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What Members Thought
This was pretty engaging in general, and has a great character in the tea-obsessed, overspending, OCD mother, but a few major things keep it from being a winner for me. The timeline is all off, for one--everything could technically work, but a modern kid is likely to have a great-grandfather who fought in WWII, not a grandfather, and that (along with the other characters of that era) pulled it all askew for me. The person who turned out to be a villain felt shoehorned into that role. Considerabl
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An art mystery with a historical back story, Theodora Tenpenny is left a crumbling house, the care of her mother, about $400 and a painting that may possibly be a stolen Raphael. In her quest for answers, the solitary and self-sufficent Theo gains a quirky cast of new friends who prove to be the real treasure hidden under the egg. Fun, sweet read. Obvious appeal for the Basil E. Frankweiler fans (and to a lesser degree the Chasing Vermeer or Saffy's Angel fans).
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I enjoyed this story, though the plot twist at the end stretched my belief, as did the circumstances of her life and her new friend. Interesting tie-ins to books/films I have seen recently (Art Forger, Monuments Men).
This was a very fun read. It was well researched, well written, entertaining art history mystery for tweens, which is a refreshing book as a follow up to the horrible Chasing Vermeer, which is the opposite of all that is good about this book, except is an art history "mystery". One of the things it reminded me of were the books I read as a tween where young women got into situations that they should not have been able to figure out and handle, but succeeded anyway, which is such a great thing fo
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This is a fantastic mystery about a painting left to 13-hr-old Theo by her now deceased grandfather. Filled with tons of interesting art history facts and fun scenes with Theo's new friend Bodhi, daughter to a celebrity couple, the girls unravel the painting's history along with Theo's grandfather's fascinating past. NYC comes alive in this book that will keep you turning the pages to discover more about what's under the egg.
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Dan Brown plus E. L. Konigsburg plus something altogether unique. A fun and fascinating novel (despite its tendency to go pretty deep into its historical, linguistic, and artistic explanations) that I'll definitely get for the school library.
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Great book about art theft, the Nazis, the Monument Men, and more. Possible Newbery Club read. Lots of wonderful world history & info/history of art.
I was totally hooked for about half the book. It felt like the middle/end dragged. Loved the ending with the letters.
Jan 31, 2014
Holly
marked it as to-read
Mar 17, 2014
J.j.
marked it as to-read
Mar 23, 2014
Leslie
marked it as to-read
May 23, 2014
Kate Hastings
marked it as to-read
May 26, 2014
Dest
marked it as to-read
Jun 18, 2014
Dan
marked it as to-read
Jun 25, 2014
Robynn
marked it as to-read
