This book had such potential! Solidly clear writing, characters who felt real, a deep historical backdrop. BUT. There are too many stories going! There is the historical mystery. There is Alzheimer and its impact on families. There are racial tensions within children's friendships. There is the retired army dad with PTSD. There are excerpts from a novel written by a character. There is

Spoiler

the sudden death of a parent

. It's all just too much to fit into one mid-grade novel. Lengthen it a bit and make it an adult novel, sure. Or possibly YA. But the narrative is too full and the storytelling too choppy for a mid-grade novel. If I were the editor, I would have suggested the author take one or even three of these threads for the first novel and save the rest for a second and third book.