Eleven-year-old Nicholas Funes knows he's weird. He plays the violin far too well to be cool, he collects square roots and prime numbers and, weirdest of all, he talks to a tree who he believes is his brother. Plus, he doesn't have all that many friends. But even he is about to struggle with how strange his life is about to get.
His long-lost and never-spoken-about Grandfather Rose turns up on Nicholas' doorstep one day, fresh out of a lifetime's prison sentence and suffering from dementia. Curious about this grandfather he's never known, Nicholas tries to unravel Grandfather Rose's stories. In particular, one about the family treasure that he hid years ago and that will be the solution to all their rather pressing financial woes. Because his mother needs to sell their house, and if they leave the house, they'll leave Nicholas' brother behind. And Nicholas is desperate to keep what little family he has together. With the help of two extremely unlikely allies, Nicholas must unwrap the secrets of his family's past in order to give them a shot at a future.
Matthew Baker was born in Michigan. He grew up in a house in the woods where the trees were as tall as towers. He and the neighbour kids ran wild through the woods with rusted machetes and homemade spears. One summer they built a trap - dug a pit in the ground, tossed stinkweed from the creek into the bottom of the pit, then covered the hole with sticks and leaves, and ran off to wait for something to fall in. They were hoping to catch some sort of monster. Instead, they caught a parent. (Some might argue that's the same thing.) IF YOU FIND THIS is his first novel. Visit him online at: www.mwektaehtabr.com
