Andrew Clements

Sixth-grader Benjamin Pratt is dealing with entirely too many changes. His parents have recently separated, his dad is living on a sailboat, and now his historic, oceanfront school is scheduled to be demolished to make way for a massive amusement park. Ben is ready to just give up and let it happen, until the school's elderly janitor hands him a tarnished, engraved coin with his dying breath. That single coin unlocks a two-hundred-year-old secret: the school building does not actually belong to the town's greedy developers. It belongs to the children, and they have the legal right to defend it. Suddenly, Ben is thrust into a high-stakes race against time. Alongside his determined friend Jill and an unexpected tagalong named Robert, Ben must decipher a trail of historical clues hidden right in the school's architecture. Can a handful of sixth graders outsmart powerful adults and stop a multimillion-dollar real estate deal? Dive into this suspenseful mystery to find out.

The clock is ticking for the historic Oakes School. Benjamin Pratt and his friend Jill are carrying a massive secret: their beloved school building is slated to be bulldozed and replaced by a shiny new amusement park. Worse yet, they are the only ones who can stop the wrecking ball. Armed with a mysterious gold coin and a cryptic clue left behind by the school's original founder, Ben and Jill are in a desperate race against time to uncover the building's hidden safeguards. But they are not the only ones prowling the quiet hallways. Lyman, the creepy school janitor, is secretly working for the greedy amusement park company, and he is watching their every single move. As the stakes get higher and new friends join the fight, Ben must outsmart the powerful adults who want to erase his town's history forever. This fast-paced mystery is packed with secret passages, clever puzzles, and the ultimate test of loyalty.