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divine529's review against another edition
With this book, it'll be my third Deron R. Hicks book, and the book that solidifies him as a favorite author for me.
I absolutely loved this, and I'm finding that middle grade art mysteries like this, are one of my favorite things. It's advertised as Dan Brown-esque meets Jason Bourne for a younger audience and in a lot of ways it really is (art history and mystery mostly with amnesia and thriller elements).
This book follows our main protagonist, a boy who is discovered in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, but who has amnesia. As the book continues on, we find out that the boy, who has been dubbed Art, is being chased for a reason he's not sure of, and things kind of go from there.
The writing of this was well done - fast-paced, keeps you on the edge of your seat, decent plotting and characterization and twining plot. As with all of Hicks books, they're great for both adults and kids, but sometimes he goes on tangents about concepts and legal things, that could go over the "target age range's head" if you will. I absolutely loved those elements though, so it didn't really bother me, just something I thought I should mention.
The plot is generally what I mentioned above, but it's quite a bit more complex than I let on, but as it's a mystery/thriller, I don't want to give too much away.
The setting of this was also great. It takes place in Washington DC and I thought the descriptions of the places, especially the National Gallery was excellent. The art history elements were some of my absolute favorite things in the world and I LOVED the QR codes element (there are QR codes spread throughout the novel that link you directly to the painting in question on the museum website - it's brilliant). I think it's an absolutely fantastic way to enhance the reading experience and something I've never seen done before, but I'd love to see in more books.
Finally, the characters. Art was a fantastic character and one I felt like I could relate to in a lot of ways. I also adored Camille and Mary. Palmer was a fun bad guy and I enjoyed all of his hench-people too. All of the characters were well written and played a role, and I just really enjoyed them all.
All in all, a fantastic book and I can't wait to dive right into the next installment!
TW/CW: blood, violence, kidnapping, amnesia
I absolutely loved this, and I'm finding that middle grade art mysteries like this, are one of my favorite things. It's advertised as Dan Brown-esque meets Jason Bourne for a younger audience and in a lot of ways it really is (art history and mystery mostly with amnesia and thriller elements).
This book follows our main protagonist, a boy who is discovered in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, but who has amnesia. As the book continues on, we find out that the boy, who has been dubbed Art, is being chased for a reason he's not sure of, and things kind of go from there.
The writing of this was well done - fast-paced, keeps you on the edge of your seat, decent plotting and characterization and twining plot. As with all of Hicks books, they're great for both adults and kids, but sometimes he goes on tangents about concepts and legal things, that could go over the "target age range's head" if you will. I absolutely loved those elements though, so it didn't really bother me, just something I thought I should mention.
The plot is generally what I mentioned above, but it's quite a bit more complex than I let on, but as it's a mystery/thriller, I don't want to give too much away.
The setting of this was also great. It takes place in Washington DC and I thought the descriptions of the places, especially the National Gallery was excellent. The art history elements were some of my absolute favorite things in the world and I LOVED the QR codes element (there are QR codes spread throughout the novel that link you directly to the painting in question on the museum website - it's brilliant). I think it's an absolutely fantastic way to enhance the reading experience and something I've never seen done before, but I'd love to see in more books.
Finally, the characters. Art was a fantastic character and one I felt like I could relate to in a lot of ways. I also adored Camille and Mary. Palmer was a fun bad guy and I enjoyed all of his hench-people too. All of the characters were well written and played a role, and I just really enjoyed them all.
All in all, a fantastic book and I can't wait to dive right into the next installment!
TW/CW: blood, violence, kidnapping, amnesia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, Car accident, and Blood
aseaoftomes's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
With this book, it'll be my third Deron R. Hicks book, and the book that solidifies him as a favorite author for me.
I absolutely loved this, and I'm finding that middle grade art mysteries like this, are one of my favorite things. It's advertised as Dan Brown-esque meets Jason Bourne for a younger audience and in a lot of ways it really is (art history and mystery mostly with amnesia and thriller elements).
This book follows our main protagonist, a boy who is discovered in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, but who has amnesia. As the book continues on, we find out that the boy, who has been dubbed Art, is being chased for a reason he's not sure of, and things kind of go from there.
The writing of this was well done - fast-paced, keeps you on the edge of your seat, decent plotting and characterization and twining plot. As with all of Hicks books, they're great for both adults and kids, but sometimes he goes on tangents about concepts and legal things, that could go over the "target age range's head" if you will. I absolutely loved those elements though, so it didn't really bother me, just something I thought I should mention.
The plot is generally what I mentioned above, but it's quite a bit more complex than I let on, but as it's a mystery/thriller, I don't want to give too much away.
The setting of this was also great. It takes place in Washington DC and I thought the descriptions of the places, especially the National Gallery was excellent. The art history elements were some of my absolute favorite things in the world and I LOVED the QR codes element (there are QR codes spread throughout the novel that link you directly to the painting in question on the museum website - it's brilliant). I think it's an absolutely fantastic way to enhance the reading experience and something I've never seen done before, but I'd love to see in more books.
Finally, the characters. Art was a fantastic character and one I felt like I could relate to in a lot of ways. I also adored Camille and Mary. Palmer was a fun bad guy and I enjoyed all of his hench-people too. All of the characters were well written and played a role, and I just really enjoyed them all.
All in all, a fantastic book and I can't wait to dive right into the next installment!
I absolutely loved this, and I'm finding that middle grade art mysteries like this, are one of my favorite things. It's advertised as Dan Brown-esque meets Jason Bourne for a younger audience and in a lot of ways it really is (art history and mystery mostly with amnesia and thriller elements).
This book follows our main protagonist, a boy who is discovered in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, but who has amnesia. As the book continues on, we find out that the boy, who has been dubbed Art, is being chased for a reason he's not sure of, and things kind of go from there.
The writing of this was well done - fast-paced, keeps you on the edge of your seat, decent plotting and characterization and twining plot. As with all of Hicks books, they're great for both adults and kids, but sometimes he goes on tangents about concepts and legal things, that could go over the "target age range's head" if you will. I absolutely loved those elements though, so it didn't really bother me, just something I thought I should mention.
The plot is generally what I mentioned above, but it's quite a bit more complex than I let on, but as it's a mystery/thriller, I don't want to give too much away.
The setting of this was also great. It takes place in Washington DC and I thought the descriptions of the places, especially the National Gallery was excellent. The art history elements were some of my absolute favorite things in the world and I LOVED the QR codes element (there are QR codes spread throughout the novel that link you directly to the painting in question on the museum website - it's brilliant). I think it's an absolutely fantastic way to enhance the reading experience and something I've never seen done before, but I'd love to see in more books.
Finally, the characters. Art was a fantastic character and one I felt like I could relate to in a lot of ways. I also adored Camille and Mary. Palmer was a fun bad guy and I enjoyed all of his hench-people too. All of the characters were well written and played a role, and I just really enjoyed them all.
All in all, a fantastic book and I can't wait to dive right into the next installment!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Violence
aerialcataloger's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent, Gun violence, and Fatphobia
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