Thirteen-year-old Margaret (nicknamed "Moxie") loves her grandfather (nicknamed "Grumps") to pieces, even if he is a former small-time criminal with ties to the Boston mafia. When a mysterious stranger knocks on their apartment door one day demanding that Grumps return some stolen items from a big mob man who's just been released after more than a decade in prison, Moxie is determined to solve this problem. She's faced with just two *teeny tiny* problems -- one is that Grumps now has Alzheimer's and doesn't remember anything; the second is that the stranger gave her a deadline of just 14 days to recover the missing items. With the help of her geocaching-obsessed best friend Ollie, can Moxie solve a decades-old mystery?

This book was an interesting mystery and the deadline plus fleeting memories is an intriguing twist to make the solution both urgent yet out of reach. I loved how the mystery tied in real places and bits of history from throughout Boston, making this book oddly educational without ever feeling didactic.

Moxie is a compelling character with her little quirks, such as a love of leggings as a fashion statement in any weather and an appreciation for classic rock to pair with her moods. The family relationships are strong and sweet, even if unorthodox. Moxie's friendship with Ollie is also very touching with the concern they have for one another through thick and thin. Both family and friendship give the book some diversity.

The audiobook narrator had a terrible fake Boston accent but on the plus side, she put a lot of enthusiasm into the characters. Unfortunately my copy had a scratch bad enough to skip over the entire climatic final fight/confrontation scene, which was disappointing but I still enjoyed the book overall.

Addendum: I was able to get my hands on a print copy and read the couple of chapters towards the end that I missed when the audiobook skipped. It was a satisfying conclusion to the story. However, I didn't love the book enough to want to read the spin-off, which features Ollie as the protagonist. ( )

Recommended by an 8th-grade library patron who likes contemporary realistic YA fiction.

Moxie Fleece knows the rules and follows them--that is, until the day she opens her front door to a mysterious stranger. Suddenly Moxie is involved in Boston's biggest unsolved mystery: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist. Moxie has two weeks to find the art, otherwise she and the people she loves will be in big-time danger.

Her tools? Her best friend, Ollie, a geocaching addict who loves to find stuff; her Alzheimer's suffering grandfather, Grumps, who knows lots more than he lets on; and a geometry proof that she sets up to sort out the clues.

It's a race against the clock through downtown Boston as Moxie and Ollie break every rule she's ever lived by to find the art and save her family. ( )

I started geo-caching recently and one of the characters in this book loves geo-caching too. That's the only reason I chose this book. It turned out pretty good, and opened my eyes to an actual museum heist that to this day hasn't been solved. They mention a movie/documentary at the end that I'm certainly going to have to look into now. ( )

This is what a genuine Middle Grade art heist mystery should be. For fans of the Westing Game and Blue Balliett, this story has everything, drama, danger and a little bit of daring do. And it's set in Boston, too boot, with a very real unsolved art theft at its center.

( )