Eleven-year-old Zander Olinga partners with a new friend to protect his family's legendary, theme park-like department store, the Number Nine Plaza, in a wholesome and elaborate middle-grade mystery with fantastical themes.
Zander is spending five weeks with his Grandma Zina at the Nine, "the largest, most famous, and most extraordinary department store in the entire world." The store's 19 floors house extensive departments run by a dedicated phalanx of employees. Zander learns that many years ago Zina's Uncle Vladimir invoked an "evil force" called Darkbloom, and Zina fears Darkbloom may return and trigger the Nine's destruction. Zander and his new friend, Natasha Novikov, a slightly reckless girl with "an outstanding enthusiasm for swinging" above diners at various Nine eateries, collect clues to help stop a series of escalating threats and save the Nine from Darkbloom's wrath.
The department store offers a rich setting for adventure, and Ben Guterson (the Winterhouse trilogy) spares no details in elaborate descriptions. (When Zander and Zina dine "at the lively, red-pepper-and-garlic-clove-festooned Novatrosk Pizza Palace on the seventh floor," they share a "famous pepperoni, artichoke, green olive, and yak cheese pizza.") Inscriptions left by Vladimir offer a word-based puzzle element to solve alongside Zander and Natasha. Conversations among the eclectic characters are gentle and somewhat formal in tone, while the nostalgic feel of the Nine supports the story's collegial spirit. Spot and full-page art complements Guterson's world-building and depicts examples of the extravagant setting.
Mystery in a wondrous environment melds with family history and a tinge of magic in this tale for detail-oriented young readers. --Kit Ballenger, youth librarian, Help Your Shelf