Under the Egg

December 16, 2013
As he lay dying, Theodora Tenpenny’s grandfather Jack muttered something about a treasure “under the egg.” Theodora, 13, thinks this means that Jack—a thrifty, unknown artist—left a means of providing for Theo and her unreliable mother. She searches the mantelpiece, beneath Jack’s painting of an egg, and the bowl where they display an egg gathered from the chicken coop behind their Greenwich Village townhouse. Nothing. Then an accident uncovers another image under Jack’s painting, sending Theo and her new friend Bodhi, the daughter of two film stars, on a mission to discover the provenance of what appears to be a Renaissance masterpiece. Theo is smart and resourceful, and debut author Fitzgerald creates a plausible backstory for the teen’s uncanny ability to spot “the difference between a Manet and a Monet.” While the resolution falls into place too easily, the search for answers forces Theo out of her shell and into the wonderfully quirky community around her. Fans of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler will find this another delightful lesson in art history. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger.

December 15, 2013
This debut novel weaves art appreciation, restoration and dating techniques, and bits of history from the Renaissance and World War II into a fast-paced mystery. As the novel opens, 13-year-old Theodora Tenpenny explains her thrifty hobby of collecting trash from the city streets and turning it into useful objects. Then she recounts what happened merely three months ago: She found her adored grandfather, Jack, lying bloodied on a city street and heard his dying exhortation to "Look under the egg." Theodora, who has spent her life living with her emotionally incapacitated mother and her crusty, artistic, capable grandfather, knows she must follow this clue in order to become the family's next breadwinner. (Readers must suspend disbelief regarding social services in Manhattan.) Fortuitously, Theodora befriends Bodhi, also 13 but a member of a family of Hollywood celebrities. Theodora's knowledge of art history and Bodhi's skills in acting and in technology enable the girls to puzzle out the importance of Jack's final words. All the characters are relatively flat, including first-person protagonist Theodora, but an original plot with humorous swipes at rich-and-famous lifestyles and authentic references to New York City will keep readers interested. Occasionally, there are awkward or dense passages, but they are balanced by quirky encounters, as with Eddie, a tattooed librarian. If Dan Brown of The Da Vinci Code wrote middle-grade novels, this would be the one. (Mystery. 9-13)

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February 1, 2014

Gr 4-7-Before dying, Jack, Theodora's grandfather, whispers, "There's a letter... And a treasure" hidden "under the egg." After his passing, Theo could certainly use a treasure; her absentminded mother hides herself away on the top floor of their dilapidated Greenwich Village townhouse while the 13-year-old struggles to make ends meet with the $463 that Jack left. Hanging above the mantelpiece is one of her late grandfather's paintings which depicts a large egg. Could a treasure be hiding underneath? An accident with a bottle of rubbing alcohol reveals an unusual image that sets the teen off on an art history adventure taking her from New York Public Library's Jefferson Market branch to a fancy Upper East Side auction house and to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Along the way, she befriends Bodhi, the jet-setting, paparazzi-hounded daughter of two celebrities; Reverend Cecily from Grace Church; and a punk-rock librarian named Eddie. Fitzgerald gets the Manhattan setting pitch-perfect; from the rich aroma of a roasted nut stand to the hushed hallways of the Met. While the mystery unwinds at an even pace through most of the book, the last few chapters conclude too quickly and readers may be disappointed in the all-too-convenient ending. Still, fans of Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer (Scholastic, 2004) and Elise Broach's Masterpiece (Holt, 2008) will enjoy this art caper.-Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2014
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Following her grandfather's death, 13-year-old Theo shoulders the responsibility of looking after her mentally unfocused mother and keeping their Greenwich Village household running with no income. When Theo uncovers an old painting, possibly an original Raphael, she hopes to save their home. But is it a Raphael? Why was it hidden under a layer of paint? Was it stolen? By her beloved grandfather?! Theo and her friend Bodhi begin investigations that lead them to a church, an auction house, the public library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Center for Jewish History, and two Holocaust survivors. Theo's household is vividly portrayed, from her grandfather's creative ingenuity to her mother's tenuous hold on reality. Smart and determined, down-to-earth and insightful, Theo makes an engaging narrator as she follows a winding trail of discovery. Along the way, Fitzgerald includes a good bit of art history, which becomes as interesting as the interplay between the two friends. In the end, the mystery's solution depends a bit too much on adult intervention, coincidence, and even amnesia to be wholly satisfying. Still, it's a riveting narrative. Readers who loved E. L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1967) and Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer (2004) won't want to put this one down.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

August 31, 2015
Thirteen-year-old Theodora Tenpenny lives with her mentally scattered mother in a run-down 200-year-old townhouse in Greenwich Village, N.Y. When her artistic grandfather, the family provider, dies suddenly, Theo finds a letter from him suggesting that a treasure is hidden “under the egg.” Reader Almasy gives the protagonist a credible young-sounding voice and can-do attitude, as well as portraying a colorful cast of secondary characters who assist Theo on her treasure hunt. There’s Theo’s friend Bohdi, the child of movie-star parents whose roller-coaster Southern California accent Almasy captures “for sure,” and the guttural-accented deli owner Mr. K., who supplies Theo with the occasional free lunch. Antagonists include a dismissive art expert named Gemma, whose speech Theo describes as “deliberately pretentious,” Madame Dumont, a very French next-door neighbor who wants to evict Theo and her mother, and Lydon Randolph, a retired art curator who is convinced Theo possesses a painting of great value that Lydon wants for himself. Almasy gives him a mellifluously aristocratic Southern accent that turns hard and vicious when riled, which is how the ever-crafty Theo inevitably leaves him. Ages 8–12. A Dial hardcover.

July 1, 2014
Thirteen-year-old Theodora Tenpenny wonders how she will support herself as well as her inattentive (possibly unwell?) mother after her grandfather's tragic death. His puzzling final words send her in search of what she believes to be a secret treasure, and she discovers what might be a lost masterpiece. Fitzgerald offers a gripping mystery with high stakes and a moving WWII historical context.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

March 1, 2014
With only $463 to her family's name, remarkably self-sufficient thirteen-year-old Theodora Tenpenny wonders how she will support herself as well as her inattentive (possibly unwell?) mother after her grandfather's tragic death. His puzzling final words send her in search of what she believes to be a secret treasure (hidden somewhere within her family's dilapidated townhouse). After accidentally spilling a bottle of alcohol on one of her grandfather's original paintings, she discovers a much older painting beneath -- possibly a lost masterpiece. Theo resolves to ascertain if the painting is authentic or fake, rescued or stolen, in the hopes of saving her family from financial ruin, but she can't do it alone and learns to lean on her friends and other members of the community for help. After delving into her grandfather's military past -- he was one of the famous Monuments Men -- she realizes the mystery stretches all the way back to Nazi Germany and Hitler's fine-art plundering. Fitzgerald moves beyond the all-too-familiar conventions of the "X marks the spot" story line to offer a gripping mystery with high stakes and moving historical context (and in fact the WWII flashbacks are more vivid than her modern settings and characters); her focus on restitution and the personal value of art adds considerable depth to the narrative. Fans of Blue Balliett's art mysteries (Chasing Vermeer, rev. 7/04) will likely appreciate this similar fare. shara l. hardeson

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)