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Three-Time Newbery HonorWinning Author

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1
Goldie

hen I was in preschool, I had a teacher named

Starlily. She wore rainbow tie-dyed dresses
and was always bringing in cookies that were made
with granola and flax and had no taste.
Starlily taught us to sit still at snack time, sneeze
into our elbows, and not eat the Play-Doh (which
most kids seemed to think was optional). Then one
day, she sent all of us home with a goldfish. She got

them at ten for a dollar at a pet store. She gave our

parents a lecture before sending us off.
The goldfish will teach your child about the
cycle of life. She explained, Goldfish dont last
very long.
I took my goldfish home and named it Goldie
like every other kid in the world who thought they
were being original. But it turned out that Goldie
was kind of original.
Because Goldie didnt die.
Even after all my classmates fish had gone to
the great fishbowl in the sky, Goldie was still alive.
Still alive when I started kindergarten. Still alive in
first grade. Still alive in second grade and third and
fourth. Then finally, last year in fifth grade, I went
into the kitchen one morning and saw my fish floating upside down in the bowl.
My mom groaned when I told her.
He didnt last very long, she said.
What are you talking about? I asked. He
lasted seven years!
She gave me a smile and said, Ellie, that wasnt
2

the original Goldie. The first fish only lasted two

weeks. When he died, I bought another one and
put him in the bowl. Thereve been a lot of fish over
the years.
What number was this one?
Unlucky thirteen, she said with a wry look.
They were all unlucky, I pointed out.
We gave Goldie Thirteen a toilet-bowl funeral,
and I asked my mom if we could get a dog.

2
Puzzles

e live in a house that looks like a shoe box.

It has two bedrooms and a bathroom, which
has a toilet thats always getting clogged. I secretly
think its haunted by all the fish that were flushed
down it.
Our backyard is tinyjust a slab of concrete
that barely fits a table and chairs. Its the reason my
mom wont let me get a dog. She says it wouldnt be
fair, that a dog needs a real yard to run around in.
4

My babysitter Nicole walks into the kitchen,

where Im putting together a puzzle. Its kind of
taken over our table.
Youve been working on that forever, Ellie,
she says. How many pieces is it?
One thousand, I say.
Its a picture of New York Citya street scene
with yellow cabs. I love puzzles. I like trying to figure out how things fit together. How a curve meets
a curve and the perfect angle of a corner piece.
Im going to be on Broadway someday, she
tells me.
Nicole has long buttery hair and looks like she
should be in a shampoo commercial. She played
Juliet in the production of Romeo and Juliet that my
mother directed at the local high school. My moms
a high school drama teacher and my dads an actor.
They got divorced when I was little, but theyre still
friends.
Theyre always telling me I need to find my passion. Specifically, theyd like me to be passionate
about theater. But Im not. Sometimes I wonder if
5

I was born into the wrong family. Being onstage

makes me nervous (Ive watched too many actors
flub their lines), and Im not a fan of working
behind the scenes, either (I always end up steaming
costumes).
Oh, yeah. Your mom called. Shes gonna be
late, Nicole says. Almost as an afterthought, she
adds, Something to do with getting your grandfather from the police.
For a second, I think I heard wrong.
What? I ask. Is he okay?
She lifts her shoulders. She didnt say. But she
said we can order a pizza.
An hour later, my belly is full of pizza, but Im
still confused.
Did my mom say anything about why Grandpa
was with the police? I ask.
Nicole looks mystified. No. Does he get in trouble a lot?
I shake my head. I dont think so. I mean, hes
old, I say.
How old is he?
6

Im not quite sure. Ive never really thought

about it, actually. Hes always just looked old to
me: wrinkled, gray-haired, holding a cane. Your
basic grandparent.
We only see him two or three times a year, usually at a Chinese restaurant. He always orders moo
goo gai pan and steals packets of soy sauce to take
home. I often wonder what he does with them. He
doesnt live that far from us, but he and my mother
dont get along very well. Hes a scientist and says
theater isnt a real job. Hes still mad that she didnt
go to Harvard like he did.
A car alarm goes off in the distance.
Maybe he was in a car accident? Nicole suggests. I dont know why teenagers get a bad rap,
because old people are way worse drivers.
He doesnt drive anymore.
Maybe he wandered off. Nicole taps her head.
My neighbor had Alzheimers. She got out all the
time. The police always brought her home.
It kind of sounds like shes describing a dog.
Thats so sad, I say.
7

Nicole nods. Totally sad. The last time she ran

away, she got hit by a car! How crazy is that?
I stare at her with my mouth open.
But Im sure your grandfathers fine, she says.
Then she flips back her hair and smiles. Hey!
Want to make some popcorn and watch a movie?

3
Ring

arm air drifts through my bedroom window.

We live in the Bay Area, in the shadow of San
Francisco, and late-September nights can be cool.
But its hot tonight, like summer is refusing to leave.
I used to love how my bedroom was decorated,
but lately Im not so sure. The walls are covered with
the painted handprints of me and my best friend,
Brianna. We started doing them back in first grade
and added more handprints every year. You can
9

see my little handprints grow bigger, like a time

capsule of my life.
But we havent done any yet this school year, or
even this summer, because Brianna found her passion: volleyball. Shes busy every second now with
clinics and practices and weekend tournaments.
The truth is, Im not even sure if shes still my best
friend.
Its late when the garage door finally grinds
open. I hear my mother talking to Nicole in the
front hall, and I go to them.
Thanks for staying, she tells Nicole.
My mom looks frazzled. Her mascara is smudged
beneath her eyes, her red lipstick chewed away. Her
natural hair color is dirty blond like mine, but she
colors it. Right now, its purple.
No problem, Nicole replies. Is your dad okay?
An unreadable expression crosses my moms
face. Oh, hes fine. Thanks for asking. Do you need
a ride home?
Im good! Nicole says. By the way, Lissa, I
have some exciting news!
10

Yes?
I got a job at the mall! Isnt that great?
I didnt know you were looking, my mom
says, confused.
Yeah, I didnt think Id get it. Its such a big
opportunity. The ear-piercing place at the mall!
When do you start? my mom asks.
Thats the hard part. They want me to start
tomorrow afternoon. So I cant watch Ellie anymore. I totally would have given you more notice,
but . . .
I understand, my mom says, and I can hear
the strain in her voice.
Nicole turns to me. I forgot to tell you. I get a
discount! Isnt that great? So come by anytime and
shop.
Uh, okay, I say.
I better be going, she says. Good night!
Good night, my mother echoes.
I stand in the doorway with my mother and
watch her walk out into the night.
Did she just quit? I ask. Im a little in shock.
11

My mother nods. This is turning into a

banner day.
I stare out into the night to catch a last glimpse of
my babysitter, but see someone else: a boy with long
hair. Hes standing beneath the old, dying palm tree
on our front lawn. It drops big brown fronds everywhere, and my mom says it needs to come down.
The boy is slender, wiry-looking. He looks thirteen, maybe fourteen? Its hard to tell with boys
sometimes.
You need to put your trash out, the boy calls
to my mom. Tomorrow is trash day and our neighbors trash cans line the street.
Would you please come inside already? my
mom tells the boy.
And whens the last time you fertilized the
lawn? he asks. Theres crabgrass.
Its late, my mom says, holding the door open
impatiently.
I wonder if hes one of my moms students.
Sometimes they help her haul stuff in and out of
her big, battered cargo van.
12

You have to maintain your house if you want it

to maintain its value, he says.
Now!
The boy reluctantly picks up a large duffel bag
and walks into our house.
He doesnt look like the typical theater-crew kid.
They usually wear jeans and T-shirts, stuff thats
easy to work in. This kids wearing a rumpled pinstripe shirt, khaki polyester pants, a tweed jacket
with patches on the elbows, and leather loafers. But
its his socks that stand out the most: theyre black
dress socks. You dont see boys in middle school
wearing those a lot. Its like hes on his way to a bar
mitzvah.
He stares at me with piercing eyes.
Did you make honor roll?
Im startled, but answer anyway.
Uh, we havent gotten report cards yet.
Something about the boy seems familiar. His
hair is dark brown, on the shaggy side, and the
ends are dyed gray. An actor from one of my moms
shows, maybe?
13

Who are you? I ask him.

He ignores me.
You need good grades if youre going to get
into a competitive PhD program.
PhD program? Shes eleven years old! my
mother says.
You cant start too early. Speaking of which,
he says, looking pointedly at my mothers outfit, is
that what you wear to work?
My mom likes to raid the theater wardrobe
closet at school. This morning, she left the house in
a floor-length black satin skirt and matching bolero
jacket with a frilly white poets shirt.
Maybe you should consider buying a nice pantsuit, he suggests.
Still stuck in the Stone Age, I see, she shoots
back.
Then he turns and looks at me, taking in my
tank-top-and-boxer-shorts pajama set.
He says, Why are your pajamas so short?
Whatever happened to long nightgowns? Are you
boy-crazy like your mother was?
14

All the girls her age wear pajamas like that,

my mom answers for me. And I wasnt boy-crazy!
You mustve been boy-crazy to elope, he says.
I was in love, she says through gritted teeth.
A PhD lasts a lot longer than love, he replies.
Its not too late to go back to school. You could still
get a real degree.
Something about this whole exchange tickles at
my memory. Its like watching a movie Ive already
seen. I study the boythe gray-tipped hair, the
way hes standing so comfortably in our hall, how
his right hand opens and closes as if used to grasping something by habit. But its the heavy gold ring
hanging loosely on his middle finger that draws my
eye. Its a school ring, like the kind you get in college, and it looks old and worn and has a red gem
in the center.
Ive seen that ring before, I say, and then I
remember whose hand I saw it on.
I look at the boy.
Grandpa? I blurt out.

15

4
Magician

ho were you expecting? he asks. The

tooth fairy?
He seems like a thirteen-year-old boy, but when
I look really closely I can see hints of my grandfather. The watery blue eyes. The slightly snarky
set of his mouth. The way his eyebrows meet in the
middle.
Is this some kind of magic? I ask.

16

The boy curls his lips and looks at my mother.

Youre raising my granddaughter to believe in
magic? This is what happens when you major in
drama. He says drama like its a bad word.
Whatever, Dad, my mom says, sounding like
a bored teenager.
This is science, plain and simple, he says
to me.
But I dont see anything simple about it and just
shake my head.
He gives an exasperated sigh. It should be
perfectly obvious. I engineered a way to reverse
senescence through cellular regeneration.
I stare at him.
In laymans terms: I discovered a cure for
aging. His voice shakes with excitement. In effect,
I have discovered the fountain of youth!
I dont know what to believe. On the one hand,
he sounds just like my grandfather. Im half-tempted
to see if he has any soy sauce in the pockets of his
jacket. On the other hand, Im not totally sure I

17

believe any of it. Part of me wonders if this is just

some weirdo who stole my grandfathers ring and is
tricking my mom. Shes a sucker for kids with sad
stories.
I turn to her. Are you sure its Grandpa?
She rolls her eyes. Its him, all right.
Of course its me! the boy says indignantly.
He whips out an old mans worn leather wallet and
shows me his drivers license. My grandfathers
cranky face stares back from the photo, and the
look in his eyes is exactly the same as on the boys
face.
This is so cool, I whisper.
Cool? Its historic! Theyre going to give me
a Nobel! His voice gets louder. Melvin Herbert
Sagarsky will be a household name!
My mom yawns. Shes clearly unimpressed. Or
maybe just tired. Its pretty late.
Im going to bed. Why dont you bond with
your granddaughter? She gives my grandfather
a look. And dont put anything strange in the
refrigerator.
18

My mom tells stories of how when she was little, my grandfather would keep experiments in the
refrigerator. There would be stacks of petri dishes
next to the cottage cheese and butter.
Then were alone in the kitchen. My grandfathers stomach growls loudly.
Got anything to eat in this place? he demands.
Im starving.
Theres pizza, I tell him.
He stands at the counter and wolfs down the
rest of the pizza.
The lab assistants live on this stuff when they
run experiments at night, he says.
Then he goes to the fridge, takes out the milk,
and pours himself a big glass. He drinks it and
pours himself another.
He waves the carton of milk at me and burps.
Make sure you take your calcium. Everything they
say about bone density is true. I lost two inches in
the last ten years of my life.
You shrank?
The perils of old age, he says.
19

At least you got your hair back now, I point

out.
I got back more than my hair! His eyes glitter.
My eyes are twenty-twenty, my hearing is perfect,
and my arthritis is gone! He wiggles his fingers.
What did you get picked up by the police for?
I ask.
They said I was trespassing on private property, he says. I got let off with a warning.
Where?
My laboratory! His voice trembles with outrage. I practically built that place! I have credits
on nineteen of their patents, you know. Youd think
theyd have some respect.
I nod even though I have no idea what a
patent is.
Ever since the company brought in those fasttalking investors, everythings been different. Its
all maximizing-profits this and minimizing-risks
that. They have no respect for science.
Then he yawns. The energy seems to go out of

20

him in a rush, like a switch flicked off, and his

shoulders slump. The illusion fades, and all at once
he looks like any other tired thirteen-year-old boy
who needs a haircut.
Where am I sleeping? he asks.

21

5
Jellyfish

m always the first one up in the morning because

I like to cook breakfast. My mom hates cooking
and jokes that she doesnt know if Im really her
kid. But I feel comfortable in the kitchen. Theres an
order to it, and its fun to experiment.
Lately, Ive been making what I call CrazyMixed-Up Pancakes. I use a basic pancake batter
and add different ingredients. So far, Ive made a
smores version (chocolate, marshmallows, graham
22

cracker crumbles), a banana split version (bananas,

chocolate bits, maraschino cherry), and a pia
colada one (pineapples, coconut).
This morning, I make an old standbypeanut
butter cup. I use peanut butter morsels and
chocolate chips. Im just plating up the pancakes
when my grandfather walks into the kitchen. Hes
wearing old-man pajamas, the button-up cotton
kind, and his hair is tied back with one of my
ponytail holders. He must have found it in the
bathroom.
Somethings wrong with the toilet, he tells me.
I had to use the plunger.
That happens a lot. Want some pancakes? I
ask him.
Thanks, he says, and takes a plate.
He eats fast and then helps himself to seconds.
Teenage boys really eat a lot, I guess.
Hes got a bad case of bed head, something Im
all too familiar with; my hairs the exact same way.
Its frizzy and flyaway and Ive always hated it. I
wonder if I got it from him.
23

I have a good spray that works on frizzies, I

tell him.
He waves his spoon at me. I have more important things to worry about than hair. I need to get
my T. melvinus out of the lab. Its what helped me
sort out the mechanism for reversing senescence.
Whats senescence? It sounds like a terrible
disease.
Senescence is the process of aging.
I was kind of right. So whats T. melvinus?
It stands for Turritopsis melvinus. Its a species
of jellyfish.
A jellyfish did this to you? Are you kidding me?
He lifts an eyebrow. Why is it so hard to believe?
There have always been examples of regenerative
abilities in nature.
There have?
My grandfather leans forward, his face intent.
Take the planarian flatworm. You can slice it in
two and each part will grow into a new worm.
The hydra, a freshwater creature, can actually
24

regenerate body parts, and the sea anemone doesnt

appear to experience senescence at all.
I have never heard about any of this before.
Then theres Turritopsis nutricula. His voice
is full of wonder. T. nutricula is a jellyfish that can
actually revert its body to the polyp stage. To its
younger self!
This is so interesting. Hes so interesting. Its like
Ive never really listened to him before. And maybe
I havent. Usually when were together, he and my
mom just bicker.
How do you know so much about this? I ask.
Because Ive been researching it for the last
forty years. Its my side project. Ive had articles
published, you know.
Im starting to think that maybe I dont know
him at all. Not really. Its like hes been playing
the part of Grandfather in a play, but underneath
the makeup is something more. A real person.
A few months ago, an Australian diver in the
Philippines contacted me because he read on the
Internet that I was researching jellyfish. He thought
25

hed found an odd specimen of T. nutricula. I asked

him to ship it to me. The typical T. nutricula is small,
a few millimeters. The size of the nail on your
pinkie finger. He holds out his pinkie finger. But
the T. nutricula specimen he sent me was huge,
more than three hundred millimeters.
I always get confused about the millimeter-toinches thing, I admit.
It was a foot in diameter, he explains. And
there were other anomalies. I knew it was a new
species. I even named it: Turritopsis melvinus.
Shouldnt it have been named after the guy
who found it? I ask.
He scoffs. All he did was catch it. I identified
it. I was the one who did all the work. I was the
one who created the compound. I was the one who
tested it on the mice.
You experimented on mice? That seems way
worse than flushing goldfish down the toilet.
Adult mice, he says. A few days after I
injected them with the compound, they reverted to
an adolescent stage.
26

They became teenagers? I try to picture mice

with pimples and long hair.
Exactly! he exclaims. So I injected it in myself
and the rest is history! I was trying to get the rest
of the T. melvinus specimen out of the lab when the
rent-a-cop busted me.
I think for a moment.
Couldnt you just call up your old bosses and
tell them what happened? I mean, this is kind of
a big breakthrough, right? I bet theyd be pretty
excited.
They dont even know its there. His gaze
hardens. Besides, theyll just take all the credit.
This is my discovery.
Good morning, campers! my mom trills.
Today shes wearing one of her standard outfits
a neon-purple dress that hits her above the knees
and high black boots.
My grandfather gasps when he sees her.
Melissa! You cant go to work in that!
Whats wrong with it? my mother asks.
I can see the top of your thighs!
27

She waves off his concern and starts gathering

her bags. Lets get moving or were going to be
late.
Late for what? he asks.
School, of course.
School? he sputters. I already went to school.
I have two PhDs, in case youve forgotten.
Too bad. Youre going. I called Bernadette this
morning. Bernadette is the middle school secretary
and one of my mothers friends.
What did you tell her? I ask.
She tips her head at my grandfather. That
Melvin here is my distant cousins kid. His dad died
and his mom remarried a meth addict. He doesnt
get along with the new stepfather, who he secretly
suspects started the fire that burned down the
trailer with his dad in it. So he hitchhiked up here
and I took him in.
Thats really good, I tell her.
Your dad will be pleased to hear it, she said.
Its from a play he wrote in collegeHamlet in
Fresno. I directed it.
28

My grandfather interrupts us.

Why cant I just stay here? I am perfectly capable of looking after myself! He sounds like every
other teenager in the world.
Did you forget that the police released you into
my custody? I work with kids. Im a teacher. I cant
have a thirteen-year-old truant in my house. Someone will see you and Ill lose my job.
Theres a beat of silence as he stares at the floor.
Fine. Ill go, he mutters.
Great. Then she adds, By the way, youre
Ellies new babysitter.

29

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product
of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright 2014 by Jennifer L. Holm
Jacket art and interior illustrations copyright 2014 by Tad Carpenter
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Childrens Books,
a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.
Visit us on the Web! randomhouse.com/kids
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
RHTeachersLibrarians.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Holm, Jennifer L., author.
The fourteenth goldfish / Jennifer L. Holm. First edition.
p. cm
Summary: Ellies scientist grandfather has discovered a way to reverse aging, and
consequently has turned into a teenagerwhich makes for complicated relationships
when he moves in with Ellie and her mother, his daughter.
ISBN 978-0-375-87064-4 (trade) ISBN 978-0-375-97064-1 (lib. bdg.)
ISBN 978-0-307-97436-5 (ebook)
1. GrandfathersJuvenile fiction. 2. ScientistsJuvenile fiction. 3. AgingJuvenile
fiction. 4. FamiliesJuvenile fiction. [1. GrandfathersFiction. 2. ScientistsFiction.
3. AgingFiction. 4. Family lifeFiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.H732226Fo 2014
813.6dc23 2013035052
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
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and celebrates the right to read.

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