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Trashed!
From Edgar Award–nominated author Martha Freeman comes a “delightful” ( Kirkus Reviews ) middle grade mystery following a young boy working at his family’s secondhand store that is a steal-your-heart story about family and friendship.
Arthur Popper helps out in his family’s Boulder, Colorado, junk store, Universal Trash, a place so full of cool stuff it inspires awe in first-time shoppers. When it comes to ukuleles, peppermills, and rhinestones, Arthur knows what’s what. But unlike his motorcycle-riding grandma and his namesake, King Arthur, he’s not brave or adventurous.
Then Arthur finds a chipped teacup, of all things, and realizes it’s the key to solving the perfect crime—a crime only he knows about.
With help from a supernatural sidekick, his best friend, his annoying little sister, and a sad-faced police officer, Arthur embarks on the hard work of detecting. Everyone knows Arthur is good at customer service. Does he have what it takes to solve a mystery and confront a thief?
Arthur Popper helps out in his family’s Boulder, Colorado, junk store, Universal Trash, a place so full of cool stuff it inspires awe in first-time shoppers. When it comes to ukuleles, peppermills, and rhinestones, Arthur knows what’s what. But unlike his motorcycle-riding grandma and his namesake, King Arthur, he’s not brave or adventurous.
Then Arthur finds a chipped teacup, of all things, and realizes it’s the key to solving the perfect crime—a crime only he knows about.
With help from a supernatural sidekick, his best friend, his annoying little sister, and a sad-faced police officer, Arthur embarks on the hard work of detecting. Everyone knows Arthur is good at customer service. Does he have what it takes to solve a mystery and confront a thief?
304 pages, Paperback
Published January 16, 2024
84 people want to read
About the author
Martha Freeman
52 books65 followersMartha Freeman was born in Southern California in 1956. It is not actually true that pterodactyls ruled the skies then, but her three children believe this.
Martha graduated from Glenoaks Elementary, Woodrow Wilson Junior High, and Glendale High School. Until Martha came along, Glendale High's most famous graduate was a fellow named Marion Michael Morrison. He later went into the film game and changed his name to John Wayne, which you might very well do, too, if you were a boy named Marion in unenlightened times. In 1978, Martha graduated from Stanford University with a degree in history. She remains Stanford's most illustrious graduate if not its most wealthy.
Stink Bomb Mom
Martha's First Book.
Martha worked as a newspaper reporter, copy editor, substitute teacher, college lecturer, advertising copywriter, and freelance magazine writer before she found her true calling as a writer of children's books in 1994. Her first book was "Stink Bomb Mom," now, tragically, out of print. She has since published 14 more books for children and as you read this, she is probably working on another one. Besides writing and visiting schools to talk to students, Martha teaches occasional classes at Penn State University, volunteers as an emergency medical technician, and works for a wonderful little company called Wall Street Communications. She is a very busy person.
Martha graduated from Glenoaks Elementary, Woodrow Wilson Junior High, and Glendale High School. Until Martha came along, Glendale High's most famous graduate was a fellow named Marion Michael Morrison. He later went into the film game and changed his name to John Wayne, which you might very well do, too, if you were a boy named Marion in unenlightened times. In 1978, Martha graduated from Stanford University with a degree in history. She remains Stanford's most illustrious graduate if not its most wealthy.
Stink Bomb Mom
Martha's First Book.
Martha worked as a newspaper reporter, copy editor, substitute teacher, college lecturer, advertising copywriter, and freelance magazine writer before she found her true calling as a writer of children's books in 1994. Her first book was "Stink Bomb Mom," now, tragically, out of print. She has since published 14 more books for children and as you read this, she is probably working on another one. Besides writing and visiting schools to talk to students, Martha teaches occasional classes at Penn State University, volunteers as an emergency medical technician, and works for a wonderful little company called Wall Street Communications. She is a very busy person.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 8, 2024
Good mystery book for middle-grade readers!(And for anyone who loves to browse through re-sale shops!)
February 3, 2023
A cute middle reader about a young boy whose parents own a resale shop. Throw in some mystery and some animal ghosts.
January 11, 2023
Take a junk store crammed full of treasures, a long-lost vintage teacup that suddenly reappears, a pearl necklace that suddenly disappears, a false accusation, a ghost mouse, and a reluctant 11-year-0ld sleuth, mix them together, and what do you have? Well, if you also add Martha Freeman's quirky wit, clever plotting, abundant sense of fun, and wise insights into human frailty, you get this truly delightful mystery for middle-grade readers. I kept turning pages to unravel the engaging interlocked puzzles, but even more because I loved being in the company of these characters in this place. What a treat from first page to last!
December 5, 2022
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC. This engaging middle-grade mystery is set in a "new-to-you" store in Boulder, Colorado. It is a quirky store set in a quirky town. The characters were great, especially the ghost mouse, although I would have liked to see more awareness and growth in the adult characters. The detective is a young boy who works in the store and tries to survive sibling rivalry and school as he works to solve a mystery ignored by the others. The author did a great job of exposing racism and classism overt and subtle until the very end. I wish she had trusted her story to get her point across without hurling herself up on her soapbox at the end.
December 7, 2022
Thank you Edelweiss+ for the eARC! There is a lot to enjoy in this book -- a loving, rambunctious family living above a labyrinth of a thrift store, a ghost mouse living in a tea cup, and mysteries galore. But overall this just didn't work for me. There were too many moments that took me out of the story (like the food moralizing or commenting on a mom being a "fit Colorado mom"?). Also I think while this story tackles some really important topics, like homelessness and racism, it keeps it all very surface level.
November 20, 2022
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Arthur and Ramona Popper live with their parents in Boulder, Colorado, in an apartment above Universal Trash, a second-hand shop that was started by their mother's parents in 1980. Their mother is a lawyer, and their father runs the shop. Their grandfather is increasingly grumpy, especially since their grandmother is off on a motorcyle trip across the country. Arthur, who is in middle school, frequently helps out in the shop, and is very good at customer service. He even helps with the inventory, adding index cards to the paper database, since the grandfather doesn't want to use a computer. When Arthur sees a chipped tea cup with a dancing bear on it, he knows it is not something that the shop had stocked. His grandfather is taken aback; it's the item that he had started the shop with, but which was consequently stolen. There's a mystery to be solved, and Arthur starts investigating after the ghost of his sister's pet mouse encourages him. Mouse 4, who is glad to have Watson as his new name, talks to Arthur and guides him in helpful directions. Arthur's best friend, Veda, also helps in the shop when she is not taking care of her younger brothers. She is worried that her mother, who runs a house cleaning business, is dating Juan, who works as a cleaner, but soon decides that he is a decent guy. When he applies to work at Universal Trash, the grandfather is very insulting, and tell's Arthur's father that "those people" can't be trusted. Arthur and his father are appalled, but an older worker, Randolph, shares some information about some of the good things that the grandfather did back in the day. The mystery of the tea cup is complicated when a number of items show up at the shop that are similar to ones that members of his mother's book club claim they have one "just like it in a jewelry box". The index cards for these items are all in the Red File, meaning that the consigner doesn't want to be known, and when Arthur goes to investigate, the Red File is missing. His grandfather blames Juan, but Arthur knows there is something else going on. Will he be able to figure things out with the help of Watson?
Strengths: Universal Trash is about the most perfect setting for a middle grade lit book I can imagine. The backstory of the grandparents founding it, the advertising campaign ("Save the earth and save your cash/ shop at Universal Trash!"), and the mystery of the book club members was fascinating. The relationships between Arthur and his friends and family were somehow especially intriguing and well-drawn. Ramona is in first grade, but Arthur gets along with her fairly well. He has rough moments with Veda, and also with some of his friends at school who make fun of him for having a teacup. Randolph, as well as Officer Berstein and Jennifer ( a store employee training for an ultra marathon) have brief scenes but are so much fun. I feel like Mrs. Dannenberg, the school librarian, has been having the kind of school year I've been having. I'm not normally one to sigh or roll my eyes, but it's been that kind of year!
Weaknesses: The inclusion of the talking mouse makes this a bit young. Also, did the professor who bought the pocket watch have to give it back? I don't think we found out. I also wanted to know if the thief got a prison sentence; the individual items weren't worth all that much, but together that was a fairly serious crime!
What I really think: I would have adored this book in about fourth grade. All of the elements work well together, even the talking mouse ghost. I may well have to buy a copy of this for myself, which I rarely do. This might take a little bit of hand selling to my students, but I love it so much that I'm sure I can convince readers of books like Costner's My Life as a Potato and Richards' Stu Truly that they will enjoy this one.
Arthur and Ramona Popper live with their parents in Boulder, Colorado, in an apartment above Universal Trash, a second-hand shop that was started by their mother's parents in 1980. Their mother is a lawyer, and their father runs the shop. Their grandfather is increasingly grumpy, especially since their grandmother is off on a motorcyle trip across the country. Arthur, who is in middle school, frequently helps out in the shop, and is very good at customer service. He even helps with the inventory, adding index cards to the paper database, since the grandfather doesn't want to use a computer. When Arthur sees a chipped tea cup with a dancing bear on it, he knows it is not something that the shop had stocked. His grandfather is taken aback; it's the item that he had started the shop with, but which was consequently stolen. There's a mystery to be solved, and Arthur starts investigating after the ghost of his sister's pet mouse encourages him. Mouse 4, who is glad to have Watson as his new name, talks to Arthur and guides him in helpful directions. Arthur's best friend, Veda, also helps in the shop when she is not taking care of her younger brothers. She is worried that her mother, who runs a house cleaning business, is dating Juan, who works as a cleaner, but soon decides that he is a decent guy. When he applies to work at Universal Trash, the grandfather is very insulting, and tell's Arthur's father that "those people" can't be trusted. Arthur and his father are appalled, but an older worker, Randolph, shares some information about some of the good things that the grandfather did back in the day. The mystery of the tea cup is complicated when a number of items show up at the shop that are similar to ones that members of his mother's book club claim they have one "just like it in a jewelry box". The index cards for these items are all in the Red File, meaning that the consigner doesn't want to be known, and when Arthur goes to investigate, the Red File is missing. His grandfather blames Juan, but Arthur knows there is something else going on. Will he be able to figure things out with the help of Watson?
Strengths: Universal Trash is about the most perfect setting for a middle grade lit book I can imagine. The backstory of the grandparents founding it, the advertising campaign ("Save the earth and save your cash/ shop at Universal Trash!"), and the mystery of the book club members was fascinating. The relationships between Arthur and his friends and family were somehow especially intriguing and well-drawn. Ramona is in first grade, but Arthur gets along with her fairly well. He has rough moments with Veda, and also with some of his friends at school who make fun of him for having a teacup. Randolph, as well as Officer Berstein and Jennifer ( a store employee training for an ultra marathon) have brief scenes but are so much fun. I feel like Mrs. Dannenberg, the school librarian, has been having the kind of school year I've been having. I'm not normally one to sigh or roll my eyes, but it's been that kind of year!
Weaknesses: The inclusion of the talking mouse makes this a bit young. Also, did the professor who bought the pocket watch have to give it back? I don't think we found out. I also wanted to know if the thief got a prison sentence; the individual items weren't worth all that much, but together that was a fairly serious crime!
What I really think: I would have adored this book in about fourth grade. All of the elements work well together, even the talking mouse ghost. I may well have to buy a copy of this for myself, which I rarely do. This might take a little bit of hand selling to my students, but I love it so much that I'm sure I can convince readers of books like Costner's My Life as a Potato and Richards' Stu Truly that they will enjoy this one.
March 24, 2023
I picked this book up from the library shelf because the cover art is fantastic and it’s hard to find a good mystery book for the upper elementary/middle grade age group. I enjoyed the mystery, clue hunting, detective portions of the story. And added elements of the “ghosts” was nice because Watson was needed as a way for Arthur to verbalize details for readers to hear. I wasn’t able to solve the mystery before it was revealed, so that’s great. The weaknesses though really detracted from the the strengths. I’m not sure that the friends Arthur had at school were necessary. They appear so rarely and they don’t move the plot along. I didn’t learn more about the mystery or about Arthur. For me, they detracted from the flow of the book. Disappointingly, the cover didn’t have any real connection to the story. And I understand that there is a valuable moral or lesson that can be learned from stereotyping people, but that message was thrown in hard like a brick through a glass window. It came from out of nowhere and dropped just as quickly. I think it is an important lesson but could have been presented better, and by the main character, not a side character, and then included sone follow up. I had hoped to add this to a list of mystery books to recommend but I probably won’t.
September 8, 2022
When Arthur discovers a teacup in his parents' second-hand shop, Arthur's life takes a turn to the adventurous. Arthur teams up with his best friend, little sister, and a ghost mouse to get to the bottom of some seemingly unrelated mysteries. As Arthur learns about family, friendship, and perseverance, will he be able to solve find out what's going on?
May 5, 2023
Still searching for the perfect June book club pick. This was cute, but I was a bit bored. Also, I thought the kids spoke a little too refined for their ages. I don't know any six year old that uses the word "gaudy", but hey... you never know.
April 24, 2023
I liked the Sherlock Holmes references and the ghost mouse. This is a cute story for younger readers.
October 27, 2024
1.5 stars
November 9, 2024
3.5 a fun mystery for readers who love the genre. Grades 3 and up
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews