The Mysterious Messenger, Gilbert Ford
The Mysterious Messenger, Gilbert Ford
1 Rating(s)
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The Mysterious Messenger

Author: Gilbert Ford

Narrator: Lori-Felipe Barkin

Unabridged: 5 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/21/2020


Synopsis

The Mysterious Messenger is a rich middle grade urban fantasy debut starring young psychic Maria de la Cruz, by the award-winning artist Gilbert Ford.

Eleven-year-old Maria de la Cruz is trapped under the thumb of Madame Destine, her pseudo-psychic mother. Destine is a bona fide con artist who will stop at nothing to swindle her customers into believing she can communicate with the dead. But Maria, unlike her mother, has a big secret—she really can communicate with the dead, most frequently with a ghost named Edward who has been her only friend since she was a child.

It’s not long before this clairvoyant young sleuth gets wrapped up in an epic journey that combines bookish mystery with the literary movement of the Beat poets and art and jazz history. Maria may have the power to unlock extraordinary secrets, but can she find the treasure Edward sends her clues about? More importantly, can she find true friendship?

This smart, big-hearted debut novel is perfect for fans of Book Scavenger, Winterhouse, and The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street.

Christy Ottaviano Books

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company

About Gilbert Ford

Gilbert Ford holds a BFA in illustration from Pratt Institute and an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. He is the author-illustrator of How the Cookie Crumbled and The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring, which is a Best STEM Book of the year, and has illustrated many New York Times-bestselling middle grade jackets, as well as the award-winning picture book Mr. Ferris and His Wheel. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Darla on July 08, 2020

There were many things I liked about this book: 1) The role the library played in connecting Maria to the world outside her apartment. 2) The connecting of the dots in history between the birth of modern art, 1950's New York and Greenwich Village, the Beats, the New York School of Abstract Expressio......more

Goodreads review by Misty on April 20, 2020

Everyone needs someone to look out for them. For those children who possess great gifts this need is even greater. Gilbert Ford weaves a mystical tale about the life of Maria Russo. But who will do this for Maria? He uses creativity and imagination to submerge the reader into the unstable life of Ma......more

Goodreads review by Bonnie on May 10, 2020

“What could be more priceless than friends?” Ghosts, missing treasures, con artists and secrets are combined to make a great MG fantastical mystery. Eleven-year-old Maria Russo is trapped by her supposed psychic mother who is in the business of conning people. What follows is a journey to find the t......more