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A review by nostalgia_reader
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
3.0
3.5 stars
This was an enjoyable, quick read, and I found myself relating a lot of the settings in the book to Nancy Drew books, which was a definite plus. The focus on Vermeer paintings was intriguing, especially since I love any Dutch classical art, and the codes in the book were simple, but fun to decode. There was always something to keep me engaged, and the suspense towards the end was well done, even though the end was a bit anti-climactic and predictable. I also would have loved to have been in Ms. Hussey's class, she sounds like one of the greatest teachers ever.
I did feel that the reliance on coincidences (although they aren't really termed that in book) was just TOO heavy--there were just too many random things that lined up perfectly to give Calder and Petra clues, and to tie the storyline together. While I definitely did enjoy the change in pace, and the creative twists the story took because of the coincidences, I think it would have done the entire plot a whole lot of good to incorporate some real, solid evidence into the case. While Petra finding the Fort book has a lot to do with it (and I definitely would love to read a book like that!), I think that, had she not found the book, there still could have been a good mystery, and a more believable one at that.
It's not perfect, but I loved the characters and the setting and the quirky history that's interspersed (I love when kids books do this, it gets them interested in obscure history early!). I'll definitely be checking out the next book in the series--I hope it'll rely more on quirky historical facts, and less on coincidences.
This was an enjoyable, quick read, and I found myself relating a lot of the settings in the book to Nancy Drew books, which was a definite plus. The focus on Vermeer paintings was intriguing, especially since I love any Dutch classical art, and the codes in the book were simple, but fun to decode. There was always something to keep me engaged, and the suspense towards the end was well done, even though the end was a bit anti-climactic and predictable. I also would have loved to have been in Ms. Hussey's class, she sounds like one of the greatest teachers ever.
I did feel that the reliance on coincidences (although they aren't really termed that in book) was just TOO heavy--there were just too many random things that lined up perfectly to give Calder and Petra clues, and to tie the storyline together. While I definitely did enjoy the change in pace, and the creative twists the story took because of the coincidences, I think it would have done the entire plot a whole lot of good to incorporate some real, solid evidence into the case. While Petra finding the Fort book has a lot to do with it (and I definitely would love to read a book like that!), I think that, had she not found the book, there still could have been a good mystery, and a more believable one at that.
It's not perfect, but I loved the characters and the setting and the quirky history that's interspersed (I love when kids books do this, it gets them interested in obscure history early!). I'll definitely be checking out the next book in the series--I hope it'll rely more on quirky historical facts, and less on coincidences.