The Picasso Curse

A white-cued 12-year-old faces the surprise of a lifetime when he discovers a lost work by Pablo Picasso in this cinematic novel by Gutman (the My Weirdtastic School series). Edwin Hodge isn’t thrilled when his parents drag him to the Woodside flea market, until he spies a framed, autographed poster of Kobe Bryant. Figuring it could be worth something—and eager to one-up school bully Vinnie, who claims he had dibs on it first—Edwin purchases and returns home with his find. It’s then that he uncovers a Picasso drawing hidden in the frame. Now, Edwin finds himself torn. The money he could make by auctioning the artwork—which “found its way from France in 1911 to an Illinois flea market more than a hundred years later”—would help his financially struggling family. But when word gets out about the priceless artifact, Edwin must determine if maintaining possession of the treasure is worth the headache that comes with it. Brief, fourth-wall-breaking chapters dive into the history and lore of Picasso, an information free-for-all that Gutman delivers with his signature snark and panache. Propulsive and entertaining, this is an exciting adventure of complex ethical questions and derring-do that centers topics such as decision-making and independence. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)