Clara Poole and the Long Way Round

Mr. Lemoncello meets the Amazing Race in this quirky high-octane balloon-racing middle grade around-the-world adventure.   When an unintended flight over Michigan in her class science project--a lawn chair held aloft by balloons--brings her instant celebrity, Clara Poole is invited to be the spokesperson for a round-the-world adventure race. But when her overprotective father refuses, Clara forges his signature in a moment of defiance and runs away to Paris to take her place in the skies. If only she'd read the fine print first.   Partnered with a veteran aeronaut who wants nothing to do with her, Clara faces down ten treacherous stages in a race around the world--capturing flags in the perilous mountains of Nepal; being a guest of honor at a maybe-wedding in the Saharan desert; flying through rings of fire in Hong Kong--all while learning the ropes alongside a colorful cast of international competitors.   But there are more dangers ahead. Someone is trying to sabotage the competition.