The Adventure of Maisie Voyager

Gr 4–7—After 12 years of traveling with her explorer parents, Maisie Voyager is sent to live with her father's sister for the stability that Aunt Hetty can give her. She settles into a comfortable routine with her scientist aunt, who works a great deal, and is not afraid to explore her new city on her own. One evening as she is fixing supper, Maisie hears her aunt let someone into the house. Then she notices a car at the end of their driveway and the tall, eerie man who gets out of it. Aunt Hetty refuses to say anything about her visitor. Other events stoke Maisie's curiosity as well. Then, returning from an art lesson, she is met at the front door by a man claiming to be her aunt's friend. Against her better judgment, Maisie lets Dr. Gallows into the house to wait for Hetty to return from work. Shortly after his visit, she witnesses Hetty's kidnapping. Because her parents mistrust the police, Maisie does not feel she can contact authorities and uses her wits and determination to get to the bottom of the mystery. Maisie is a great heroine, and she and Aunt Hetty are well-realized characters. Readers will appreciate her descriptions of how things feel to her, how she makes sense of things, and the fact that she has so much free rein.—Julie Shatterly, W.A. Bess Elementary School, Gastonia, NC