The Secret Box

The Secret Box is a Junior Library Guild selection and the first in an irresistible middle grade series that will delight fans of Dan Gutman, Wendy Mass, and Trenton Lee Stewart.

What starts as a fun quest to open a mysterious birthday present quickly turns crazy and dangerous when Jax and her cousin Ethan discover themselves at the center of a special magical legacy. Soon they realize the secret box was not intended as a gift, but as call for help that they alone can answer.

Readers will love the page-turning mystery, hilarious girl and boy narrators, and clever incorporation of mythology—and lingering questions will leave them eager for more.

With villains on their trail and a great-aunt to save, can Jax and Ethan solve the puzzle before it’s too late?

Cousins Adventure: Follows impulsive Jax and her cautious, fact-loving cousin Ethan on a wild quest where their partnership is the only thing they can count on. A High-Tech Treasure Hunt: The key isn’t a map—it’s geometry, GPS coordinates, and a cross-country chase to find the one “right spot” where the box will finally open. A Magical Legacy: Jax and Ethan learn the box is part of an ancient power connected to Pandora’s Box, and dangerous people will do anything to possess it. Deep Family Secrets: With a secret great-aunt to find and a long-lost father to uncover, every clue reveals another layer of the Malone family’s hidden history.