Under the Egg

By Laura Marx Fitzgerald

A hidden masterpiece may save Theo's home, but is it stolen art?

4.0/5 Goodreads · 7,182 ratings

272 pages· 46,195 words· Est. 6.5 hour read

$8.99Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

Theodora Tenpenny's life turns upside down when she uncovers a potential Renaissance masterpiece hidden beneath her grandfather's painting. With her family's home at stake and only $463 to her name, Theo fears the artwork might be stolen, given her grandfather's past as a museum guard. As she navigates Manhattan with new friends, Theo unravels secrets about her grandfather and the city. Can she solve the mystery and save her home, or will her discoveries lead to more trouble? Join Theo on a journey of friendship and self-discovery in this captivating tale.

From the publisher

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler meets Chasing Vermeer in this clever middle grade debut When Theodora Tenpenny spills a bottle of rubbing alcohol on her late grandfather’s painting, she discovers what seems to be an old Renaissance masterpiece underneath. That’s great news for Theo, who’s struggling to hang onto her family’s two-hundred-year-old townhouse and support her unstable mother on her grandfather’s legacy of $463. There’s just one problem: Theo’s grandfather was a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she worries the painting may be stolen. With the help of some unusual new friends, Theo’s search for answers takes her all around Manhattan, and introduces her to a side of the city–and her grandfather–that she never knew. To solve the mystery, she’ll have to abandon her hard-won self-reliance and build a community, one serendipitous friendship at a time. “Uniquely readable, entirely charming, and a pleasure from start to finish. Debuts this good are meant to be discovered.” –SLJ Fuse 8 Blog “Riveting from start to finish.” –BookPage

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