The Key to Every Thing

By Pat Schmatz

A girl returns from camp to find her beloved neighbor missing. Can a mysterious key bring her back?

3.5/5 Goodreads · 202 ratings

208 pages· 31,285 words· Est. 4.5 hour read

$16.99Save 6%

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Bookroo's summary

Eleven-year-old Tash returns from camp to find her cherished neighbor, Cap’n Jackie, has vanished. Armed with a mysterious key that might hold magic, Tash embarks on a quest to bring her back. As she navigates the challenges of growing up, Tash must decide if she can let go of childhood fantasies and embrace the unknown future. Will the key unlock more than just a door? Discover a tale of loyalty, magic, and the courage to face change.

From the publisher

Tash didn’t want to go to camp, didn’t want to spend the summer with a bunch of strangers, didn’t want to be separated from the only two people she has ever been able to count on: her uncle Kevin, who saved her from foster care, and Cap’n Jackie, who lives next door. Camp turns out to be pretty fun, actually, but when Tash returns home, Cap’n Jackie is gone. And Tash needs her—the made-up stories of dolphin-dragons, the warm cookies that made everything all right after a fight, the key Cap’n Jackie always insisted had magic in it. The Captain always said all Tash had to do was hold it tight and the magic would come. Was it true? Could the key bring Cap’n Jackie back? In a heartfelt and stunningly written story, Pat Schmatz introduces readers to a tenacious, fiercely loyal girl struggling to let go of the fantasies and fears of her childhood . . . and say yes to everything that lies ahead.

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