Language: G; Mature Content: G Violence PG: Peril, injuries, adult attempts to strangle a child
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
13yo twins Gordon and Hope have entered a spelling bee. The prize money will help pay the back rent on the motel room they share with their mother (who recently lost her job) and keep them from going into foster care. But this year the stakes are high. The matron of the Winterton family has recently passed away and this year's grand prize is a half million dollars! But they are competing against members of the Winterton family, all of whom seem to have been disinherited, and there's a treasure hunt involved.
Johnson dedicates The Final Word to Ellen Raskin - which put me in mind of the Westing Game. The estate where the bee is held has a massive library, and many many great children's books are mentioned. Loved the nods to both classics and recently published novels. The mystery is fast-paced and works well against this backdrop - the intensity of the spelling bee rounds balances the frantic search for a family heirloom. It was fun to follow the clues along with Hope. I could have done without the epilogue though - it confused things and brought more questions than answers. The characters default white, although Hope mentioned she has tanned skin.
Lisa Librarian
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