July 2020 Middle Grade Book Selection | First Editions Club

New York, NY: Macmillan (pub: July 21, 2020)
First Edition. Signed.
New in dust jacket.

A middle-grade urban fantasy debut starring young psychic Maria de la Cruz by the award-winning Gilbert Ford.

Eleven-year-old Maria de la Cruz is trapped under the thumb of Madame Destine, her fake-psychic mother who cons widows out of their inheritances. But Maria, unlike her mom, has a big secret—she really can communicate with the dead, most frequently with a ghost named Edward who has been her only friend since she was a child. It’s not long before this clairvoyant young sleuth gets wrapped up in an epic journey that combines bookish mystery, art history, and great friendship.

This smart, big-hearted novel with gorgeous illustrations throughout is perfect for fans of Book Scavenger, Winterhouse, and The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street.

GILBERT FORD holds a BFA in illustration from Pratt Institute and an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. He is the author-illustrator of How the Cookie Crumbled and The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring, which is a Best STEM Book of the Year, and has illustrated many New York Times–bestselling middle grade jackets, as well as the award-winning picture book Mr. Ferris and His Wheel. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. The Mysterious Messenger marks his middle grade debut.