Connect the Dots by Keith Calabrese - ESSENTIAL

Connect the Dots by Keith Calabrese, 240 pages. Scholastic, 2020. $17. 

Language: G (3 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

Oliver Beane and Frankie Figge, 12yo, are a best friends in Elk Grove Park, a suburb of Chicago. Then arrives new girl Miranda Sandoval and she has chosen Oliver and Frankie to be her friends – whether the boys want her or not. Their school is named after Preston Oglethorpe – an Elk Grove genius who made millions and then disappeared. Now strange things are starting to happen in Elk Grove – most of them seem to be happy coincidences. But there is also a group of dangerous men lurking in the shadows – and their attention seems to be on Oliver, Frankie, and Miranda! 

Calabrese has woven together an intricate plot about the weaving of an intricate plot. Plenty of danger, lots of laughs, a healthy dose of mango chutney! 

 Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS