The main characters of Tracks by Maria Grosskettler are young enough at twelve-years-old to classify this debut novel as young adult, but the tight mystery set in Berlin makes it a good choice for adult readers. The novel begins with a pair of mysteries—in the first, a famous actress’ private life and the other, a fifty-year-old missing person’s case. These mysteries interweave with the main character Natalie Carpenter’s angst as she aches to leave the small town she finds stifling. She literally runs into another twelve-year-old named John Paul, and the two become absorbed with spying on strangers and neighbors. Everybody has secrets in this mystery-adventure.
After the duo become involved in untangling mysteries, the reader is treated to a tour of Berlin including an abandoned train station, a famously-haunted hotel, one treasure trove of a museum, and other familiar locales. The Calvin B. Taylor House and the Atlantic Hotel are given generous treatment as is the Queponco Train Station in Newark.
Grosskettler weaves the story of the two young investigators with their struggles against internal conflicts. The adventures involve listening and thinking as well as daring escapes and rescues. Both characters recognize their weaknesses and try to move away from the past.
As a high school teacher, I have an excuse to keep my middle years and young adult reading up to the current titles. Adults readers have been captured by excellent young adult writing in the past years such as the Harry Potter series, The Hate You Give, and the Hunger Games series, for example. Tracks by Maria Grosskettler would be a diverting read to share with a child of ten or over. Grosskettler offers characters who make mistakes, feel the pain or regret of poor decisions, and eventually learn from them. She also captures the quaint charm of one of the best small towns in America—Berlin, Maryland.
Joan Cooper, Author