"Twelve-year-old Maren is sure theater camp isn't for her. Theater camp is for loud, confident, artsy people: people like her older sister, Hadley--the last person Maren wants to think about--and her cinema-obsessed, nonbinary bunkmate, Theo. But when a prank goes wrong, Maren gets drawn into the hunt for a diamond ring that, legend has it, is linked to the camp's namesake, Charlotte "Charlie" Goodman, a promising director in Blacklist Era Hollywood. When Maren connects the clues to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, she and her new friends are off searching through lighting booths, orchestra pits and costume storages, discovering the trail and dodging camp counselors. But they're not the only ones searching for the ring, and with the growing threat of camp closing forever, they're almost out of time."
I feel like in an alternate universe a less introverted Dewey is hardcore into theater, so this mystery centered around theater and moviemaking immediately snagged my attention. Add to that that the play involved in the story is Twelfth Night...arguably the best Shakespeare play? (Ok, fine, that's debatable, but it's one I like a lot.) Winner. And it didn't hurt that the cover art was pretty delightful.
It was hard not to be all in on this one from the jump, and once I started reading, the characters sealed the deal. I felt Maren's frustration with her family situation on a soul-deep level, and even most of the side characters were so well-rounded and unique that I felt like I knew each of them. The little details included to make each person three dimensional and memorable were perfection. I mean, the coffee shop proprietor is literally in ONE scene, and for the rest of the book I was crossing my fingers she would show up again. That's some impressive writing.
When it came to the plot, I have to be honest, I don't think I would have been able to unravel this mystery. But it was a delight to follow along as Maren and her friends pulled each thread, and the way the flashbacks to the past were woven into the main story, pulling back the curtain bit by bit for the reader and making you want to keep reading...chef's kiss. The suspense and tiny revelations just when you needed one made it really hard to put the book down! I thought this was really well written, engaging, and a delight from start to finish.
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