5 STARS It's been a while since I read a mystery series.I am surprised I actually enjoyed this book. I read another series by this author and I loved her writing style and her books. My older sister told me to read this series because it's soooo good. I declined. I refuse to read anything that my sister recommends BECAUSE we have such different taste. And then..fast forward, 3 years later, and I'm actually reading this book. It's not the first I've done this. For example, in first grade, my older sister told me to read Harry Potter because it was so wicked and amazing and mindblowing. Like no. Ew. Excuse me. I really didn't love books back then. Then..fast forward 6-7 years, I'm reading Harry Potter that she recommends. (I was seriously going through that series back in 8th grade. I haven't finished though :( )Anyway, after reading this-I just can't. It's so different and just a new change for me. I've been reading romance and dystopia and fantasy. I feel like that's all I read. I need something new to read. Something refreshing. Just something new. THIS was fuckin refreshing and just-AH. Oh lord.So the book is about a girl named Sammy Keyes.. who is basically at the wrong place at the wrong time. She finds herself in situations-with basically mystery and it's up to her to solve them. I guess that's how I'd summarize this book without spoiling anything.I love the fact that the author doesn't make it seem too unrealistic with the mystery. (Like I've read a mystery before and it's obvious. THIS BOOK HAD LIKE A PLOT-TWIST FOR ME. I FELT STUPID TO NOT EVEN REALIZING THE HINTS. Man, I am so not good at mystery.) The author really doesn't make Sammy figure it out really fast. Although, she does drop subtle hints here and there that work with the story. What amazes me and impresses me is that the mystery solving seems slow for me, but the whole story was fast-paced so that was weird and at the same time soooo AWESOME. I like the way the author developed the plot and moved the story along. I can tell in the future Sammy is going to really develop and grow. I'm excited to see that. And I like the fact that the story is not just focusing on the mystery alone, but her life as well. Not only is she dealing with this mystery, but we get to know more of her. What her life is like at home, how she potrays herself outside, and other relationships.I love Sammy's character. I feel like I stil don't know much about her. I feel like I can't really relate to her as much as I want. I mean, she seems to have only one closest friend her age and the rest are older and just seem like acquaintances. She's so different. And I really love that. She's just so different that it's hard for me to relate to her half the time. I know that as I read more of the books in this series, I will get a better knowledge of her. :)I definitely like the story, development, and writing style. I feel like the character development is still lacking. But it's good nevertheless. I know that the next few books will be even better and there will be great improvements. I expect a lot from this series. So hopefully it's going to be AWESOME.
Edit: I just read some of the reviews and I'm a little disappointed. Sammy does tell a lie or two in the book, but let's be honest: didn't you tell a lie once in a while when you were a kid. And tell me a book in which the character was absolutely perfect that you still love to the day. Sammy's lying is what we call a flaw and it's part of what makes her such an interesting character. The thing that bugs me the most about the reviews I just read, however, is that those of you upset about her lying didn't give the rest of the series a try. If you did, you would see her character grow and see that she eventually turns into a trustworthy and responsible young woman, despite the fact that she is only 12 years old! Sammy is a very real and relatable character, which is why I adore her so much. Now, on with my original review. Let me start this review by stating that I am a 20 year old woman and I have been reading the Sammy Keyes series since I was 13 years old and with each new novel published, Sammy is still my hero. This is the first book in the Sammy Keyes series, although it is not the first one I read and you definitely don't need to read these in order. But this is one of my favorites of the series and I'm pretty sure I've read it over a dozen times. Its simplicity and the great characters that are expertly introduced in so little words make this book an easy and fun read. The writing is definitely geared toward the junior high population, but I still enjoy it - and all the others - just as much as I did when I first read it. In a lot of books I've read that involve some sort of mystery that the protagonist stumbles upon while he/she is trying to juggle a crazy home life and a not so great social life, the parts where he/she is involved in the bigger, more life threatening mystery seem almost like the character is taking break from real life for a minute. But with Sammy Keyes, everything meshes so beautifully. I care just as much about whatever mess she's gotten herself into with her grams and her arch nemesis Heather as I do with whatever psycho she happened to wave at while he's stealing money from a hotel room across the street.And Sammy may get into a lot of trouble, but she doesn't really mean to and she does her best to fix things up when she can. She's a character with a good heart, straight morals, and just a little too much courage to keep her out of trouble. Like I said, Sammy is my hero and a great role model for girls and women everywhere. I'll be sad when her adventures come to an end.
Do You like book Sammy Keyes And The Hotel Thief (1999)?
I Scream, You Scream: Lockwood & Co. Jonathan Stroud’s Lockwood and Co. Book 1: The Screaming Staircase is a great mix of mystery and ghost story. Boasting an opinionated and talented heroine, Lucy Carlyle, who could be Sammy Keyes British cousin, this story is set in a world where ghosts (called Visitors) have taken over the night and wrought havoc all over London. Of course, only children can see and therefore fight these Visitors. As the book opens, we find Lucy recounting her time at Lockwood and Co., the only ghost-fighting company to operate completely without adult supervision. Lucy is joined by Lockwood, a cocky but somewhat mysterious kid who owns a house and a collection of ghost-hunting implements from around the world, and George, who excels at research and demolishing donuts. Like Stroud’s Bartimaeus series, this book excels at witty one-liners, feats of derring-do, and a flippant tone that Han Solo would admire. The world Stroud places his characters in is complete, believable, and detailed, and the plot is well thought out and exciting. The tone of Stroud’s writing makes this book perfect for the sardonic world of middle school and early high school, as does its extensive vocabulary and somewhat morbid subject matter. Readers who enjoyed Sammy Keyes but now need something more difficult would enjoy this, as would Harry Potter fans and refugees from Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. And if you've read the Bartimaeus Trilogy and haven't already got this book on your list, well, you can imagine what the old djinni would have to say about THAT.
—Jenny
This book is very interesting because the person who you would not think is actually the person who is behind all the crime. Sammy Keyes is a girl who solves mysteries. As Sammy gets complaints from people in the hotel, that someone has been stealing their money, she goes on the search to find who it is. As the book goes on Sammy narrows the hotel thief down by getting certain clues. When she finds out who it is she is amazed at first, but then she understands and sees the robber in progress. After the hotel thief knows she saw her Sammy traps the thief and the cops take him away. This book is very interesting and I recommend you should read it.
—Raghav Batra
Sammy Keyes mystery series, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways--well, I CAN'T because you are so WONDERFULLY AMAZING. I want to put every book in your whole dang series on my favorites shelf, but I know I shouldn't because that would be excessive. But here are just a few of the things I love about you:I love how Sammy, 12 year-old solver of small town crimes, never wastes time worrying about how pretty or thin she is, despite being in the high-peer-pressure world of middle school. Her appearance is totally irrelevant to her--what matters is her brains, her heart, and her guts.I love how Sammy is not afraid of bugs or dark alleys or heights, and plunges into danger head-on.I love how Sammy is nice to the weak, mean to the wicked, and sometimes even nice to the wicked.There're just too many things about this series that I like to name them all! In any case, I'm excited to read the rest of the series.
—Lisa
