Gr 4-7–Thirteen-year-old Blue is on a quest to find the treasure rumored to have gone down with the ship that brought her ancestors to New York several hundred years ago. With her best friend away at camp, Blue’s summer is already off to a rocky start. She has resigned herself to lazy days of treasure hunting alone with just her diabetic alert dog for company. Then her mother pairs her with Jules. Jules is the spoiled daughter of a movie star who is heading up a Cure Juvenile Diabetes benefit, for which Blue is the literal poster child. Blue is tired of being known as “Diabetes Girl,” but with her alert dog, insulin pump, dietary restrictions, and her face on the benefit poster, she wonders if anyone will ever see her as anything else. If only she could find that treasure! When professional treasure hunters show up intent on finding Blue’s downed ship, she reluctantly brings Jules into her hunt. As the race to find the treasure gets more intense, Blue and Jules begin to bond, each realizing that there is more to the other than what appears on the surface. Blue is a likable character still mourning the loss of her grandfather who shared her love of the hunt. She is also learning to manage her diabetes herself so her overprotective parents will allow her more freedom. Making a new friend, gaining independence, and maybe even finding treasure—Blue’s lazy summer has become more exciting that she ever imagined.
VERDICT With enough action to keep reluctant readers engaged, this is a solid addition to contemporary fiction collections.
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