Hubbo O'Driscoll is trying to start a new life in high school. A poor Canadian living in a shelter in Ottawa, his dream is to join the exclusive Hi-Y, the gymnastics club at school, because of his cleverness at handstands. He tries to avoid the embarrassment of associating at school with his cleaning-lady guardian aunt; stay friends with Fleurette, on whom he has a crush, but who also has a dark secret he must keep; and get through high school. During this time, he lands a job reading War and Peace to an elderly lady and gains a mysterious, anonymous benefactor! Will Hubbo be able to deal with his newfound good fortune without totally alienating those around him?

This is a cute, quick, humorous take on a serious subject, and the author handles it well. Hubbo is a likeable, lyrical narrator that you want to see succeed in life-- without managing to lose his friends in the process. Go, Hubbo!

This collection of twenty-two short stories is an excellent book for someone to read when they want the puzzle and intrigue of a mystery, but don't have the time for a novel.

The editor was clever in his choice of mysteries, revealing not only good taste in fiction but a good grasp of the genre. The book is filled with examples of appropriate stories from prominent authors, yet the stories chosen are quite likely to be obscure and not compiled in other easily-available volumes. They trace the evolution of manor house mystery fiction from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to the classics of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, to the more modern works of John Dickson Carr and P.D. James. If you're all about the butler dunnit in in the dining room with the candlestick, this is the book for you.