NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • When a notorious thief is out for priceless treasure (gems! cats! general decorum!)—who're you gonna call? An elite team of crime-fighting underdogs, that's who! The Misfits are on the case in this hilarious illustrated series from Newbery Honoree Lisa Yee and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat!“For any kid who’s felt like a misfit, this crackling adventure packs a wallop!” —Lincoln Peirce, creator of Big Nate and Max & the MidknightsOlive Cobin Zang has . . . issues. And they
mostly aren’t her fault. (No, really!) Though she often slips under the radar, problems have a knack for finding her. So, imagine her doubts when she’s suddenly dropped off at the strangest boarding school ever: a former castle turned prison that's now a “reforming arts school”!
But nothing could’ve prepared Olive for RASCH (
not “rash”). There, she’s lumped with a team of other kids who never quite fit in, and discovers that the academy isn’t what it seems—and neither is she. In fact, RASCH is a cover for an elite group of misfits who fight crime . . . and Olive has arrived just in time.
Turns out that RASCH is in danger of closing, unless Olive’s class can stop the heist of the century. And as Olive falls in love with this wacky school, she realizes it’s up to her new team to save the only home that’s ever welcomed them.
On sale: January 2, 2024
Age: 8-12 years
Grade: Grades 6-8
Page count: 288 Pages
ISBN: 9781984830296
Reading level: Lexile: 820L | Fountas/Pinnell: W
Lisa Yee has taken a private-investigator course, and it’s slightly possible that she’s a secret undercover operative. She’s also a Newbery Honoree and a National Book Award finalist for
Maizy Chen’s Last Chance. Some of her other twenty-one novels are the groundbreaking
Millicent Min, Girl Genius; Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time; and the DC Super Hero Girls series. A frequent contributor to NPR’s Books We Love, she divides her time between Western Massachusetts and Los Angeles.
Dan Santat is a #1
New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of over a hundred books. His picture book
The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend received the Caldecott Medal. He also illustrated
The Blur, Lift, and
Drawn Together, both written by Minh Lê, which received critical acclaim. Dan is also the creator of the Disney animated hit
The Replacements. He lives in Southern California with his family. Learn more at dansantatbooks.com or visit him on Instagram and Twitter @dsantat.
“
Full of heart and humor with twisty turns and unforgettable underdogs. Just like the priceless jewels the team is trying to protect, this book is a total gem. You’ll wish you were a misfit too.” —James Ponti,
New York Times bestselling author of
City Spies
★ "
A Royal Conundrum....is action, adventure, and fun with a group of young underdogs worth rooting for.
The Misfits are a team of heroes for the outcast in everyone."
—Shelf Awareness, starred review
"There are hilarious high jinks and outlandish plot points aplenty, plus an astonishingly inventive array of technology that
would make even James Bond jealous."
—Booklist
"A fantastical blend of
quirky characters and goofy adventures."
—Kirkus Reviews
"[A]
rapidly paced narrative."
—Publishers Weekly
"
Clever and funny, this rousing mystery-adventure will be a hit with a wide audience."
—School Library Journal
"
An entertaining mystery with good kids working together to defeat the bad guys and, in the process, finding their place in the world."
—The Horn Book
"From mind-bending technology to sometimes
hilarious hijinks,
A Royal Conundrum has everything a young reader—especially one who feels invisible—could want."
—BookPage
