ROBBIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE

Campbell’s middle-grade YA adventure follows a 16-year-old boy caught up in an unusual New York City heist.

All Nate wanted was a fun winter week in New York with his kooky aunt Celeste, but when he overhears two other teens discussing a robbery at Rockefeller Center, he gets a lot more than he bargained for. After threatening him, the two strangers tell Nate that their plan is to steal the star at the top of New York’s biggest Christmas tree—they’ve decided that he will play a role in the caper. Intrigued and a little frightened, Nate meets with them as planned and learns more about the intriguing wannabe thieves: Rodney Donoghue is a wealthy Australian boy; Cluenette “Clue” Perez is the loud, street-smart brains of the operation. Clue’s gruff demeanor and her detailed diagrams plotting out the Christmas heist immediately capture Nate’s attention and stir his imagination. (As an aspiring writer, Nate keeps a notebook with him in which he jots down ideas.) Nate is soon spending his nights running around Central Park, scaling massive Christmas trees, and setting off smoke bombs to make daring escapes with his two new friends. He also learns more about the mysterious Clue—the troubles she lives with at home with her mother, the strained relationship she has with her father, and her very personal reason for wanting to get all of New York’s attention this Christmas. Campbell’s fast-paced story calls to mind classic middle-grade adventures filled with intrigue and quirky characters, like E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1967). Clue is a complex and well-developed antihero who alternates between aggression and vulnerability, and Nate’s Broadway-aspiring aunt (complete with a pet goat) provides plenty of comedy (“Should I smile with or without teeth?”). While the kids plot to steal something unusual, the actual heist antics follow predictable beats that might leave younger readers wishing the story had taken even more unexpected turns, but there are plenty of well-executed action sequences set throughout the city to keep them invested.

Endearing characters turn this unconventional robbery into a fun romp for younger readers.