Detours and Designs - Matt Fazio

Any other eleven-year-old kid might flip past a hand-drawn picture if they found it in a textbook. But not Drew Daley. When he discovers a detailed drawing tucked away in his science book, his entire life changes. He finds himself seeing everything differently and caring about things in a way he never did before. Drew becomes determined to find the artist, but with the list of names inside the front cover of his book as his only clue, the search isn’t an easy one. He encounters overbearing teachers and bullies, broken windows and promises, and even death and destruction.

On top of all that, Drew has to navigate through fifth grade, where he’s learning some important life lessons: Lies can be more common than the truth, people aren’t always who they seem, and the most complex problems rarely have “right” answers. Through it all, the drawing gives Drew peace of mind and direction. But how far is he willing to go to uncover the identity of the artist?