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Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary
Written by Wendelin Van Draanen
· Knopf Books for Young Readers
· Hardcover · Ages 10-13
· May 9, 2000 · $14.95 · 978-0-375-80265-2 (0-375-80265-7)
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The normally unflappable Sammy Keyes is reeling--not from her encounters with a corpse, an arsonist, or an irate policeman, these she can handle. No, what completely unbalances her is the teen-scene at a New Year's Eve party. Caught up in this adolescent ambush, Sammy begins to doubt herself. And if she can't trust her own instincts, how can she possibly figure out who burned down a pioneer-era cabin, how a 200-pound pig has disappeared , or why Casey might want to hold her hand?
In this fifth Sammy Keyes mystery, Wendelin Van Draanen gives us her most ambitious work to date. While her prose is as comic as ever, there's a very serious undercurrent here--Sammy is tossed and torn, both literally and figuratively, as she shoots the rapids of this plot. But in puzzling out whodunit and how and why, she manages not only to turn the culprits over to the police, but also to reclaim a belief in her own strength.
Praise for Sammy Keyes:
"A treat for mystery lovers." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review
From the Trade Paperback edition.
NOMINEE - Ambassador Book Award
Books have always been a part of Wendelin Van Draanen’s life. Her mother taught her to read at an early age, and she has fond memories of story time with her father, when she and her brothers would cuddle up around him and listen to him read stories.
Growing up, Van Draanen was a tomboy who loved to be outside chasing down adventure. She did not decide that she wanted to be an author until she was an adult. When she tried her hand at writing a screenplay about a family tragedy, she found the process quite cathartic and from that experience, turned to writing novels for adults. She soon stumbled upon the joys of writing for children.
Feedback from her readers is Van Draanen’s greatest reward for writing. “One girl came up to me and told me I changed her life. It doesn’t get any better than that,” she said. Van Draanen hopes to leave her readers with a sense that they have the ability to steer their own destiny—that individuality is a strength, and that where there’s a will, there’s most certainly a way.
Wendelin Van Draanen is the winner of the 1999 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Children’s Mystery Book for Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief and lives with her husband and two sons in California.
Visit the Sammy Keyes web site
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