When Reuben discovers an extraordinary antique watch with a secret power, his life takes an intriguing turn. As one secret leads to another, Reuben finds himself torn between his honest nature and the lure to be a hero.

Now he is on a dangerous adventure--full of curious characters, treacherous traps, and hairsbreadth escapes--as he races to solve the mystery before it is too late. With fearless Penny, mighty Jack, and the wise Mrs. Genevieve on his side, can Reuben outwit a sly villain called The Smoke and save the city from a terrible fate?

In this ingeniously crafted novel, acclaimed author Trenton Lee Stewart invites readers to join the adventure, decipher the clues, and ask themselves the question: Is knowing a secret a gift or a curse?

Interesting story but quite slow and long. Good characters and suspenseful ending just wish they had edited the first 200 pages a lot. ( )

Listened to audio. Good voice work. Middle grades. Interesting boy and girl characters. ( )

children's middlegrade adventure/suspense/mystery fiction (4th grade and up). Another great read from Stewart; would recommend to kids who enjoy longer chapter books. Would also probably work well as a read-aloud, with several cliff-hanger chapter endings. ( )

When we first meet Reuben, whose father died eleven years ago in a factory accident under a cloud of mystery, he's sneaking around and taking what appear to be crazy precautions and risks for a kid. Reuben is stealthily moving around, avoiding a group of men called The Directions, who work for The Smoke, a shadowy figure that is not to be crossed.

Before long, Reuben discovers a device with a truly amazing feature, and it isn't long before Reuben's on the radar of The Directions and The Smoke, which is the last place in the world he wants to be.

Fortunate for Reuben, he makes some friends as he tries to avoid The Smoke and his henchmen, and these friends are more than willing to share Reuben's burden and help him learn some valuable lessons about trust along the way. The question is, even with the help of his friends, will Rueben be able to take down an evil empire that even the police seem unable to destroy?

This is a suspenseful read with layers of mystery and bits of humor by an established author who knows how to write to keep his audience turning the page. Great read for the young and not-so-young, alike! Books like this remind me of why I started enjoying YA/middle grade in tne first place! ( )