After his grandmother dies, thirteen year-old Jason and his father travel to St. Petersburg, Florida, to clean out her house. What a horrible way to spend summer break! He has no interest in going through the closets and drawers of an old woman he’s never met. Secretly, Jason thinks his mother insisted he go so he could keep an eye on his father, who drinks too much. Jason suspects that his parents are on the verge of a divorce. His mom is so busy at work, and she feels frustrated by his father’s silent despair. But, these concerns fade into the background when a strange phone caller tells Jason that “you can learn a lot at a desk.” Realizing that the person is hinting that Jason should look in his grandmother’s desk, he does, and he finds an old postcard of the DeSoto Hotel, the hotel owned by his great-grandfather. Later, as he looks through a file box of important papers, Jason finds a magazine in a file folder labeled “EB.” Bizarre Mysteries contains a story by Emerson Beale entitled “Twin Palms: A Novel of Thrilling Terror.” Could Emerson Beale be the “EB” on the folder? As Jason reads the story and pursues the clues given on the first postcard and those that keep mysteriously appearing, he begins to uncover his grandmother’s past- who his father’s father was and why his grandmother spent most of her adult life in a wheelchair.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com ( )

The Postcard is not exactly what I expected. The story is well written, but really seems like it should have been written with a more adult protagonist. Much of the story contained references to literature and history that someone of this age wouldn't know, much less use. The story, however, is very good containing a larger message about life.
When Jason's grandmother dies, he discovers almost accidentally, that his parents are on the verge of splitting up. He goes to Florida to be with his father as they get his grandmother's house ready to sell. Jason is angry and frustrated by his trip to Florida ruining his plans for summer vacation, but when he finds a postcard in his grandmother's house, the real adventure begins. His grandmother's funeral is populated by strange looking people that Jason doesn't know, but they start to seem familiar when the clues on the postcard lead Jason to the beginning pages of a mystery that seems to include his grandmother and all of these strange people. Jason meets a girl about his age named Dia who calls him every name but his own, and she helps him track down more clues and find more of the story. Soon Jason and Dia find themselves in danger from the very people who seemed to be his grandmother's friends. Both the mystery of his grandmother and the mystery of the story run throughout the book.
The Postcard is a very poignant story about the way we spend our lives and what we are left with at the end of it. Overall a very interesting story with lots of twists and turns, especially at the end when Jason discovers who has really been chasing him and why. ( )

A very interesting story-in -a - story. Nicely wrapped, mysterious, thrilling at times.
Liked it 😀 ( )

I remember loving this book when I was younger. ( )

The Postcard is not exactly what I expected. The story is well written, but really seems like it should have been written with a more adult protagonist. Much of the story contained references to literature and history that someone of this age wouldn't know, much less use. The story, however, is very good containing a larger message about life.
When Jason's grandmother dies, he discovers almost accidentally, that his parents are on the verge of splitting up. He goes to Florida to be with his father as they get his grandmother's house ready to sell. Jason is angry and frustrated by his trip to Florida ruining his plans for summer vacation, but when he finds a postcard in his grandmother's house, the real adventure begins. His grandmother's funeral is populated by strange looking people that Jason doesn't know, but they start to seem familiar when the clues on the postcard lead Jason to the beginning pages of a mystery that seems to include his grandmother and all of these strange people. Jason meets a girl about his age named Dia who calls him every name but his own, and she helps him track down more clues and find more of the story. Soon Jason and Dia find themselves in danger from the very people who seemed to be his grandmother's friends. Both the mystery of his grandmother and the mystery of the story run throughout the book.
The Postcard is a very poignant story about the way we spend our lives and what we are left with at the end of it. Overall a very interesting story with lots of twists and turns, especially at the end when Jason discovers who has really been chasing him and why. ( )