Part of my duties as a librarian is to read children's books to see if the library wants to purchase the book for our collection. I chose to read this one for our middle grade collections. In a sea of book that are fantasy or books about animals, this onestood out because of the mystery aspect of it. I enjoyed it. It has several things going for it that I think children will enjoy. #1 There is a mystery to solve here. Kid still like to solve mysteries. If they didn't Harry Potter wouldn't still be as popular as it is. #2 It has a friendship aspect. The characters truly like each other for their similarities and their differences. lastly, there's cause. The kids are ultimately trying to save the town and their parents' jobs by solving the mystery. who doesn't like like to stand behind a good cause, right? All-in-all I believe kids will enjoy this first book in the duology and will be excited to get the second in the series.

This was such a fun middle grade novel. I absolutely love the cover and I also enjoyed the story.
I also really enjoyed the bits of puzzle and mystery.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me access to this digital advanced copy to read and review.

This was a really good Middle Grade novel! I enjoyed reading about them trying to solve the puzzle. The characters were great. Overall, I would definitely recommend!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

This is a precious coming-of-age series. If I was in the classroom still I would be pushing this book into all of my kid's hands. This is just a fun read and great if you are needing a palate cleanser.

This middle grade mystery is going to be popular in our juvenile section, I can already tell. It's fast paced, which is already a good sign for middle grade fic, and the author really knows how to craft a twisty tale that will keep readers guessing and going. This author has a great style, and I could definitely see them with a fan following. Mysteries are such a hard genre to find titles for middle grade, and I cannot wait to add this to the top of my recommendations list for our readers.

This was a super fun, small town mystery with a really satisfying set of clues. The only thing I wish is that the reader could solve the mystery along with the main characters instead of having them solve everything for us with information only they have.

The fate of the town rests in the hands of four kids, as they seek to solve the clues that could lead to a hidden treasure. The mystery enough danger enough to add suspense to the story, but not too heavy for the intended audience. Overall, it is an engaging story that will appeal to those who enjoyed the Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson.

3.5 stars = Good+

A fun treasure-hunt mystery for kids. The clues are based on the story, so readers can't puzzle along with the characters, but I think fans of these sorts of stories will enjoy this one. The author does a great job of telling what happens in the end for all of the characters.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Kids for the gifted book I read with the library audio!

I love a treasure hunt book, and this delightful book was a wonderful example of why. These middle school students are in a race against time, a mysterious enemy, and their not so watchful parents to solve clues to find a long lost treasure to save their town. I don't know if this book is set up to be a series, but with 4 wonderful central characters there certainly could be a book that each of them narrates. The kooky old broad who hid the first treasure surely left more puzzles to solve for them right?!

Can't wait for fans of The Westing Game, The Parker Inheritance, Book Scavenger, the Mr. Lemoncello series-- really any book with clues to crack--to get their hands on this one! Also reminded me a bit of The Goonies too.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in return for an honest review.

3.5 stars. A mystery filled with clues and puzzles in a race against time to save a town. I really liked the premise of this book, and I appreciated the friendships of the GEEK friends. This probably won't be the first mystery I recommend to kids looking for a mystery to read, but it was an enjoyable read.

This book sadly wasn't for me. I really enjoyed the concept and overall the book was really good I just didn't care for the writing style. I don't think it will bother a ton of people I am just weird about writing styles. This is actually a great book for middle grade and I can see a lot of kids loving this.

A quick and fun puzzle hunt story. This one will be a good introduction to this type of story for budding detectives/mystery readers. A great friendship book as well.

This book sadly wasn't for me. I really enjoyed the concept and overall the book was really good I just didn't care for the writing style. I don't think it will bother a ton of people I am just weird about writing styles. This is actually a great book for middle grade and I can see a lot of kids loving this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for my fair and unbiased review.
On the road to becoming a young journalist, our friend is on the lookout for anything new or different in her small town. Suddenly a new person is in town and there are rumors of the toy factory shutting down.
Trying to figure out what is going on, our GEEKs get involved in solving a mystery and saving their town.
An enjoyable book with a fun mystery and some semi-believable adventures; it’s not going to set the world on fire, but it’s a win if you have fun reading it.

Mysteries are supposed to be something that you can solve, while you read the book, despite any red herrings that might be thrown in the way. You should be able to at least try to guess where each clue went.

However this book, each clue was like a foreign tongue which I had never heard before, and I had no idea where any of them lead.

And at a certain point I didn't really care.

I should have cared.

The story is about four friends whose initials spell out Geek. They live in a small town whose main industry was making toys, but the company has been sold, and there go all the jobs. However, the original owner left a series of clues for anyone who really knew the town, to solve, and amass a fortune.

I tried to care. I tried really hard, but despite the narrator going on and on about how she didn't want to move to Boston, I thought it might be actually more interesting than this one horse town.

The clues were not anything that the reader could have solved, so they are just along for the ride.

Not my idea of a good time.


<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>