Sammy loves looking out her Gram’s window with binoculars, even if it is kind of boring most of the time. But one day, when she’s checking out the Heavenly Hotel, she just happens to notice a thief helping himself to a wad of cash. Without thinking, she waves at him. Now she’s starting middle school AND in the middle of a mystery.
The mystery itself is an Encyclopedia Brown type – nothing scary, a burglar, some clues and some good old fashioned detective work. The characters go a bit deeper, Sammy and her best friend Marissa are inseparable, and both girls have been abandoned by their parents in very different ways. Sammy’s mother has left her with her Gram, while Marissa’s parents are wealthy and high powered, with type to spare for anything and everything but their own children. There’s a lot to like in this book and I’d happily recommend it to children especially in grades 3 and 4, although younger readers who are advanced might be okay with the content. My main caution on the content would be the issue of parental supervision and interest. For some children this will be unconcerning, others will feel stress or anxiety regarding how the parents treat children in this book. I did happen to run across a comment that faulted Sammy herself for being too violent, but please judge that for yourself after reading the content disclosure below.
One last thought: Marissa’s younger brother is very fat. There are multiple comments about the candy and sweets he eats. I think it’s always a bit touchy when overweight characters also are show as being to blame for their condition through overindulgence.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – A woman calls a man a flirt. A girl has had a crush on a boy for ages and asks a friend if she thinks he’s cute. A girl sees a man with his shirt half off as he is changing into another outfit.
Profanity – “darn,” “dumb,” “shoot,” “jerk,”
Death, Violence and Gore – A character pokes another character in the butt with a pin. She gets punched in the nose (causing a bloody nose) in retaliation. Sammy worries that perhaps her grandmother is tied up with duct tape in a closet. A girl tackles another girl and threatens her. A person slams a Dumpster lid on another person, trapping that person. A police officer draws a gun.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Samantha mentions that kids get suspended for passing out cigarettes. An adult buys cigarettes. Two adults smoke cigarettes. A man smokes a cigar.
Frightening or Intense Things – Samantha seems to live with Grams and doesn’t want to get into where her mother is. She said her mother left her there and she is afraid of questions from the cops. When she first started living there she slept with Grams because she had bad dreams, now she sleeps on the couch. Sammy can’t legally live with her Grams, because it’s subsidized housing for the elderly, so her living situation is precarious. About midway through the book she upsets her grandmother so much that her grandmother won’t answer the phone and arranges for her to sleep at a friend’s house. Sammy has gotten a ticket for jaywalking.
