具体描述
Amazon.com Review
In the classic tradition of E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, debut author Blue Balliett introduces readers to another pair of precocious kids on an artful quest full of patterns, puzzles, and the power of blue M&Ms. Eleven year old Petra and Calder may be in the same sixth grade class, but they barely know each other. It’s only after a near collision during a museum field trip that they discover their shared worship of art, their teacher Ms. Hussey, and the blue candy that doesn’t melt in your hands. Their burgeoning friendship is strengthened when a creative thief steals a valuable Vermeer painting en route to Chicago, their home town. When the thief leaves a trail of public clues via the newspaper, Petra and Calder decide to try and recover the painting themselves. But tracking down the Vermeer isn’t easy, as Calder and Petra try to figure out what a set of pentominos (mathematical puzzle pieces), a mysterious book about unexplainable phenomena and a suddenly very nervous Ms. Hussey have to do with a centuries old artwork. When the thief ups the ante by declaring that he or she may very well destroy the painting, the two friends know they have to make the pieces of the puzzle fit before it’s too late!
Already being heralded as The DaVinci Code for kids, Chasing Vermeer will have middle grade readers scrutinizing art books as they try to solve the mystery along with Calder and Petra. In an added bonus, artist Brett Helquist has also hidden a secret pentomino message in several of the book’s illustrations for readers to decode. An auspicious and wonderfully satisfying debut that will leave no young detective clueless. --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 5-8. The Westing Game, The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler--how exciting to find a book that conjures up these innovative, well-loved titles. That's exactly what Balliett does in her debut novel, which mixes mystery, puzzles, possibilities, and art. The story is set in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood at the University of Chicago's Lab School, where Balliett was a teacher. There, outsiders Petra and Calder become friends as they try to find out what happened to a missing Vermeer painting. That's really all the plot one needs to know. More important are Balliett's purpose in writing and the way she has structured her story. The former seems to be to get to children to think--about relationships, connections, coincidences, and the subtle language of artwork. To accomplish this, she peppers her story with seemingly random events that eventually come together in a startling, delightful pattern. The novel isn't perfect. It glides over a few nitty-gritty details (how did the thief nab the picture), and occasionally the coincidences seem more silly than serendipitous. However, these are quibbles for a book that offers children something new upon each reading. Adults who understand the links between children's reading and their developing minds and imaginations will see this as special, too. Helquist, who has illustrated the Lemony Snickett books, outdoes himself here, providing an interactive mystery in his pictures. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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这本书的语言风格呈现出一种迷人的、略带古典韵味的优雅，但又不失现代叙事的敏捷性。作者似乎对遣词造句有着近乎偏执的追求，每一个形容词的选用都恰到好处，精准地烘托出当时的情境氛围。比如描述一个追逐场景时，用词的跳跃性和紧迫感与描绘一个宁静的室内场景时的舒缓和沉思形成了鲜明的对比。更让我印象深刻的是，作者对“失落”和“追寻”这两个主题的探讨，贯穿始终。这种追寻不仅是寻找实体物品，更深层次上是对身份认同、对逝去美好的留恋与重建。它不仅仅是一个关于“找东西”的故事，更像是一部关于如何与过去和解的寓言。我特别喜欢作者在处理高潮部分时所展现出的控制力，紧张感层层叠加，每一个转折都像是精准计算过的多米诺骨牌效应，最终导向一个既出乎意料又在情理之中的结局。读完合上书本的那一刻，我感受到的不是故事结束的空虚，而是一种充盈的满足感，仿佛自己也参与了一场智力与情感的漫长旅程。
评分坦白说，这本书的结构设计非常大胆，它巧妙地在主线悬念和人物内心挖掘之间找到了一个微妙的平衡点。我读到中间部分时，一度被作者插入的那些看似与主线无关的支线情节所吸引，那些关于家庭矛盾、代际沟通障碍的描绘，细腻得让人心头一紧。这些支线并非简单的添油加醋，它们如同镜子一般，反射出主角们在面对巨大压力时人性复杂幽微的一面。作者没有将任何角色脸谱化，即便是反派，其动机和行为逻辑也得到了充分的铺垫，让你在痛恨之余，还能理解他们行为背后的驱动力，这使得整个故事的道德光谱变得异常丰富。相比于那些追求快速刺激的冒险故事，这本书更像是一场缓慢发酵的佳酿，后劲十足。它迫使你停下来思考“真相”的相对性，以及我们如何通过自己的视角去构建和扭曲现实。书中的对话尤其出色，简练却充满张力，很多关键信息的传递并非直白叙述，而是隐藏在看似寻常的交谈之下，需要读者自己去捕捉那些弦外之音。
评分从文学性的角度来看，这本书的文本处理达到了一个相当高的水准。它不仅仅是一部情节驱动的商业小说，更像是一次关于观察力与感知力的深度冥想。作者似乎在提醒我们，这个世界上充斥着被我们习以为常而忽略的奇迹和线索。书中描绘的那些看似平凡的场景，在主角敏锐的目光下，瞬间被赋予了全新的意义和隐藏的信息。这种视角的转换，极大地拓宽了我对日常环境的理解。此外，人物的成长弧线处理得非常自然流畅，角色的每一次抉择，无论大小，都清晰地映射了他们内在价值观的转变。我欣赏作者没有试图去美化或粉饰人性中的弱点，而是坦诚地展现了他们在压力下的脆弱与挣扎，这使得角色显得如此真实可信。总而言之，这是一部需要细细品味的佳作，它不仅提供了引人入胜的故事，更在潜移默化中提升了读者对细节的敏感度和对复杂情境的分析能力，读完后让人意犹未尽，忍不住想重读一遍，去寻找那些最初忽略的闪光点。
评分这本书的叙事节奏把握得简直是教科书级别的，开篇就抛出了一个引人入胜的谜团，让你仿佛身临其境地卷入了那场突如其来的变故之中。作者高明之处在于，他没有急于将所有线索和盘托出，而是像剥洋葱一样，层层深入，每一次揭示都伴随着新的疑问和更复杂的背景设定。我特别欣赏那种细致入微的环境描写，那些老旧的建筑、昏暗的街角，甚至空气中弥漫的气味，都清晰可辨，极大地增强了故事的真实感和沉浸感。主角团的互动更是火花四射，他们之间的化学反应不是刻意为之的“友情”，而是基于共同的困境和目标自然而然产生的信任与依赖。看着他们从最初的互相猜疑到后来的默契配合，那种成长的轨迹非常动人。而且，情节推进过程中穿插的那些关于艺术史和解谜技巧的知识点，处理得非常巧妙，既没有显得说教，又有效地提升了故事的深度和读者的智力参与度。我常常在脑海中与角色同步思考，试图抢在他们之前解开下一个谜题，这种阅读体验真是酣畅淋漓，让人欲罢不能。
评分我必须承认，这本书在开篇时给我带来了一些挑战，它的信息密度相当高，需要我全神贯注地去梳理人物关系和时间线索。但一旦度过了最初的几章，进入到故事的核心区域后，那种被“困住”的感觉便转变为一种强烈的探索欲。这本书的魅力在于它构建了一个极其复杂且自洽的世界观，其中的规则和逻辑，即便是最微小的细节，也得到了充分的尊重和后续的呼应。作者显然对所涉及的领域做了大量的功课，并将这些知识巧妙地融入到情节的肌理之中，使得解谜过程不仅仅依赖于运气或巧合，而是建立在严谨的逻辑推理之上。这种对智力游戏的尊重，对于我这类喜欢“动脑子”的读者来说，简直是莫大的享受。而且，这本书对“错误认知”的处理非常高明，它不断地引导我们去相信某些既定事实，然后在最不经意间将其颠覆，这种叙事上的反套路让人拍案叫绝，也促使我在阅读过程中时刻保持警惕和批判性思维。
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