Stolen

Sam’s on holiday with his father in Warrnambool for a few days, and his hopes of an interesting trip aren’t high. Originally from Vancouver, he’s worried about adjusting to his new school in Adelaide. But his expectations are turned on their head when he meets Annabel, a mathematical genius obsessed with Pi. Annabel tells him all about the Mahogany Ship, a shipwreck rumoured to be buried in the dunes.

Together they find a mysterious piece of black wood that could belong to the wreck. They take it to the museum, and though Annabel and the museum staff are sceptical it belongs to the mysterious wreck—it could be from any other ship—they’re keen to find out more. Apparently, there are rumours that the ship could be a Portuguese caraval or even a Chinese junk, meaning that the Dutch weren’t the first foreigners to land on Australian shores. Annabel finds a Chinese pot in the wreck, and she takes it to the museum to be analysed.

When the museum’s prized possession is stolen, Annabel and Sam are on the case. Initially suspecting that the robbery is the work of a creepy museum worker, they deduce that a strange American businessman might be involved. After a tense standoff in a beach shack, Annabel and Sam are able to recover the stolen Loch Ard Peacock. The billionaire businessman may walk free, but at least the museum hasn’t lost its most prized artefact. Better yet, the Chinese pot contains ancient coins dated to the Ming Dynasty, which means that the stories about the Mahogany Ship being a Chinese junk may be true!

An intriguing mystery full of historical details and fun facts about Pi. The romance between Annabel and Sam grows as the book continues, and by the end, Sam’s much more excited to be living in Australia!

1. Annabel wants to get a tattoo of Pi (p. 7). 2. Story about shipwreck deaths (p. 11). The businessman pulls a gun on Sam (p. 92). Annabel fires it into the air (p. 101). 3. Pete, the creepy museum worker, smokes (p. 69, 71). 4. Sam and Annabel kiss (p. 103).