By Blue Balliett
4RBooks: 4/6, grades 6-8
Amazon rating: 4.7/5, grades 3-7
Good Reads: 3.30/5
Common Sense Media: 3/5, ages 10+
300 pages
Synopsis:
Calder, Petra, and Tommy are all 13 now and dealing with becoming teenagers. Their successful and famous past exploits with the art world are getting lost in the day-to-day trials of zits, body odor, family dynamics and boy/girl issues.
At the beginning of spring break, they are summoned to Mrs. Sharpe’s house (wealthy philanthropist) to help solve a recent burglary. 13 important pieces of art were stolen from a local gallery, and no one has any clues. They are joined by Early and Zoomy, two other 13-year-olds who are known for their ability to solve problems. They will also be helped by Ms. Hussey, their former teacher, Eagle, Mrs. Sharpe’s adopted son, and maybe by the ghost of the museum, too.
Using all their talents, the five investigators will have to discover a motive for the crime, a mastermind, and locate the art. The trail will lead through many different areas of Chicago and expose them to art throughout the city. They will also have to figure out who the mysterious people in black jackets are who seem to be following them everywhere.
Parental Guidance: medium/medium-high
Lots of teen-age angst among the five main characters dealing with acne,
body odor, and feelings about the opposite sex.
The children go off on an adventure with an adult character without telling
their parents.
The children and the adult character break into the museum and are
apprehended by the police.
The museum is supposedly haunted and there are occurrences where
people feel that the ghost is interacting with them.
The children feel the art is contacting them through their dreams.
The children use a Ouija board to connect with the deceased patron.
Recommendation:
This is a follow-up book to the author’s Chasing Vermeer series (including The Wright Three and The Calder Game) and includes characters from her novels Hold Fast and The Danger Box. It is not necessary to have read the previous books to enjoy this story, but it does help to know the characters better and feel like you have a head start on understanding them.
I used Chasing Vermeer in my classroom and thought the original three books were appropriate for the elementary school setting. This is more of a middle school novel. The children are older and more aware of themselves as teenagers, including all of the problems that often occur as one is growing up. Ms. Balliett does a good job of presenting the uncertainties and angst of this time of life with out being overly cliché. The characters each have their own personalities and talents and blend well together as a team.
There was enough interest and action to keep the pages turning and wanting to find out what was happening next. This would be an excellent book for a student who loves the arts and is developing their interest not only in creating art but knowing about art and artists.
The main negative of the book is the attempt to make connections between the living and the spirit world. While having personal connections to art is valued, having the art interact with your dreams is a bit much. That and the story of the ghost and the use of a Ouija board make this a story that parents should consider before sharing with their child, and make it a tough classroom read.
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