A Boy Called Duct Tape

Andy Sweet is a 12-year-old kid without much going for him. His classmates have dubbed him “Duct Tape” because his tattered discount-store sneakers are held together with…you guessed it, duct tape. He can’t escape the bullying.
Andy’s luck changes after he finds a $20 gold coin while swimming with his sister in a river near their home. Andy later buys a $1 treasure map at the county fair. The map shows the route to the “lost treasure” of the notorious outlaw Jesse James. Andy can’t help but wonder: Is there a link between the map and the gold coin? He is determined to find out, and he, his nine-year-old sister, Allie, and thirteen-year-old cousin, Drew, hire an ill-mannered cave guide and begin a treacherous underground adventure in search of treasure. Their treasure hunt is made more perilous because they are being followed by the evil Blood brothers, who want the treasure for themselves. The Blood brothers will stop at nothing to claim the treasure as their own. (A Boy Called Duct Tape won First Place in the fall-2012 NABE Pinnacle Achievement Award for Juvenile Fiction.)