Stanley, D. (2008). The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy. New York: HarperCollins
Plot summary: Allbright Academy is an elite private boarding school founded by two Nobel Prize-winning scientists. It is a very prestigious school, and Frannie jumps at the chance to attend. The school and landscape are beautiful and so are all the students. Frannie, who normally has trouble making friends, immediately makes a bond with two other new students, Cal and Brooklyn. Everything at the school seems perfect: the classes, the teachers, and even the required physical activity. The best part is that brownies are given at each meal, and students are actually encouraged to eat them. Frannie can’t believe her luck! Everything seems too good to be true. She and her classmates have developed a new sense of confidence, and it doesn’t hurt that their appearances are also improving, due to the help of their personal development counselor. How could things get any better?
As the school year proceeds, things continue to go well until one day, while on their daily hike, Cal slumps over in pain. Unable to walk any further, Frannie, Prescott, and Brooklyn carry her back down the trail. She is immediately taken to the hospital to remove her burst appendix. Due to her surgery, Cal no longer has an appetite and stops eating her daily brownies. That is when she starts to notice changes. She shares her suspicions with the group, and the investigation begins.
Frannie, Cal, Brooklyn, and Prescott embark on a journey to find out what is in the brownies. Once they determine that the brownies contain three chemicals, the group is put to the test trying to find a way to stop the students from ingesting them and to collect enough evidence to incriminate Dr. Gallow and Dr. Bodempfedder. With the help of Beamer and Ms. Lollyheart, they are able to put together a presentation and have it played during the quarterly board meeting. The school is shut down, and Dr. Gallow and Dr. Bodempfedder are sent to jail.
Genre: Mystery
Suggested age range: 9 to 12
Annotation: This is a must read for any child that goes to a boarding school. It is full of mystery and adventure that is sure to catch the reader's attention.
Subject/themes: Friendship, Adventure, Boarding School.
Reviews:
- Booklist (November 15, 2007)
- Publishers Weekly (January 7, 2008)
- School Library Journal (March 1, 2008)
Character list:
- Frannie - Older sister to twins J.D. and Zoe, who is accepted at Allbright Academy because the school wants Zoe to attend; she does not believe that she has any special talent, although she was one of two people in the history of the school to build a robot during orientation.
- Calpurnia (aka Cal) - A student at Allbright and the linguist of the group; her father is in the Foreign Service and travels the world, so she knows how to speak many languages and lives at Allbright year round.
- Brooklyn - Another student at Allbright; he is a poet and has written a book that is about to be published.
- Prescott - Another student that started Allbright with Frannie, Cal, and Brooklyn and the scientist of the group; he likes to keep to himself and is socially awkward.
- Beamer - Frannie's best friend from home; he is a film student and helps put together the presentation that is instrumental in incriminating Dr. Bodempfedder and Dr. Gallow.
- Evelyn Lollyheart - The assistant to the headmistress; she is also a mother figure for the students and lives in one of the dorms.
- Dr. Katrina Bodempfedder - The headmistress of Allbright Academy.
- Dr. Gallow - A Nobel Prize-winning chemist who founded Allbright Academy with Dr. Planck; he is responsible for developing the brownie mix.
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- The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
- The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
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