Treasure Island: Runaway Gold

Following his father’s death, Black middle schooler Zane’s mother must take in several boarders—“all of them old, smelling of Vicks VapoRub and mothballs”—to afford their Queens home. But the bills still pile up despite the extra income, and Zane worries that he and his mother will be evicted. One of the boarders, elderly Captain Maddie, who claims she has a hidden treasure, urges Zane to protect her hoard before dying suddenly. In her room, Zane finds an old treasure map of Manhattan containing mysterious clues, and Zane—accompanied by his two best friends and his dog Hip-Hop—subsequently embarks on an epic treasure hunt. While attempting to evade a group of skateboarders intent on stealing the map and claiming the treasure for themselves, Zane and company encounter an enigmatic man named John who offers to help piece together the clues. As the mission grows more treacherous, Zane must determine whom to trust. In this contemporary spin on Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Rhodes (Paradise on Fire) employs lush descriptive language and engaging dialogue teeming with historical facts, and crafts a sincere protagonist whose compassion for others radiates from the pages of this high-octane romp. Ages 10–up. Agent: Michael Bourret. Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Oct.)