Balliett, Blue. The Wright 3

[Interested Reader]

What a fun mystery! It's a nearly perfect page-turner of a breezy summer time read. Strong characters, excellent interplay between the characters, thought-provoking word and number play, all work together to create a a very child-friendly book which is an even better read than Chasing Vermeer. Unfortunately, I was disturbed by the number of unresolved issues and unlikely coincidences populating the book. Even one of the characters in the book comments on this: "Something was wrong with this whole picture, very wrong. Petra could feel it. For one thing, there were too many coincidences.[/i}" This will be a fun book to recommend to kids and to discuss at the Mock Newbery discussion.

[martha]

I enjoyed reading this book as much as Chasing Vermeer, even though I had an advance copy without all the artwork. Books about art, including stories, are becoming popular in my town and I know some art teachers who will want to recommend this book to their students. I like the mystery and the art history, but it is not a Newbery contender in my mind.