Buried Treasure

Margaret Bunel Edwards is the author of The Ocean Between and The ABCs
of Writing for Children.

Jesse becomes “solo and solitary” after his mother is killed in a
car accident. His father sends him to a small, backwater village to stay
with his aunt and uncle. An angry Jesse takes an immediate dislike to
his three small cousins and his grandfather, who is recovering from a
stroke. Later he meets Eliza. She is standing dangerously close to the
top of a crumbling cliff where her mother committed suicide. Jesse sees
wisps of fog enfolding the girl, like arms. He and Eliza quarrel but
develop a strange bond. After his grandfather tells him about buried
treasure across the bay, he and Eliza and his grandfather set out to
find it.

Gradually, Jesse grows closer to his family. When his father writes
that he plans to send his son to a boarding school, Jesse renews his
search for the treasure; he needs money for a place where he can care
for his grandfather. As the story moves to its conclusion, there is
danger and a final recognition by Jesse that the buried treasure lies
deep inside himself.

This fast-moving story features excellent dialogue, a hint of the
supernatural, and a positive message. Recommended.