71.
Author: Benedict Carey
Title: The Unknowns: A Mystery
Publication: Hardback, 2009.
Pages: 259 pages
Genre: Mystery, Young Adult
Acquisition: Teaching Text - 5-8 grades
Date Completed: September 10, 2010
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Adjacent is a place to hide the unwanted but necessary. The little island is home to a large nuclear plant, the hard-working families that keep the plant running, and the garbage that is generated by the communities around them. The children of Adjacent spend their time running between trailers, hiding is broken down buses, and watching the garbage come in on large barges.

When the narrator begins on the first page, "[p]eople were praying for something twisted to happen last summer. ... We wanted a problem, and a hairy one, just for something to do," the reader really isn't surprised.

The surprise, though, is that they get what they ask for.

People start disappearing from Adjacent; ordinary people that live on the island, and no one seems to care what is happening to them. But when a local math tutor disappears two of her students are determined to find out what is going on, and work their way through a series of mathematical clues they're sure Mrs. Clarke left behind.

The mystery goes far deeper than they ever expected, and Di and Tom gather together an unlikely group of conspirators to help stop the disaster that is looming.

I purchased Carey's book to kick off my 5th and 8th grade language arts classes at a math and science academy. The mathematical theme of the book flows naturally with the narrative, and the reader is able to develop and theorize along with the protagonists. I believe that The Unknowns will be very appealing both for young readers who have an interest in reading, and those who proclaim that math is just plain boring.