Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway

Have you ever had a big secret that you couldn't tell anyone? Maybe a bad test grade that you couldn't tell your parents about or a mistake that made you so embarrassed your cheeks turned scarlet red? Whether you're willing to admit it or not, we've all had skeletons in the back our closets at some point or another. In Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway, Sammy definitely has one- literally too! Wendelin Van Draanan, the award winning author of Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway, is also the author of the other installments in the Sammy Keyes mystery series and other novels like Flipped. The main character in this novel and the other books in the series is, as you may have guessed, Sammy Keyes. Sammy is a 13 year old girl finishing up seventh grade and is like any other normal teenage girl who plays softball and wears her signature high tops, or so it seems. In reality, Sammy actually lives illegally with her Grams in the Senior Highrise because her mom went off to become a superstar in Hollywood and her dad's whereabouts are unknown. She's bullied around by Heather Acosta, the pierced archenemy of Sammy's since her first day of school at William Rose Junior High School. She's friends with a wealthy girl who does a special dance every time she gets nervous, a Dutch girl who goes by the name of Dot, and a young lady who used to live in a box. She is a clever, witty, and quick teen who knows how to push peoples' buttons. She has a 72 year old friend named Hudson Graham who loves to rack her brain when she is confused about a mystery she's trying to solve. Mysteries you ask? Yes, Sammy is a local super sleuth in the town of Santa Martina. She solves the crimes before the police and knows how to think outside of the box. In this suspenseful novel, Sammy is faced with a big internal secret. Not only does she feel like she's being chased down by the "Army of the Bird God" after she has an incident with her homeroom teacher's bird, but she also is trying to figure out how she can stop the city from disrupting the lives of the people who live on neglected Hopper Street. At the same time, Sammy still has to deal with the typical junior high school issues- boys, bullies, and school dances. As Sammy is investigating why someone would want to have Mrs. Willawago, the elderly lady who has Sammy walk her dog, Mr. and Mrs. Stone, a strange dressing couple who gets checks from the government, a young lawyer, who might have his own personal agenda, and an unknown owner of vacant lots, removed from Hopper Street, she is distracted by her bird crisis. Sammy feels ultimately guilty for her teacher's lovebird's accident, especially after being scared into a closet when her rival Heather walks in the door. Not only does Sammy feel ashamed, but her nemesis gets blamed for the bird's disappearance! Continuing Sammy's life of a Shakespearean drama, her crush, and Heather's brother, is yet again trying to woo her. When he invites her for a night out on the town, Sammy i

totally amazing, i think wendelin should be the new j.k.rowling!

The Sammy Keyes series just keeps getting better. In this newest installment, we have a great twist. For once, Sammy ISN'T blamed for something that happens and Heather, her archenemy, is. This book begins and, as the others in the series have proved, has the reader along for a wild ride for the remainder of the story. Sammy, as usual, finds comfort in telling Hudson her problems and also by opening up to Grams. Noticeably missing from this book entirely, however, was Officer Borsch. I don't know what happened to him, but when the police were summoned, we were introduced to two new characters, Squeaky and the Chick. This book will be a must-read for fans of the series. In it, Sammy tells about her middle school life and how it's still hard to avoid that "Where do you live?" question that she often gets from the grown-ups around her. Sammy even joins Casey and his friends for the 8th grade dance (although she is a 7th grader). The first REAL date for Sammy, the boys have rented a black Hummer limo, which they designate "The Black Pearl". The pirate banter is hilarious and will have you saying "argh!" while trying to get the song "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!" out of your head. Sammy is always TOPS on my list and this book is nothing to miss!

Ok this book is the best! Sammy does something really bad and heather gets blamed for it. And there is a bit more romance between sammy and casey! in otherwords this is the best book ever and you have to read it!

sammy keyes and the dead giveaway is a very good book. Towards the beginning of the book, Sammy realizes that she did something wrong and Heather is blamed, so she is miserable. then she takes certain actions that cause the entire atmosphere of the book to change. some parts of the book were very surprising. during the book you really see that sammy is growing up and changing a lot. there were some key people who were talked about a lot more in other sammy keyes books than this one, such as officer borsch, and sammy's mother and father. as a book alone, this was absolutely great, but as a book of a series, this wasnt really connected so much. however, i would definitely recommend this latest installment in the sammy keyes series to all readers.