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Chasing Vermeer Review
User Submitted Chasing Vermeer ReviewsNovember 15, 2008 Too Clever by Far - Needlessly Disappointing I chose this book for my 8 year old's School Fall Book Report because it had all the hooks that would typically grab the little guy who's a voracious reader AND (let's not forget the grownups that partake of reading to our children) it was going to be fun for me too! Part of our assignment was to create a representative MOBILE of the story elements and this book had it all - 16 century stolen masterpiece, math puzzle pentominoes, decoding messages, clues hidden in the illustrations, a girl-boy team of gifted kid super-sleuths, a long list of suspects, the ideal inspired young teacher, eye-popping imagery in Ms. BAlliett's writing.... It has such great elements of mystery and art and mathematical tools and emotional hooks to draw one into this most amazing of settings for a great read. The book started out so breathlessly great with a culturally mixed hero/heroine pairing and most exciting of all - the Obamas' neighborhood and probably the VERY SAME school that Sasha and Malia go to at U of Chicago!!! WEll I either ran short of breath due to lack of exercise or this book got so muddled up going in so many different directions with so many red herring clues (like enough already with Frog and frogs) that I literally watched my son lose interest about 2/3 way into the story elements that time and time again failed to deliver for him and for me. And worst literary crime of all - the solving of the mystery is a bunch of hocus pocus, unscientific anti-climactic to the point of being intellectually offensive that makes me wonder if the story was too much even for Ms. Balliett to find a resolution worthy of her stage craft. I gave it a 4 star because despite the disappointing ending - it has some amazing settings, subjects that allow for further research and I bet my 8 year old never forgets the Lady WRiting and will probably be excited if we ever get to the National Gallery in D.C. and happen to stumble on the Lady Writing. It's certainly worth the price! and will nevertheless go down in history as a notable classic of its day. July 9, 2008 Wonderfully Intriguing I first checked out this book from the library thinking, "Eh. Just something for reading points." Well, let me tell you something. I WAS WRONG!!! This book is about to 6th graders who try to find the missing Vermeer painting, A Lady Writing. The story takes you through twists and turns and has a deep plot. I finished it in two days. Some people may say that this is not the best story, but I am living proof that THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE NO RESPECT FOR GREAT STORIES WHATSOEVER!!!! Take my advice and READ THIS BOOK. I am near positive that you will be sucked into it by the first page. June 27, 2008 Chasing Excellence...And not Quite Reaching it On paper (which I guess is a phrase that doesn't work quite as well in regard to books), the concept of this book thrills me! Geometric puzzles, art history clues, and natural phenomenons? I love it all! And even when I first read this book, I was totally gripped by the story and all the layers of mystery and curiosity. It was in my second reading that this house of cards flattened out on me. This book frustrated me much in the same way that Harry Potter has. The author just takes too many liberties to allow the reader to feel part of the story. It feels unfair when an author gets to have a surprise hidden panel in the wall at the end of the story. I don't know if this is so much true for all genres. A mystery, however, should be tight. It needs to feel like a completed puzzle at the end - either leaving you feeling satisfied that you called it right, or amazed at how well it all came together. When it feels like a jumble that nobody could have pieced together except the author (and even appears that the author took pains to make it more complicated than necessary) it just doesn't work. In some cases of literature (and art!), when you think "I could have made that," it is a compliment on how easy the creator made it look. In the case of Chasing Vermeer, and knowing full well my limitations as a writer, thinking "I could have written that" is not a good thing. For a book club book, I think this will still be a delight to young readers. If the club is given all the extra ingredients to completely lose themselves in a world of mathematical and artistic mystery, fall in love with Chasing Vermeer. I have only read this book aloud with students. To independently read it as a book club, students would probably need to be older and have strategies for figuring out the references the book makes. May 23, 2008 Clever premise, disappointing execution My main problem with this book is the lack of realism in regards to the young protagonists. Children don't think, act, or speak the way Calder and Petra do in this novel. Their thoughts and actions reflect how an adult might like a child to think and behave. There is little or no authenticity in these characters. Another issue is with the plot and the way in which the story progresses and ultimately resolves itself. Events are random and there is little causality. This might not have bothered me so much, though, if the characters had been engaging and realistic. May 11, 2008 Cure for the DaVince Code I have never tried so hard to not like a book. I'm not sure exactly what I had against the book, but I fully intended to read it and then pick it apart. I originally bought a copy for my little sister with the full intention of stealing it from her and finding out why it was so darn popular.But only after a few chapters I was sucked into the enchanting mystery. Balliett has made a fine puzzle with all the intricacies of "The Westing Game" and "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E.Frankweiler" and just as much human passion. It is a clever, pop-corn entertaining mystery that explains why this book is so darn popular. Even after the fluffiness, the book has plenty of its own emotional meant--the author cared for his characters and he cared for his story, even the itty-bitty minor things that in the end ironically proved to be of vast importance. I imagine Balliet originally writing this story simply to entertaing himself, which just so happens to be the origin of so many great stories.This is not just a story--this is about art and what makes various things art. It is about looking for beauty in unusual places and the emotional and mental journey it takes to discover that beauty. And it is all done without the hullaballo of snobby adult writers. The writing is simple, quick, with just a tinge of the right emotions, and I found myself getting very attached to the very real characters. Great plot, great characters, and simply a great idea. Excellent book. April 11, 2008 Chasing Vermeer Chasing Vermeer By Blue Ballitot Genre: Mystery Review by Joseph The book Chasing Vermeer is a great story about two Friends, Petra Andalle and Calder Pillay. In the beginning the book is very confusing; it opens with a letter - a very misleading letter, which three people from Hyde Park Chicago receive. Then later a painting is stolen. When Calder and Petra hear about this, they set out to find the Lost Vermeer. One thing I liked about this book was the challenge. It is confusing in parts and doesn't make sense but the more you read it the story will start to unfold. This book seems never ending; it seems like you can never put it down. Petra and Calder may succeed or fail; read to find out. When you read this book, you will have many questions. Keep track of them and write down the page because when you finish this book you may need to read back to make sense of it all. I recommend this book to 3rd graders and up, as it is confusing and a challenge. However a challenge is no reason not to read it. Chasing Vermeer is definitely in my top 5 favorite books. December 14, 2007 Wonderful book! I make it a point to read everything my daughter reads or might read, so I've read a lot of contemporary children's literature. This is absolutely among the best! The plot is complex without being unreasonably complicated, the characters are interesting and well-developed, and the references to the historical Vermeer made me want to know more. I followed this book with Wright 3, which was equally good, and I'm very anxious to see Balliet's new book coming out in May. This is an excellent read, both for children and adults. I can't recommend this book or this author enough! December 8, 2007 an intriguing mystery You should read this book because it's a good mystery, it makes you think, and solve codes. I read it about two years ago, and decided it was time to read it again, I was right. If you choose to read this book, you won't be sorry. If you don't like it it's because you're too dim-witted to understand it! November 12, 2007 THIS BOOK IS THE WORST! I am a mother of a 10 year old girl. She was assigned this book for school. I was curious, because I love these kinds of mysteries, puzzles to be solved, I loved The DaVinci code, so I decided to read Chasing Vermeer too. What a mess. First of all, I think the writing is terrible. Some of her descriptions and narrative are so contrived. She clearly set out to write a "kids' DaVinci code" and it is so obvious and unoriginal. Second, not only is the plot complicated, it is BORING as all get out. I haven't even finished the book yet (I am about 2/3 through) and all I can say is "WHO CARES"? I couldn't put the DaVinci code down, even with its complicated plot. I was so desperate to find out what happened next. But if I never found out who stole the painting in Chasing Vermeer, I could care less. Characters so uninteresting, nothing compelling about the main characters to make you even care what happens to them. Plot so random and all over the place. I suppose it all will come together, but after each chapter, I find myself saying "ENOUGH ALREADY! MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN HERE! LET'S GO! The book doesn't listen to me, it just keeps droning on and on and on and on. Can't IMAGINE how it won any awards. STAY AWAY!!!!! CONTRIVED AND BORING! September 17, 2007 5th Grade Class Review We read Chasing Vermeer over the summer and here are some of our thoughts. We liked the book because it is a mystery with a good plot. Our eyes flew across the page like scurrying squirrels. The story has two kids who worked on solving the problem. The mystery really made you think, we even had to use math skills. Plus, the novel had really good art work. However, the beginning of Chasing Vermeer is a little tough to follow and also very confusing. Another thing that we did not like was you had to figure out the codes. A silly complaint from of the class is that blue M&Ms are used instead of yellow because yellow M&Ms taste better! In conclusion, the majority of the class would recommend this book to a friend. We enjoyed this book because we solved the mystery. We hope you read this book!! For more Chasing Vermeer reviews click here.
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