Genre: Mystery/Realistic Fiction
# of Pages: 374
Avery has been struggling since her mother died. She was taken in by her older sister, but she does not approve of her sister’s abusive boyfriend and has chosen to live in her run down car rather than look at him. Meanwhile, she works hard and tries to keep up with schoolwork, all while keeping an eye on the homeless man in the park. All of that changes when she learns that a multi-billionaire, Tobias Hawthorne, has died and requested she be present at the will reading. She does not know the man and cannot imagine why he would want her there, but everyone makes it very clear that her presence is required. Upon arrival, she learns that Tobias Hawthorne had two daughters and four grandsons and all of them are keen to find out exactly what the will stipulates. Everyone, including Avery, is shocked when they learn she has inherited the vast majority of Mr. Hawthorne’s assets including his charitable foundation and his mansion. She must live at the mansion for a year and cannot remove any of the family members unless there is cause. Each heir is given an envelope and when Avery opens hers all it says is “I’m sorry.”
Avery soon learns that Mr. Hawthorne enjoyed riddles and games and often had his grandsons compete just for the sake of competing. Is this all part of some elaborate game? Does this have something to do with her mother? Is it possible that the Hawthorne family will ever accept her and not see her as the one who stole their fortune? Could someone try to hurt her to get at the money?
This exciting story introduces the Hawthorne family and all of the quirkiness that implies. Everyone has their reasons for wanting to find out why their patriarch would leave his fortune to a stranger, but everyone must work together in order to solve all of the clues.The four grandsons in particular are fairly competitive and definitely want to know why they were overlooked after they were challenged daily by their grandfather. On top of everything else, the paparazzi now follows Avery everywhere since she’s a huge story. In some ways, this estate will open many opportunities for Avery that she might not have otherwise had, but in other ways her life just got a whole lot more complicated. Fans of Jennifer Lynn Barnes will enjoy this new title.
Young Adult Book Reviews 