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MIDDLE GRADE MOMENT | THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST BY SARVENAZ TASH



Goldenrod Moram loves adventure, especially when it comes in the form of mapmaking. An avid fan of the legendary explorers Lewis and Clark, she decides to start her own exploring team, the Legendary Adventurers, and to spend her summer vacation discovering the unmapped forest right behind her home. This simple task is complicated by a series of unique events-a chance encounter with a mysterious old lady has her searching for a legendary blue rose. Another, more unfortunate, encounter lands her in the middle of a ragtag bunch of nicknamed ruffians. Throw in the trapped spirit of Meriwether Lewis himself and her well-meaning but nuisance of a little brother, and Goldenrod Moram is in for the quest of a lifetime . . .

★★★★☆
Adventure-loving Goldenrod Moram has a passion for cartography, an interest she shares with best friend Charla. Goldenrod is feeling pretty stuck in life once summer arrives. Charla's family has moved a state away and Goldenrod is grounded for repeatedly getting in trouble at school. Then inspiration strikes! She gets the idea to convince her parents (using the old "isn't it important for me to explore and socialize?" tactic) to let her spend this summer before 6th grade mapping the entirety of her hometown of Pilmilton. 

Goldenrod Moram had a first name that sounded like it belonged in the middle of a fairy tale, where she would be the dazzling princess in need of rescuing. But this couldn't be further from the truth. For one thing, fairy-tale princesses probably didn't get into trouble practically every day of the fifth grade. (Then again, they probably didn't talk back much either.) For another, fairy-tale princesses probably had more than one friend in the whole entire world. (And if they didn't, they at least had servants or courtiers or some such other fan base that could pass for friends.) But Goldenrod had only been named Goldenrod because her mother was an avid gardener and her father had lost the coin toss on the day of her birth. Had her father won, she might have been named after one of his hobbies, which included cooking and amateur house repair. 

Goldenrod tries to start her project downtown but quickly becomes overwhelmed with the sense that her moves are being scrutinized by passing townspeople. She decides to shift gears and start instead with mapping Pilmilton Woods, the forested area behind her house. Diving into what she believes must be previously uncharted wilderness, Goldenrod feels just like her heroes, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark!

Just inside the woods, Goldenrod comes upon a house she doesn't recall ever seeing before, and there she meets an elderly woman who sends her on a quest to find a rare blue rose said to bloom only once every fifty years. It's rumored there's a bush growing in a clearing within the forest but the woman explains her arthritis won't let her make the journey. Excited by the possibility of being able to claim discovery of the rose, Goldenrod happily agrees to seek out this precious flower. But her plans are derailed as soon as she witnesses her little brother being kidnapped by a gang of Pilmilton delinquents. What's their intent behind this crime? As Goldenrod seeks out answers to all these mysteries, her investigations will have her crossing paths with the spirit of a famous historical figure. 

This is absolutely perfect summer reading, offering lighthearted elements of mystery, history, humor -- both in general and middle grade specialty (talk of snot, toe jam, etc) varieties. It's fun to read of a creative, industrious brother-sister team embracing adventure and exploration while also taking on bad guys and outwitting them. While they may start out having the usual differences and bickering of siblings, in the end they learn to appreciate each other and work as a team. And as a fan of both history AND cheeky paranormal stories, I loved the early 19th century sass of this ghost! 
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