Cover of The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World

The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World

"ninety percent of who you are is invisible."

Amedeo Kaplan seems just like any other new kid who has moved into the town of St. Malo, Florida, a navy town where new faces are the norm. But Amedeo has a secret, a dream: More than anything in the world, he wants to discover something — a place, a process, even a fossil — some treasure that no one realizes is there until he finds it. And he would also like to discover a true friend to share these things with.

Read more

William Wilcox seems like an unlikely candidate for friendship: an aloof boy who is all edges and who owns silence the way other people own words. When Amedeo and William find themselves working together on a house sale for Amedeo's eccentric neighbor, Mrs. Zender, Amedeo has an inkling that both his wishes may come true. For Mrs. Zender's mansion is crammed with memorabilia of her long life, and there is a story to go with every piece. Soon the boys find themselves caught up in one particular story — a story that links a sketch, a young boy's life, an old man's reminiscence, and a painful secret dating back to the outrages of Nazi Germany. It's a story that will take them to the edge of what they know about heroism and the mystery of the human heart.

Two-time Newbery winner E. L. Konigsburg spins a magnificent tale of art, discovery, friendship, history, and truth.

Audience
young adultchildrensmiddle grade
Length
medium · 256 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Reaching Dustin Shares young adult, childrens, realistic fiction
  2. When I Crossed No-Bob Shares young adult, historical fiction, childrens
  3. Flush Shares young adult, childrens, realistic fiction
  4. The Totally Made-up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish Shares childrens, young adult, middle grade

“People who read The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World tend to reach for these next.”

  1. Clemency Pogue: Fairy Killer
  2. The Game of Sunken Places
  3. Mara's Stories: Glimmers in the Darkness
  4. Lowji Discovers America

“If you want more of the same (literary fiction about art), start with these.”

  1. Scat
  2. The House on the Gulf
  3. As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President!
  4. The Tiger Rising

“If it was the realistic fiction that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. My Name Is Mina
  2. Small Steps
  3. Absolutely Normal Chaos
  4. Bloomability

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. The Visconti House
  2. If You Find This
  3. The boy-oh-boy next door
  4. The Angel Tree