- 2 kids run away and secretly live at a museum
- they discover a mystery to be solved, which inadvertently teaches them about the Italian Renaissance
- convo: gambling with no remorse (mentioned occasionally throughout), deceiving parents (in multiple ways), stealing, suicide joked about, frequent lying, a joke about candy being laced with marijuana, mentions various beer brands, siblings bickered a lot, frequent mentions of being naked/undressing/bathing/underwear/etc., mentions seeing nude paintings, one illustration show the children naked from the side, one illustration shows a nude painted lady but very obscure, significant emphasis on keeping secrets
- language: stupid x3, gosh x1, brat x2, blasted x1
Type: chapter book
Ages: 8-12
Author: E.L. Konigsburg
The sister-brother duo initially run away because of “injustices” at home, such as having to set the table and empty trash cans. Their reasons for departure eventually morph, however, as they come across a mystery to solve. Additionally, the older sister (12-year-old) wants to “find herself” and become a heroine, so this becomes a theme. The author’s afterword speaks more of this.
Konigsburg’s fixation on inserting moments of “naked” imageries was just plain weird and will definitely disturb some parents. I am hoping she simply wanted to insert humor for kids reading the book–what child doesn’t laugh when underwear is mentioned in conversation?–but yikes. A couple times, this type of description was so completely random and not related to the story on either side of it.
It was mildly entertaining to follow along their methods of research for the purpose of solving the mystery (related to Michelangelo, by the way). A few elements are, of course, dated–such as typewriters and lack of museum security–but it was easy to follow their trek between libraries and other places.
The mystery is solved in a unique way, but the story ultimately ends with the children planning another elaborate lie to their parents so they can regularly sneak away to visit someone they met on this adventure. I am resigned to spend my life baffled at how certain books become award winners.