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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSThe book opens on a night in 2007 when Abigail Caldwell, Lambert's first Black female city manager, supervises a crew jackhammering through a tennis court in the city's oldest Black neighborhood, searching for what she believes is a hidden fortune. By dawn she is fired, mocked across the state as the Mole Lady. Ten years later, her granddaughter, twelve-year-old Candice Miller, arrives in Lambert for the summer while her recently divorced mother waits for their Atlanta house to sell. Candice knew her grandmother had been fired over something embarrassing, but not the full story. Then, digging through the attic of her grandmother's old house, she and her new neighbor Brandon Jones, an eleven-year-old bookworm from across the street, find a box labeled FOR CANDICE. Inside a puzzle book is a note in Abigail's handwriting and a mysterious unsigned letter from a wealthy benefactor promising $40 million to the city if someone can follow a trail of coded clues back through Lambert's painful racial past, including a secret 1957 tennis match and the Black family that was driven from town because of it. Determined to prove her grandmother was not crazy and to clear Abigail's name, Candice decides to pick up where she left off.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Parker Inheritance
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about The Parker Inheritance. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a girl spend the summer at her dead grandmother's South Carolina house instead of Atlanta?
✓ Answer
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Twelve-year-old Candice Miller and her newly divorced mother move to Lambert, South Carolina for the summer while their Atlanta house is being remodeled to sell. Candice resents missing summer in Atlanta but ends up uncovering her grandmother's secret.
- First half
In what book does a girl chart a bully's weekly schedule so her friend can dodge him around town?
✓ Answer
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Candice treats it like a sudoku, piecing together Milo's calendar from questions she asks his mom at church and from the city website. She gives the schedule to Brandon so they can bike around the neighborhood without running into him.
- First half
In what book does an elderly woman gasp that a girl's bracelet belonged to her high school best friend?
✓ Answer
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Ellie Farmer recognizes the SW initials on Candice's bracelet during a visit in Columbia. She insists it belonged to her best friend Siobhan Washington, leading Candice to suspect her grandmother actually did find something under the tennis court.
- Second half
In what book does a boy ask, "How many people got off the boat?" with the answer being three?
✓ Answer
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Reggie poses a riddle about a king and queen sailing to France. The trick answer is three because a knight, K-N-I-G-H-T, was also on board. Siobhan figures out the chess wordplay after he hints at the chessboard.
- Second half
In what book does a boy fake an ankle sprain by stepping on his own tennis ball?
✓ Answer
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Glenn Allen, about to lose to Reggie, drops a tennis ball and steps on it on purpose, claiming a sprained ankle. His brother Marion and Coach Turner demand a reschedule, but the umpire rules it a forfeit. Siobhan notices Glenn favors the wrong foot.
- Near the end
In what book is a hidden envelope taped behind a school principal's portrait reading "the heir must find"?
✓ Answer
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Behind the portrait of Ada Marie Perkins, Candice and Brandon find a credit-card-sized envelope. Inside is a small note that reads "The heir must find the…" pointing them on to the next clue, the painting above the trophy case.
