs: his friends will like him again; his father, who left when he was two, will return; and his mom will be happy. With the help of the ghost girl and an artistic turtle, Rami and a new friend team up to solve the mystery of the stolen painting. Warga's lighthearted mystery dances around some serious issues -- loss, abandonment, and a yearning to belong -- but it's tempered by witty banter, a touch of whimsy, and just enough suspense to make it a page-turner. Julie Hakim AzzamMarch/April 2025 p.86 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A missing painting, a floating girl, and a mustachioed man: a lonely almost-12-year-old vows to figure it all out. Middle school has been terrible for Rami Ahmed, and now a painting has been stolen from the Penelope L. Brooks Museum, where his mother works as the cleaning crew supervisor. Only the cleaning crew, Ed the security guard, and Rami himself were in the building on the day of the painting's disappearance. As the theft draws unprecedented interest in the small, largely overlooked museum, the pressure of suspicion starts to grow. When a mysterious girl appears to Rami in the museum--and he recognizes her as the girl who's portrayed in the stolen painting--he's certain that she holds the key to its whereabouts. After Rami joins forces with Indian American classmate Veda, an aspiring sleuth, he finds himself in increasingly unexpected situations. The mystery drives this exquisitely paced story that unfolds in short chapters that readers will quickly consume. The characters, though, are the beating heart of this tender, quiet tale. From Rami, the only child of a now-single immigrant mother from Lebanon, to the museum director, who "had that accent that most rich people do…fancy and well educated," to Agatha, the sun-seeking turtle from the garden by the Penelope who observes, learns, and wants to give joy--each character is drawn with texture, depth, and warmth. Rockefeller's evocative illustrations enhance the text. A slowly unfurling delight.(Mystery. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
