Jeffrey Leon's summer was supposed to be easy: baseball, sketching, zero responsibilities. Then his mom volunteered him to babysit Karl Kandi - the new kid, the weird kid, the one who doesn't play baseball.

Karl is a lot to figure out. But when a mysterious stranger breaks in and steals something hidden in Karl's house, Jeff realizes there's more going on than he bargained for. Now the two of them are tangled up in a decades-old mystery involving famous paintings, a missing mom, and a man who knows Karl's name in a language he shouldn't.

Jeff's going to need more than a baseball bat to get out of this one.

With humor, heart, and suspense, Abstract Karl celebrates the power of creativity and connection.