I just finished "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" (http://www.amazon.com/Sweetness-Bottom-Pie-Flavia-Mystery/dp/0385343493) and am planning on handing it over to my dd9 next. It's a mystery, set around 1950, and has a precocious 11-year-old chemist/poisoner as a heroine. It's fairly predictable, as far as murder mysteries go, but Flavia, the heroine, is simply delightful. I'm pretty sure my daughter is going to want to set up a chemistry lab in the house after she's done with the book.