Jan Weeks

The Centerville Code Jan Weeks

A boring summer vacation turns into a hunt for a gang of antiquities thieves when eleven-year-old Zack Harris and his buddies discover a coded message hidden in an old oak tree. Zack rallies Paprika, Stinky and twins Ricky and Randy to help solve the mystery. While examining the slip of paper at the Snack Shoppe, the boys notice Evan Zolotny, a new kid they've ignored because of his shabby appearance and not-so-shabby smarts. Zack decides to use Evan's brains to help in deciphering the message. For Evan, it's a piece of cake. Evan and Zack become buddies, even though Paprika and the twins still view him with suspicion. As the gang discovers more coded messages, Evan's skills become invaluable. The museum is broken into, Indian artifacts are stolen, and Zack and Evan connect the mysterious messages with the thefts. After trailing the crooks to their hideout in an abandoned house, Zack goes to the police, but they treat him like a pesky kid and ignore his information. Another museum robbery leaves a guard seriously injured, and the boys know it's up to them to stop the crooks-no matter what. Readers use the handy code manual in the back of the book to decipher the messages along with Zack and Crew. "... Jan Weeks begins the process of understanding codes, ciphers and cryptanalysis, a discipline as useful today as it was a thousand or hundred or ten years ago . . . Simple, clear and fun to learn." --Robert Townsend, Spirit Falls "The book is beautifully written, fast paced and full of action. I recommend it for all middle grade readers." --Laurie Cameron, Amazon Reviewer