First Clues Review: Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is delighted to introduce a new feature for our website, book reviews written by students. These students offer their unique perspective on the book in their review and provide a valuable resource to parents looking for new mystery adventures for their kids to read.

Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen
The Sammy Keyes Series

Random House (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-679-89264-8 (0679892648)
ISBN-13: 978-0-679-89264-9 (9780679892649)
Publication Date: August 1998
List Price: $6.50

Review written by Lauren, Age 11, Grade 6. Date of review: October 2008.

Review: Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen is the first book in the Sammy Keyes Mysteries series. The main character in these books is Sammy Keyes, a 7th grade girl who solves mysteries.

Sammy Keyes wasn’t looking for adventure, but that’s exactly what she found when she sees a man through her binoculars at the hotel across the street stealing money out of a purse. Sammy thinks quickly, but doesn’t come up with the best idea when she waves at the crook! Other than Officer Borsch not believing Sammy about what she’s seen she has to deal with her grandmother’s suspicious neighbor, Mrs. Greybill. She has been trying to catch Sammy living with her grandmother in the “senior’s only” apartment complex.

Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief was an average mystery story at best. This book might be more interesting for a 4th or 5th grader than for a middle school student. The whole mystery seemed to lack suspense. Additionally, the fact that a 7th grader could figure out who the hotel thief was in only a matter of days was a bit unrealistic. This author did not make me want to read more. The author did however do a good job of explaining the characters and what they are like. But Sammy Keyes may not be a likeable lead character for everyone. I found her hard to relate to.

The Hotel Thief wasn’t a very good start to the mystery series. If this author is trying to reach middle school aged kids she should write her stories on a more mature level. The rest of the series may accomplish this but I do not wish to read any more books in this series. I do not recommend reading more Sammy Keyes mystery books.

Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief won the 1999 Edger Allan Poe Award for best children’s mystery book.

If you are interested in purchasing Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

First Clue Mysteries is pleased to provide information on nearly 100 mystery series for children and young adults. Each series is conveniently listed under three different age categories (New Sleuth, ages 4 to 7; Future Sleuth, aged 7 to 10; and Sleuth in Training, ages 10 and older). If you have a favorite mystery series you'd like to see added to our site, please contact us.

All student book reviews are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner, print or electronic, without the express written consent of the copyright owner. Reviews are published here with permission of the copyright owner.

Return to Mystery Books News ...