THE POSTCARD (1ST PRT 2009 EDGAR AWARD)

by Tony Abbott

Book Overview

"So how smart are you?" said a man's voice abruptly. And loudly. "Because now... it's starting." A creepy phone call. An old, yellowed postcard. A bizarre magazine story. And a strange group of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: 0316041521
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Little, Brown
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Wish You Were Here

Who knew a trip to Florida because of the death of his grandmother could lead to car chases, running from deranged seniors, and trying to solve a mystery before his mom finds out he's living alone or his dad gets out of the hospital, whichever comes first. This charming novel reminds me of mysteries written in the fifties and sixties when kids could roam free and find adventure. The characters are realistic, even the eccentric ones who appear in the present day and in flashbacks. This is a novel that can be enjoyed by children as well as adults. The main character and his side-kick friend mix well with the senior crowd that populates this novel set in Florida. The postcards that illustrate each chapter add a bit of nostalgia. The author does a good job of weaving the past and the present and keeps the reader busy trying to figure out the story within the story. This is a fun read about a boy who finds relief from worrying about the state of his parents' marriage by investigating his grandmother's past. The screwball antics of the characters and the mysterious doings all make sense as secrets are revealed.

A Book Review

The Postcard by Tony Abbott is about Jason who doesn't know anything about his grandmother. Jason keeps finding postcards which lead up to a story about his grandmother. He meets a girl named Dia, and they work together to find more postcards to help them learn about Jason's grandmother. The story begins in Boston. Jason received a phone call and found out his grandmother died. His parents are divorced, and he has to go to his grandmother's old house to sort through her things. The day Jason was at the funeral home, someone called his grandmother Marni. The next day he found a magazine and was reading through it. A story mentioned his grandmother as Marni. In those two pages, there was a postcard. This postcard had a pinhole. Where this pinhole was is were he would find chapter 2 of the story. My favorite character was Miss K. She is a Japanese lady who was Jason's grandmother's neighbor. My favorite part was when Jason first met Dia. Dia was his grandmother's grass cutter. He didn't know she was so he told her to go away. Dia left with only one-half of the yard cut. Jason's dad got so mad. I think the authors purpose of this book was to entertain. I liked the book very much. I almost thought I couldn't stop reading it. My eyes were glued to it. My recommendation would be to anyone who likes an adventurous mystery. That is all about Tony Abott's The Postcard.

Amazing!

I'm not going to give you a long summary. Read the other reviews for that. I just want to encourage everyone to read this book. It is incredible. You might even read it in one sitting. Wow!

Abbott's mystery will pull the reader through the pages with excitement, enthusiasm and a wallop of

When 13-year-old Jason finds out that his grandmother has died, he is not overcome with sadness as he has never even met her. Instead, he is overcome with annoyance. Now he has to leave his home in Boston at the beginning of the summer holiday and travel south to Florida to help his father clean out her house. To make matters worse, he fears that his parents are splitting up, and this one time with his dad will provide a great opportunity to talk. That is, if his dad doesn't drink too much alcohol. Jason's first impression of Florida is HOT --- hot and flat, and filled with old people. He longs to go home, but that's not an option. His father picks him up at the airport and delivers him to a musty house filled with lots of stuff needing to be sorted through and thrown out in the dumpster. Plus, there's the funeral to attend, repairs to be made on the house in order to sell it, and dealing with his very emotional dad. This is definitely not the start to an awesome summer vacation. However, Jason buckles down and helps his dad, not knowing that things are going to start getting interesting. First comes a weird phone call --- a stranger asking how smart Jason is and announcing that a person can learn a lot at a desk --- which he cannot get out of his head. He ends up searching his grandmother's desk for something and discovers an old postcard, which is the first clue. Then his father drinks too many beers, falls off the ladder and lands in the hospital for a few days. Jason wrangles an invite to stay with his grandmother's friend and next-door neighbor, not wanting his mom to find out that his dad had drunk too much. He returns to the cluttered house to continue working on the mess, and the mystery. Jason joins forces with the spunky neighborhood lawn-mowing gal Dia, as they dodge the mysterious characters lurking around, explore historical buildings, gather clues and dive deeper into a family mystery almost as old as his grandmother. What starts out to be a boring, painful chore in a harsh environment turns into an adventure of a lifetime in a beautiful state rich with history and love. Tony Abbott has written over 60 books for young people, and THE POSTCARD is another winner. He has created a multilayered, action-packed mystery filled with unusual and memorable characters (especially admirable is the feisty Dia; maybe he would consider writing another mystery about her). He handles point of view and voice with a shine --- each character and storyline separate, distinct and highlighted, yet weaving together perfectly. Abbott's mystery will pull the reader through the pages with excitement, enthusiasm and a wallop of humor. --- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND

An adventurous mystery that middle readers will love

Jason's grandmother has died. They weren't close, in fact, he never met her. He'd heard his parents talk about her dementia, believing she could fly and being pursued by alligators, but their concern had never brought him into close proximity to his father's sometime mother. The trip to Florida to be with his father and help clean out her house is going to mess up his summer vacation. If he survives it. A strange call from someone unknown sends Jason searching through his grandmother's things where he finds an old post card and a magazine. This is the start of an intriguing scavenger hunt for pages of a story that help him know his grandmother, and learn more than even his father knows about his grandfather. Jason and his friend, Dia, aren't the only ones looking for the clues. There were some eccentric-looking funeral attendees, and they seem to be showing up wherever the clues lead. How do they know about these old stories? Are they really part of the circus thugs introduced in the story? Are the stories fact or fiction? Can Jason and Dia run fast enough to find out? The Postcard is a page-turning mystery with a humorous twist. The main characters are human, likeable, and smart. You understand the teenager's confusion about family. Besides never knowing his grandmother, Jason learns his father never knew his own father, his great grandfather may have been a sociopath, and he isn't sure his parents will continue living together when this trip is finished. Add some circus clowns and you have a story both entertaining and well plotted. Tony Abbott, Connecticut writes humor, fantasy, adventure books that get kids to read, and love to write. His best-known series, The Secrets of Droon, has nearly five million copies in print since the first books were published in 1999, and it is one of the best-selling series for its age group-ages 7 to adult. Armchair Interviews says: Middle readers especially will enjoy this adventurous mystery.