Below the Surface

Theo, 13, loves spending his time diving in the river to search for lost treasures and other interesting things. He has found lost cell phones, sunglasses and even wedding rings. Theo does his best to return the items he finds to their owners. That is part of the fun – researching and finding out who owns each item. Theo also feels a responsibility or duty to reunite the item with its owner. When Theo finds an old pocket watch in the river, he is stumped. He can tell that the watch is an antique, and he knows he will have to use all his research skills to find its owner.

The pocket watch looks to be fifty or more years old, so finding the owner will be difficult. Theo has heard the rumors and stories of a ghost who haunts the bridge at night, but Theo doesn’t believe in ghosts. With the help of his friend, Syd, Theo begins his research. The more he learns about the pocket watch, the more he realizes it belongs to a man who was a visitor to the town. The man was only supposed to be in town overnight, but something happened and he ended up dead in the local hotel. Theo hopes he can find someone connected with the man so he can turn the watch over to them. However, as Theo begins to uncover details about the dead man, he finds that he is putting himself in danger. Someone in their small town doesn’t want the truth to be revealed.

Below the Surface is an “Orca Currents” book, a series of books for middle years students that are high-interest for readers and have accessible vocabulary for successful reading. I found the first person story to be engaging. I cheered Theo on as he searched old newspaper clippings and the local library for information about the owner of the pocket watch. Theo and Syd are likeable and realistic characters that display determination to solve the mystery, often coming up with unusual ways of doing things. There is also a bully involved in the story who torments Theo whenever he encounters him. The incidents with the bully add interest to the story but also connect to the mystery of the pocket watch. All in all, I enjoyed reading about Theo and Syd and their adventures with the pocket watch.