This book written for middle grade readers is narrated by the main character, Miss Moses "Mo" LoBeau-- a girl getting ready to enter the sixth grade who, as a baby, washed ashore from a swirling river during a hurricane. She lives with the "Colonel" and Miss Lana and helps them run their cafe in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina. She spends a lot of her free time trying to find out who her "Upstream Mama" is by writing letters and putting them in bottles that friends traveling north drop into the river for her. 
 When the book begins, the summer has just begun, and Mo plans on filling her summer playing and fishing with her best friend, Dale. Plans change quickly, however, when the cafe's crankiest customer is found murdered, and a big city detective shows up to try and solve the case. It seems Mo and Dale want to do a little detective work of their own.... 
 I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The small town setting and the characters who all know each others' business made for some very humorous events. It is easy to like Mo and her quirky make-shift family. Each character's "voice" rings true, and readers will connect to the characters even more because of this. The mystery of the murder is far more complex than one might expect for a "children's" book; it kept me guessing until the very end! Sheila Turnage was awarded a Newbery Honor Book award for this book-- her first book published! I can't wait to see waft she'll do next....