Blind Man's Bluff

Ben and I decided to celebrate the unveiling of the theif by going out for a Double Dynamo to eat while while we read Chapter 18 and learned his name. The local conviencience store did not have any Double Dynamos. It is a store that has an ice cream counter so we choose to have a cone with a large scoop instead. One of us has Black Raspbery Chip. The other had Cookies and Cream. Do I need to specify whioch of us had which?

We were not surprised by the unveiling since we were both very confident we knew who it was after reading yesterday's chapter. We were a bit surprised by Oscar's 'multiple personalities'.

What issues do you hope to get resolved in the final chapter?

Left Hanging!

Chapter 17 leaves us as close to the answer as we can get - without actually hearing it. What clues were added this chapter? Do they change your guess?

Not What They Seem?

In Chapters 15 & 16 Sammy learns that a few things are not what they seem to be. I am getting the distinct feeling that the Author's Clues to the Hotel Thief may not be what they seem as well. I am standing by my previous post that TJ is somehow mixed up in this - but I am sensing that the Author wants me to think that and I am misinterpreting the clues. It must be significant that the Double Dynamo napkins have showed up twice. What other (then TJ) possible things could the napkin be telling us?

Sammy is getting worried that Borsch is starting to direct some attention at her as the criminal. If you were in his position do you think his 'suspicion' would be warranted?

Chapter 16 also brings a very satisfyting resolution to the Firehead incident. At least one thing has gone Sammy's way. Have we seen the last of Firehead in this book?

16 ends with the Best 'cliffhanger' so far. Is this a red herring or does she really know who did it? Any guesses who she thinks it is?

Bonus: I thought Grams signaled her feelings about Hudsen with something that she did but Sammy totally missed it. Do you know what I am talking about?

Note: Lets stretch it out a bit. Lets read one Chapter a day until we get to the end. (3 left).

Coming Together?

Recap what we learned about the crime in chapters 13 & 14. Is a suspect coming into focus? Who?

Grams Gets Even

Chapter 11 finds Sammy getting a taste of her own medicine. Was her Grandma’s reaction to Sammy’s thoughtlessness the day before appropriate?

The day takes Sammy from the Senior Highrise, to TJ’s, to Madame Nashira’s, to the roof of the mall. What did she learn in each of these stops? Will any of her experiences prove useful in solving the Hotel crime?

(We have so many red herrings by now that we could open a fish market. I was intrigued by one from Chapter 11. Any guess as to which one? HINT: Think Bacon.)

The best cliffhanger so far is delivered at the end of Chapter 12. It comes after Grams has once again proven to be a pretty smart lady. Were we given any clues that indicate Officer Borsch is thinking something is not right about this situation?

Noted

I was negligent in not pointing out the most important thing that happened in Chapters 7 & 8 - the delivery of 'The Note' to Mrs. Graybill. Just as we were about to hear the details of the note the phone rang and we fell off the cliff into chapter 9. What do you think the note said?

I saw smiling at the image of Sammy entering the 'glass livingroom' at Marissa's house after a quick backyard shower. Sammy seemed to handle herself pretty well but do you think that Officer Borsch thought something odd was going on? (Everytime I see his name I think about the beet soup called Borscht - cold and purple.) Sammy was so pleased with pulling off the interview that she forgot about her business at home. How did her Grams react to Sammy's forgetfulness?

In Chapter 10 we learn more about life in McKensie house. From Sammy's description, I was reminded of a popular Idiam: "If you live in a glass house....". What is an 'Idiam'? How does this one finish? Does it apply here?

Cliffhangers

Ben and I are enjoying the Author’s pattern of ending every chapter with a cliffhanger. So far each one has been an unexpected twist and makes us look forward to reading the next chapter. The characters and details are coming at us non-stop and I am finding myself being careful to absorb information, but even so I had to go back to find the reference when Sammy met Bill Eckert and realized she was the guy she had ‘bumped into at the mall’.

I was thinking that the ‘Characters’ panel needs to be reworked into four categories.

“Main characters”: Sammy, Grams, Marissa, Heather Acosta, etc.
“Special”: Characters that have some special quality that may prove useful in solving the crime. For example, Oscar and his figure eight sales route and prowess at giving change.
“Suspects”: Do we have any yet?
“Other”: Interesting Characters that we do not fit into the other categories.

Does this seem like a good idea? Do you agree or disagree with the catagories?

What characters did we meet in Chapters 7 & 8? What category would each fall in and why?

What's in the Cards?

I am enjoying all of the interesting characters that the Author is introducing in the story. Some have a clear role (i.e. the fortune telling crime victim, Madame Nashira). Other characters are interesting but I am wondering if there is a greater purpose for their seemingly random introduction in the book. An example is found in Chapter 6. Sammy and Marissa do not find their favorite treat at the local store so they head out to see if a street vendor has them. His name is Oscar and the detail with which he is described makes it seem likely that he will have a further role to play later in the story. Any ideas how his abilities/disabilities could become important later on?

It was a memorable first day of school for Sammy. There seems to be many potholes in her life right now. Luckily she has Marissa as a friend as she seems like a stabilizing influence for Sammy. The girls certainly have very different backgrounds. What do you think is the key to their friendship? (Possible clue is found early in Chapter 5.)

Finally, just for fun we are assigning a chapter title to each chapter since Draanen did not. What are your suggestions for 5 & 6?

BFFL?

Before proceeding, go back to the last post and respond to the question (Red Herring).

Though early in the book, this is promising to be a good read! After reading Chapters 3 & 4 we need to take a moment and think about what we know so far.
- What Characters have we been introduced to so far?
- Why is Sammy so afraid of Mrs. Graybill?
- Who is Lady Lana?

What important things have we learned so far?

In Chapter 4 Sammy meets 'Firehead'? What do you think? BFFL?

Something Fishy

I have been a bit under the weather the last few days so we are late getting started reading this book. Let's get the first couple of Chapters behind us and get a feel for this book. What do we learn about Sammy? Any Surprises?

I understand that the second chapter contains something often found in mystery's - a red herring. What is a 'red herring'? What is the red herring in chapter 2?

Is the new book good? We will solve that Mystery.

We will be finishing off this year of the School of Dad by reading "Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief". This is the first in the series by award winning author Wendelin Van Draanen. We are looking forward to jumping into this Mystery.

Last Book in the Universe Archive

To save some of the sidebar information from LBITU:

Ryter Right?

• "You must remember the past because it brings you here, to the right now, today, this moment, and from here you can look to the future."
• "take away memory, the sense of who we are, and human beings revert to animal behavior, and animals are easier to exterminate then humans."
• "...many a man has died looking for treasure that doesn't exist."
• "I don't suppose anybody really knows how bad a thing is until it actually happen."
• "The only real treasure is inside your head...Memories are better than diamnonds and no one can steal them from you."
• "Things change. You never know a thing for certain until you've seen it with your own eyes."

Big Questions
1. Why do we need friends and family?
2. Can there ever be a perfect world? (utopia)

Characters
Spaz: 1st person story tell, main character, traits?
Rhyter: gummy, old, white beard, shiny eyes
Lanaya: Proov Spaz first met at themall
Bean: Spaz's Step Sister
Little Face: homeless kid from the stacks
Bre: Lanaya's Mother (contributer)
Jin: Lanaya's Father (contributer)
Billy Bizmo: leader of the Bully Bangers. Sharp, rooked nose, brown curly hair, yellow teeth, pale scars.
Lotti Getts: boss of the Vandals
Vida Bleek: Trader Boss, Lotti rival
Furies: Vita Bleeks guard.
Mongo the Magnificent: leader of the Monkey Boys
Bully Bangers: Gang that rules Urb

Places/Events
Backtime: before the big shake
Big Shake: ?
Crypt: where Spaz lives
Eastie & Pipe: Urb Boundries
Eden: perfect place
Edge: border of the Latch?
the Pipe: huge nonfunctional aquiduct
Stackbox: homeless area
Urb: where Spaz lives

Invented Words
3D's: holographic movies
bust down: steal
cancellation: killed
choxbar: candy bar
curb people: homeless
googan: goofball?
Gummy/Geez: old person
latch: Control over
latchboss: ?
looping: to watch the same probe over and over
needlebrain: ?
Probe: needle to create virtual world
proov: genetically improved
sexbos: sex probe
shooter: violent probe
stunstick: zapping weapon used by teks
teks: short for technical security guards
Trendies: Eden probe
wheel: ? not good!
zoomed: Crazy