Chasing Vermeer review by JP
Chasing Vermeer
by Brett Helquist, Blue Balliett
Age Range - 12 and up
Genre - Mystery

LitPick Review

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JP
Age at time of review - NA
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The book, Chasing Vermeer is about two kids, Petra and Calder, who save a valuable painting. They start having dreams and coincidences that have to do with painter Johannes Vermeer's paintings. One of his paintings is stolen and the thief promises to return it if the public can figure out which Vermeers are real and which are fake. The thief, said to be an art scholar, thought that since almost nothing was known about Vermeers life, someone could have painted and put Vermeers name on it. But nothing is what it seems, and to see what I mean, read the book.

Opinion: 

I liked this book. It reminded me of From the Mixed-up Files of Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler. It had a good plot and was a bit suspenseful. I also started to care about the characters. The only thing that I did not like was that there were too many coincidences. For example, whenever the kids needed an idea, they ate blue M&Ms, which would usually help. Also, one of the kids had a set of pentominoes, pieces of plastic that fit together into rectangles, and when he would pull one out, it would symbolize a word that fit their predicament. But other than that, it was a very good book. The ending worked out and helped explain a lot of mysteries that came up throughout the book. I recommend this book if you like mysteries. Even if you do not like mysteries, this book might change your mind.

 

Rating:
4
Content Rating:

Content rating - nothing offensive
KEYWORDS

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