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lemonflower's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bibliotequeish's review against another edition
As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
bangel_ds's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.0
finesilkflower's review against another edition
3.0
I have read this one, but not recently, so the details are a bit fuzzy. Claudia's class's artwork is going to be displayed at the new museum, and there is also an exhibit from a famous artist, and Claudia uses her knowledge and intuition about art to identify something weird about one of the sculptures that enables her to solve a mystery. It's a clever way of bringing in a Claudia-specific skill, but overall a fairly forgettable book.
"Exotic" alert: From the Notes and Highlights, I can see that the main thing I had a problem with when I read this book was the detail of Claudia wearing Mimi's kimono to the exhibition. She's wearing it as one would wear a vintage dress, and it shows a complete lack of understanding of both the cultural context and practical realities of wearing a kimono.
"Exotic" alert: From the Notes and Highlights, I can see that the main thing I had a problem with when I read this book was the detail of Claudia wearing Mimi's kimono to the exhibition. She's wearing it as one would wear a vintage dress, and it shows a complete lack of understanding of both the cultural context and practical realities of wearing a kimono.
sammah's review against another edition
3.0
Let's be real here, none of us read these for the fascinatingly wonderful plot lines. They were all stupid as hell, and that has become more apparent as adults. The mysteries were all pretty awful, not even them were especially mysterious. This one was more a cop thriller...or would be if the cops doing the thrilling were 13 year old babysitters.
That's all you need to know, honestly. Just trust me.
That's all you need to know, honestly. Just trust me.
xtinamorse's review against another edition
Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blog/claudia-and-the-mystery-at-the-museum
pixieauthoress's review against another edition
4.0
I don't believe I read this book as a child, but it seems to be one of the more realistic mysteries. Claudia happens to be visiting a museum when there's a robbery, and notices a few suspicious things that cause her to investigate further. There are a lot of interesting details about Claudia's interest in art and the artist who is having a show at the museum. Whoever ghostwrote this book definitely did their homework, as they name-checked a sculptor I studied in my second year of university!
The new museum in Stoneybrook sounded pretty cool, but I didn't totally buy the comment at the end about the curator being chosen because he had prior experience with robberies in museums and they were worried that the museum might be robbed. Why would a small museum in Stoneybrook be under such a threat of robbery? Did they have some truly irreplaceable relics? If so, why in Stoneybrook and not another museum? You kind of have to ignore these aspects of the story in order to enjoy it.
There's a cute but totally unrelated sub-plot about Claire Pike wanting to become an actress, which included several references to Mallory feeling under the weather. I guess this book must have been written not long before the one about Mal's glandular fever?
All in all, a cute addition to the mystery series, and not so over-the-top and unbelievable as some of the later ones. These books are always good books to fall back on when I'm feeling stressed. 4*
The new museum in Stoneybrook sounded pretty cool, but I didn't totally buy the comment at the end about the curator being chosen because he had prior experience with robberies in museums and they were worried that the museum might be robbed. Why would a small museum in Stoneybrook be under such a threat of robbery? Did they have some truly irreplaceable relics? If so, why in Stoneybrook and not another museum? You kind of have to ignore these aspects of the story in order to enjoy it.
There's a cute but totally unrelated sub-plot about Claire Pike wanting to become an actress, which included several references to Mallory feeling under the weather. I guess this book must have been written not long before the one about Mal's glandular fever?
All in all, a cute addition to the mystery series, and not so over-the-top and unbelievable as some of the later ones. These books are always good books to fall back on when I'm feeling stressed. 4*
ssshira's review against another edition
2.0
this is my first time reading this book!
in this forgettable/plothole-filled mystery by ghostwriter [a:Ellen Miles|286072|Ellen Miles|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] (seriously, I'm having trouble distinguishing between the mysteries' stories at this point) someone steals some old coins from the new museum in stoneybrook. claud takes it personally because she loves museums (who woulda thunk?) and sets out to solve the mystery. turns out it was some guy who worked there. meanwhile, claire pike makes a video at one of those mall video places singing somewhere over the rainbow and is convinced she wants to be/should be a superstar.
highlights:
-claud says she doesn't remember anyone at the museum who looked really suspicious. "I mean, there weren't any guys with trenchcoats and briefcases or anything." haha I think all the nancy drews have fried your brain!
-rosie wilder helps claire try to find an agent. eventually claire realizes showbiz is too much work when jessi tells her some of the stuff derek masters has had to deal with. I like this, but it's also kind of unrealistic -- when I was a kid, I knew that being a celebrity would be a ton of work and be a pain but I still felt some weird need to be famous when I grew up.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-the curator is a jerk to her when she talks about investigating the robbery (and bringing up the prospect that another piece may have been stolen) so claud steals his resume from his desk as punishment. huh? why would you steal his resume? plot-wise it's the way they find out more about the curator, but it still doesn't make sense that she did it in the first place.
-it turns out he's worked at a lot of museums that have had burglaries. they think this means he's the perp but really he's an expert in preventing/solving them. ughhhh this book is so DUMB!
-don newman (the artist claudia admires, whose sculpture she thinks may have been stolen and replaced with a forgery) invites claudia and her dad to the fancy museum party claud had been wanting to go to. why? doesn't he have friends, or a family, that he'd rather hang out with than some 13 year old?
-the robber ends up being a custodian who is described as an older man, who was hoping to retire on it the money he made from stealing the coins. now, the bsc member joke, he's gonna retire in prison. ugh. how can they be so heartless? poor guy.
claudia outfits:
-"I had dressed up a little, in pink lace leggings and a long black sweater. My hair was tied back with a pink ribbon, and I was wearing pink ballet-type flats."
-"That Sunday, my hair was in a long braid hanging down one side of my head, with red ribbons threaded into it. I was wearing a red-and-white striped shirt that hung down almost to my knees, red leggings, and black high-top sneakers."
-"I was wearing a pair of bright red leggings topped by a white man-tailored shirt and a vest that used to belong to my father."
claire agent-meeting outfits:
-"She wore a spangled tutu which Mal had worn in a first grade play (it's a little ratty by now, since all the Pike girls have used it for dressing up), white high heels swiped from her mother's closet, and a pair of red sunglasses pushed up on her head."
-"She came back down in a few minutes, dressed in her best pink dress with lace trim. She was still wearing the high heels, and the sunglasses were still perched on her head."
snacks in claudia's room:
-popcorn (n.s.)
-doritos (n.s.)
-twizzlers (n.s.)
-ruffles (n.s.)
-pretzels (n.s.)
in this forgettable/plothole-filled mystery by ghostwriter [a:Ellen Miles|286072|Ellen Miles|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] (seriously, I'm having trouble distinguishing between the mysteries' stories at this point) someone steals some old coins from the new museum in stoneybrook. claud takes it personally because she loves museums (who woulda thunk?) and sets out to solve the mystery. turns out it was some guy who worked there. meanwhile, claire pike makes a video at one of those mall video places singing somewhere over the rainbow and is convinced she wants to be/should be a superstar.
highlights:
-claud says she doesn't remember anyone at the museum who looked really suspicious. "I mean, there weren't any guys with trenchcoats and briefcases or anything." haha I think all the nancy drews have fried your brain!
-rosie wilder helps claire try to find an agent. eventually claire realizes showbiz is too much work when jessi tells her some of the stuff derek masters has had to deal with. I like this, but it's also kind of unrealistic -- when I was a kid, I knew that being a celebrity would be a ton of work and be a pain but I still felt some weird need to be famous when I grew up.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-the curator is a jerk to her when she talks about investigating the robbery (and bringing up the prospect that another piece may have been stolen) so claud steals his resume from his desk as punishment. huh? why would you steal his resume? plot-wise it's the way they find out more about the curator, but it still doesn't make sense that she did it in the first place.
-it turns out he's worked at a lot of museums that have had burglaries. they think this means he's the perp but really he's an expert in preventing/solving them. ughhhh this book is so DUMB!
-don newman (the artist claudia admires, whose sculpture she thinks may have been stolen and replaced with a forgery) invites claudia and her dad to the fancy museum party claud had been wanting to go to. why? doesn't he have friends, or a family, that he'd rather hang out with than some 13 year old?
-the robber ends up being a custodian who is described as an older man, who was hoping to retire on it the money he made from stealing the coins. now, the bsc member joke, he's gonna retire in prison. ugh. how can they be so heartless? poor guy.
claudia outfits:
-"I had dressed up a little, in pink lace leggings and a long black sweater. My hair was tied back with a pink ribbon, and I was wearing pink ballet-type flats."
-"That Sunday, my hair was in a long braid hanging down one side of my head, with red ribbons threaded into it. I was wearing a red-and-white striped shirt that hung down almost to my knees, red leggings, and black high-top sneakers."
-"I was wearing a pair of bright red leggings topped by a white man-tailored shirt and a vest that used to belong to my father."
claire agent-meeting outfits:
-"She wore a spangled tutu which Mal had worn in a first grade play (it's a little ratty by now, since all the Pike girls have used it for dressing up), white high heels swiped from her mother's closet, and a pair of red sunglasses pushed up on her head."
-"She came back down in a few minutes, dressed in her best pink dress with lace trim. She was still wearing the high heels, and the sunglasses were still perched on her head."
snacks in claudia's room:
-popcorn (n.s.)
-doritos (n.s.)
-twizzlers (n.s.)
-ruffles (n.s.)
-pretzels (n.s.)
liannakiwi's review against another edition
3.0
(LL)
At least this was actually a mystery! The subplots with the Pike kids was annoying though.
As an aside: The Pike kids are kind of annoying for the most part. The girls (Vanessa and Claire) are always complaining about wanting to do things for themselves and make everyone else help.
At least this was actually a mystery! The subplots with the Pike kids was annoying though.
As an aside: The Pike kids are kind of annoying for the most part. The girls (Vanessa and Claire) are always complaining about wanting to do things for themselves and make everyone else help.
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