Chasing Vermeer

Chasing Vermeer by, Blue Balliett. ISBN-13: 978-0439372947

This mystery is enough to keep even the brightest minds puzzling through the gripping story. Neither Calder Pillay nor Petra Andalee really fit in at school. Though they are in the same class, it is not until an incident in a museum closet that the two come together in a powerful friendship that might just be able to out-solve the FBI. Calder and Petra work together to figure out what has happened to a stolen Vermeer painting. The burglar, like Balliett herself, uses the theft to bring the art world into the public eye. Balliett speaks through her thief, who publishes letters in the newspaper, encouraging the mass public to delve into the art world and try their own hands at playing the critic. This book, like From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, is a marvellous mystery that lures young minds into the world of art. The protagonists are believable and easy to relate to; the other characters are shrouded in just enough mystery to make readers suspicious of them all. Balliett emphasizes a theme of connections--and the fact that a string of coincidences may play a part in unravelling a greater truth. The story, which took her five years to write, is loaded with tidbits that have fascinated the author throughout her life. This, and Balliett's setting the book in her hometown, Hyde Park, Chicago, gives the book a personal feel that helps to draw readers into her world. Balliett has teamed up with Brett Helquist, who has created detailed illustrations complete with their own mystery. Chasing Vermeer, loaded with puzzles, codes, clues, danger and suspense will entertain the mind of the reader long after they have finished the book.