With this debut book of a new mystery series, Wendelin Van Draanen establishes Samantha Keyes as a crime fighter to watch. Though, actually, the bo...
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Oct 09, 2011
Claire
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This book is about a girl named Sammy Keyes. Her mother, Lana Keyes (or Lady Lana), abandoned her when she was 5 to her Grams. Lady Lana then left for Hollywood to become an actress. Sammy is now twelve, almost thirteen, and is starting seventh grade at William Rose Junior High, with her friends, Marissa and Dot, meeting her archenemy, Heather Acosta. Heather makes fun of Sammy's high-tops and then tries to get Marissa to give her money and sticks Sammy in the bottom with a pushpin. But suddenly
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Aug 11, 2011
Ada
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Read this as a preview for our Page Turners Book Club and we will definitely do one from this series this year. What a great character and story. This is a series that began right after Sara was born and there was a time period where I really wasn't that engaged with much juvenile fiction (especially mysteries because that wasn't Jacob's thing)..so I had missed this series. Glad a colleague recommended it, because I want to read more in the series - not just for the book club's sake but for m
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Dec 30, 2009
Sarah-Greenbeanteenqueen
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Sammy Keyes is a Nancy Drew for a new generation. She's smart, funny, and very sassy with lots of spunk. Sammy has a temper and she's not always going to follow the rules, but that's part of her charm. Sammy will let you know what she thinks!
There's more than just mystery in the story. Sammy has to deal with a school bully and she learns to stick up for herself. She also is living (illegally) with her grandmother since her mother left to become an actress and Sammy has to sneak throu More...
There's more than just mystery in the story. Sammy has to deal with a school bully and she learns to stick up for herself. She also is living (illegally) with her grandmother since her mother left to become an actress and Sammy has to sneak throu More...
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Nov 26, 2010
Jill
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Another meh! Maybe walking up and down the shelves of the library and picking out books at random isn't working out so well for me. This is the first in a series of mystery books written for kids. I was really hoping it would be good because, now that I'm done with H Pot and Lemony, I need a new series in my life. Sadly, this one will not be it.
This book centered on a girl, Sammy. She is trying to figure out who stole some money from the hotel across the street from her grandma's sen More...
This book centered on a girl, Sammy. She is trying to figure out who stole some money from the hotel across the street from her grandma's sen More...
Feb 06, 2009
Riliddell
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i first read this book on a family road trip when i was in high school. My eight yr old cousin had gotten it randomly for her book for the trip. She was having a hard time reading it as it was above her level, so my lil sis and i took turns reading it aloud to her. Sam (my lil sis) and I enjoyed the book so much we have avidly anticipated the release of each susequent book. Each book in a month in sammy's life in the seventh grade. she makes friends, enemies eventually meets a boy and that one t
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Aug 26, 2009
Title: Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief
Author: Draanen, Wendelin Van
Tired of the old fashion mystery books where it revels or gives hints in almost very end of the book? Well is time for a change, Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief
Is a young adult’s mystery novel written by Draanen, Wendelin Van. Sammy Keyes is a new detective in the town; her reckless, but friendly; crazy, but nice personalities will take you into a whole different kind of mysterious adventure!
In t More...
Author: Draanen, Wendelin Van
Tired of the old fashion mystery books where it revels or gives hints in almost very end of the book? Well is time for a change, Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief
Is a young adult’s mystery novel written by Draanen, Wendelin Van. Sammy Keyes is a new detective in the town; her reckless, but friendly; crazy, but nice personalities will take you into a whole different kind of mysterious adventure!
In t More...
Oct 26, 2011
Cathy
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Sammy Lives with her Grandmother in a senior housing building where she is not allowed to be. Her adventures have her sneaking in and out of the building so her Grandmother doesn't get in trouble. Starting at a new school she immediately comes under the eyes of the local popular mean girl. In the mean time she witnesses a crime through the window in the hotel across the street. Can she tell the cops without getting her grandma in hot water? Will the popular girl ever get tired of trying to
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Jun 08, 2011
Nazik
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Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief starts out with Sammy doing her usual spying with binoculars from the window of her grandmother's bedroom. She enjoys watching the block when she's bored. Suddenly,she sees a man on the fourth floor from the window of the hotel across the street. He is moving quickly, and Sammy notices him holding a purse with his black gloves. Now,what most thirteen year old kids would do at that moment is call 911. However, Sammy continues with her investigation, and she gets ex
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Sep 15, 2009
Mark
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The first of Sammy Keyes’s adventures introduces us to Sammy just as she is getting herself into trouble yet again: eavesdropping on the hotel across the street with her grandmother’s binoculars, she witnesses a burglary – and the thief sees her. Now Sammy must discover who the thief is, while battling a bully in middle school, and avoiding the snoopy neighbor down the hall who threatens to report that Sammy is living with her grandmother illegally.
Though it won the Edgar award, th More...
Though it won the Edgar award, th More...
Aug 23, 2009
Kathryn
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Summary: Sammy Keyes's grandmother always told her that her binoculars were going to get her into trouble and they would. While people watching she accidentally watches a burglar steal $4000 from a fortune teller across the street at the heavenly hotel. Unfortunately, the burglar sees her too. So, while trying to avoid getting caught by the burglar, Sammy must, with help from her best friend Marissa, discover the bad guy and get him arrested while dealing with an unbelieving cop and a school bul
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Jun 06, 2010
Alex
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Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief is a very interesting book that keeps you guessing what’s going to happen next. One day when Sammy is playing with her favorite toy binoculars she notices something odd. As she is looking out the window there is a peculiar man with gloves on looking threw a purse in the hotel across the street. When the thief looks at her she waves. When she tries to tell the police and other citizens they don’t believe her. She needs to get through to an adult that can help her o
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Sep 16, 2009
Kevin
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This book was about this girl 12 year old girl named sammy. She gets these new set of binoculars from her grandmother for a present and used it one day and looked at people at the other buildings. She catches a robber stealing money. She reports it to the police but they dont believe her so she went to find out who the robber was her self.
Sammys main external conflict is that she has to find this robber and do it by herself. No one would believe her so she gets really mad. Then she eventua More...
Sammys main external conflict is that she has to find this robber and do it by herself. No one would believe her so she gets really mad. Then she eventua More...
Jan 18, 2012
Shelley
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This is another one of those books that have been sitting on our shelves since my oldest (18) was in elementary school and had to read for summer reading. Why the heck did I wait so long to get around to reading it? It was a wonderful book. I loved the story. I would give it a 3-1/2 stars if I could. Sammy Keyes is such a smart and witty kid. I found myself cheering her on throughout the book. It's a good thing we have another Sammy Keyes story, because I can hardly wait to pick it up and
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Jan 16, 2011
Jessi
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I think this book was recommended in Nancy Pearl's "Book Crush" but I have to disagree. Sammy Keyes is living with her grandmother, but on the down-low because her grandmother is living in government-assisted living for people over a certain age. Sammy gets into trouble when she notices a man taking money out of someone else's room in a nearby hotel.
Normally I would like a book like this but this one just didn't click. Not sure why, may have been the narrator's voice (started by l More...
Normally I would like a book like this but this one just didn't click. Not sure why, may have been the narrator's voice (started by l More...
Jan 05, 2011
Courtney
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Clever and spunky, Sammy Keyes is a sassy detective ready to take on both junior high and all those pesky local criminals. What I liked about this book was that it was not ridiculously simple to predict the outcome; there were actually many twists and turns in the plot. Plus, Sammy is a complex character - she is good at heart, but acts out at school and home. As she feels abandoned by her flaky mother, she also finds it difficult to control her emotions and outbursts. What prevails is a sto
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Nov 15, 2010
Henry
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This book is about a girl named Sammy who spies on his neighbors. Sammy one day saw a thief stealing from a hotel and is noticed by the thief himself. The thief sent threatening messages to Sammy and her neighbors. Sammy has to catch the thief herself because the police did not want to help.
This book is fairly interesting but i was very confused about Sammy's past about his mother and grandmother. I was only able to understand the book nearly halfway into it. Overall, this is a ve More...
This book is fairly interesting but i was very confused about Sammy's past about his mother and grandmother. I was only able to understand the book nearly halfway into it. Overall, this is a ve More...
May 13, 2010
Kevin
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The book i am reading right now is "Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief." I absolutely love this book because it is a mystery. i love mystery books because they get me curious and want me to read more so i can find out what is going to happen at the end. But back to the book, this book is about Sammy that uses his binoculars and spying around his block. But one day he saw a robber taking $4000 from a woman's purse. And the robber looked right at Sammy back. When Sammy went to the pol
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Dec 31, 2008
Jennifer
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Sammy Keyes is the antithesis of Daddy's girl Nancy Drew who dresses ever so smartly, drives a red sports car, and is on the best terms with the cops. Sammy doesn't even know who her father is, dresses from the second hand store, and has a tenuous relationship with the police. Most important Sammy is smart and sassy. As I kid, I read all the Nancy Drew and felt I was a super sleuth because I always figured things out before Nancy. After I realized Nancy was just stupid I gave up on mysteries. Sa
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Dec 13, 2008
Ronda
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Thirteen-year-old Sammy, who lives illegally at her grandmother’s “seniors only” apartment sees a crime committed while she’s looking through her binoculars—and the thief sees her. Booktalk: Sammy Keyes’ life is already crazy. She’s living illegally with her grandma in a seniors-only apartment complex while her mother tries to find an acting job out in California. While looking through her binoculars at the “seedy hotel” across the road—when her grandma has specifically told her NOT to be she se
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Feb 01, 2012
Franklin
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Seventh-grader Sammy is playing with her grandmother’s binoculars when she witnesses a burglary taking place in the Heavenly Hotel across the street her grandmother’s retirement community. Unfortunately, the thief saw her as well! And the police don’t believe her because she’s just a kid. Now it’s up to Sammy and her best friend to Marissa to crack the case. This book is a series; there are several more.
This book was very funny, and the mystery kept me guessing until the end!
This book was very funny, and the mystery kept me guessing until the end!
Aug 06, 2009
Carolyn
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I loved the quirky characters and situations in this book. Sammy is definately a strong leading character, who faces all kinds of challenges: her family situation, bullies at school, and being thrust into a crime investigation. She's not perfect, and admits it, but she is a loyal friend and her curiousity and daring take her to interesting places. I can definately see how people would work to read all of the books in the series.
Winner: Edgar Award for best children's mystery book.
Winner: Edgar Award for best children's mystery book.
Apr 05, 2009
Kendall
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I really enjoyed this Sammy Keyes book, and I think the rest will be a lot of fun to read. I think that strong readers from third grade on up through sixth or seventh grade will like these books about Sammy, who has taken it upon herself to solve a mystery in her neighborhood.
This book won the Edgar Award for Best Children's Mystery, and it is easy to see why. It mimics mysteries written for adults (like those by Grafton or Evanovich), but they are age and content-appropriate.
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This book won the Edgar Award for Best Children's Mystery, and it is easy to see why. It mimics mysteries written for adults (like those by Grafton or Evanovich), but they are age and content-appropriate.
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Jul 05, 2009
Leslie
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An excellent middle grade mystery that works for all ages. My kids--ages 8, 12, 14--all thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook version. (and let me tell you it is tough to come up with something that pleases all three.) The mystery is solid, Sammy is a great character with some interesting things in her life, and the supporting characters were great--not stereotypes. We will definitely do another Sammy Keyes audio book on an upcoming trip.
Jun 04, 2011
Patricia
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As a disclaimer, I have to disclose a book prejudice of mine. I DISLIKE reading a book that has a protagonist that I do not . . . entirely . . . like. I disliked Sammy's (and her grandmother's, for that matter) pervasive dishonesty. That said, I thought the book was well-written and I liked the story well enough. I could see why it was an Edgar award winner. However, I do not intend to read any other books in the series.
Sep 21, 2010
I learned alot about character development from the Sammy Keyes series. I started reading it when I was about 9 and I have watched the character grow up. Alot like the Harry Potter series. Draanen has a stamina that keeps the character interesting and growing. I have read a lot of series that become diluted in content, interest, and uniqueness but Sammy Keyes isn't one of them. A long term character is possible.
Jun 22, 2011
Rowena
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I TOTALLY LOVED THIS SERIES. i remember reading this in my room in a day. i think it was the fastest i'd ever finished a book (granted, this one's pretty short and it really shouldn't have taken me so long but i am a slow reader and just sort of a slow person in general 8( ). i loved the fact that she wore high tops or something. and that she lived illegally. she was cool.
Feb 10, 2011
Jake
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I loved this book so much! my rating on this book would be 9.5 out of 10. This book is for both boys and girls. The book is a little action and is a great mystery book. Man this book is really addicting because once you start you can't stop. So I would advise you to read this book. To me this was a good read because understood every word and it was a long book. So my opinion is a very amazing book.
The story is about this girl who sees a burglar through a pair of binoculars, More...
The story is about this girl who sees a burglar through a pair of binoculars, More...
Sep 25, 2011
Xiaoqing 703
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As you know there are many Sammy Keyes books out now, the most recent one being Sammy Keyes and Cold Hard Cash
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Anyone who has heard of this book but still hasn't read it, well read it now. I promise you that you will be begging for more and thats alright because there are a lot of books but REMEMBER this book is good for everyone, even adults.
Happy Reading
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Anyone who has heard of this book but still hasn't read it, well read it now. I promise you that you will be begging for more and thats alright because there are a lot of books but REMEMBER this book is good for everyone, even adults.
Happy Reading
Jan 27, 2012
Erin
rated it:
Great upper elementary/middle grade mystery from the point of view of a spunky, nosy 12-year-old girl who is using binoculars one day in her grandma's apartment where she lives and sees a thief stealing money across the way in the sleazy Heavenly Hotel. Fast-paced, exciting, clever--I had heard about them, but now I understand why it's popular.
