The Treasure of Maria Mamoun

Gr 4–7—A city girl moves to an island and finds her true place in the world. Twelve-year-old Maria Mamoun has never met her father, her mother works long hours at two nursing jobs, and Maria's chief entertainment is watching the birds and flowering weeds in the vacant lot across from her dingy Bronx apartment. But after bullying classmates attack Maria, her mother takes a new position as a personal nurse to an elderly film director living on Martha's Vineyard. The protagonist soon uncovers a mystery involving pirates, hidden treasure, and possibly the enigmatic film director himself. Chalfoun's deft prose captures the glories of the New England oceanside, and her well-portrayed major characters change and grow throughout the narrative. The author draws on her own experiences for well-integrated details of the heroine's half-Lebanese background. Although unfamiliar sailing terms are defined in the text, a glossary would have been a helpful addition. The tale wraps up a bit quickly, but happy endings all around fit well within this slightly old-fashioned tale, and Maria's blossoming connections with a large local family and the island itself prove to be the true treasure of the title.