The Secret of Sandy Point

In the small northeast Texas town of Mercyville, summer days run long and slow, and four inseparable friends are desperate for an adventure. Blake, the steady leader; Skeeter, the impulsive redhead who can't sit still; quiet, watchful Mickey; and Chip, proud of the Mexican-American grandmother who keeps him honest - together they are the Brotherhood of Four, sworn to stand together "both now and forever."When a strange, fearsome recluse named Bedico Brown passes through town, the boys are certain they've found their mystery at last. Convinced he's hiding something sinister out at Sandy Point, an old forgotten landing on the river, they set out to uncover the truth. But what they discover is nothing like the rumors. Behind the wild beard and the unsettling stare is a gifted artist - and beneath Sandy Point itself lies a buried piece of Mercyville's history that the town has spent generations trying to forget.As the boys befriend the man everyone else fears, they set in motion events that will bring a community face to face with an old injustice - and with the difference between what a person looks like and who he truly is.Warm, funny, and gently suspenseful, The Secret of Sandy Point is a coming-of-age adventure about friendship, courage, and the quiet power of kindness. Set in a vanished era of bicycles, screen doors, and homemade apple pie, it's the first volume in the Brotherhood of Four series - a story for young readers and for anyone who remembers a boyhood summer.