The Secret of Zoom by Lynne Jonell

"And I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for those meddling kids and their dog!"  Toward the end of The Secret of Zoom, I felt like I had been reading a concept for an episode of Scooby Doo...and I loved it!

Christine lives in a mansion with her father, the head scientist at Loompski Labs.  Her mother died in a laboratory explosion when Christine was young, and her father is extremely protective of her.  In her desire to get out and experience the world, Christine stumbles upon a mystery involving orphans being transported in the back of garbage trucks to work as miners deep underground, mining a dangerous material called Zoom.  If that doesn't sound strange enough, just hope that you aren't able to sing on perfect pitch.

Minnesota author Lynne Jonell has been nominated for the Maud Hart Lovelace Award in the past.

Click here to rate the book when you read it.