Room One: A Mystery or Two

From School Library Journal Grade 3-5–Ted Hammond is the only sixth grader at a one-room school in a small Nebraska town in this novel by Andrew Clements (S & S, 2006). The town is facing a financial crisis and hence a shrinking population. When Ted sees a girl's face in the window of one of the abandoned houses on his paper route, he can't resist investigating this mystery as he is an avid reader of detective novels and tries to solve each crime halfway through the book. This real-life mystery proves a little more difficult as Ted struggles with keeping a family's secret and knowing when to ask for help from adults. Narrator Keith Nobbs gives the story a youthful but wise voice, adding just the right touch of emotion and humor. He uses his voice to distinguish between the various characters, and appropriately portrays Ted's compassion and confusion as he grapples with his secret and his town's (and thus his own) unstable future. Clements's characteristic style of blending comedy with drama makes this an honest and pertinent story for readers who like realism and a touch of mystery.–