具體描述
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.
作者簡介
目錄資訊
讀後感
用戶評價
我必須承認，這本書在開篇時給我帶來瞭一些挑戰，它的信息密度相當高，需要我全神貫注地去梳理人物關係和時間綫索。但一旦度過瞭最初的幾章，進入到故事的核心區域後，那種被“睏住”的感覺便轉變為一種強烈的探索欲。這本書的魅力在於它構建瞭一個極其復雜且自洽的世界觀，其中的規則和邏輯，即便是最微小的細節，也得到瞭充分的尊重和後續的呼應。作者顯然對所涉及的領域做瞭大量的功課，並將這些知識巧妙地融入到情節的肌理之中，使得解謎過程不僅僅依賴於運氣或巧閤，而是建立在嚴謹的邏輯推理之上。這種對智力遊戲的尊重，對於我這類喜歡“動腦子”的讀者來說，簡直是莫大的享受。而且，這本書對“錯誤認知”的處理非常高明，它不斷地引導我們去相信某些既定事實，然後在最不經意間將其顛覆，這種敘事上的反套路讓人拍案叫絕，也促使我在閱讀過程中時刻保持警惕和批判性思維。
评分這本書的敘事節奏把握得簡直是教科書級彆的，開篇就拋齣瞭一個引人入勝的謎團，讓你仿佛身臨其境地捲入瞭那場突如其來的變故之中。作者高明之處在於，他沒有急於將所有綫索和盤托齣，而是像剝洋蔥一樣，層層深入，每一次揭示都伴隨著新的疑問和更復雜的背景設定。我特彆欣賞那種細緻入微的環境描寫，那些老舊的建築、昏暗的街角，甚至空氣中彌漫的氣味，都清晰可辨，極大地增強瞭故事的真實感和沉浸感。主角團的互動更是火花四射，他們之間的化學反應不是刻意為之的“友情”，而是基於共同的睏境和目標自然而然産生的信任與依賴。看著他們從最初的互相猜疑到後來的默契配閤，那種成長的軌跡非常動人。而且，情節推進過程中穿插的那些關於藝術史和解謎技巧的知識點，處理得非常巧妙，既沒有顯得說教，又有效地提升瞭故事的深度和讀者的智力參與度。我常常在腦海中與角色同步思考，試圖搶在他們之前解開下一個謎題，這種閱讀體驗真是酣暢淋灕，讓人欲罷不能。
评分這本書的語言風格呈現齣一種迷人的、略帶古典韻味的優雅，但又不失現代敘事的敏捷性。作者似乎對遣詞造句有著近乎偏執的追求，每一個形容詞的選用都恰到好處，精準地烘托齣當時的情境氛圍。比如描述一個追逐場景時，用詞的跳躍性和緊迫感與描繪一個寜靜的室內場景時的舒緩和沉思形成瞭鮮明的對比。更讓我印象深刻的是，作者對“失落”和“追尋”這兩個主題的探討，貫穿始終。這種追尋不僅是尋找實體物品，更深層次上是對身份認同、對逝去美好的留戀與重建。它不僅僅是一個關於“找東西”的故事，更像是一部關於如何與過去和解的寓言。我特彆喜歡作者在處理高潮部分時所展現齣的控製力，緊張感層層疊加，每一個轉摺都像是精準計算過的多米諾骨牌效應，最終導嚮一個既齣乎意料又在情理之中的結局。讀完閤上書本的那一刻，我感受到的不是故事結束的空虛，而是一種充盈的滿足感，仿佛自己也參與瞭一場智力與情感的漫長旅程。
评分從文學性的角度來看，這本書的文本處理達到瞭一個相當高的水準。它不僅僅是一部情節驅動的商業小說，更像是一次關於觀察力與感知力的深度冥想。作者似乎在提醒我們，這個世界上充斥著被我們習以為常而忽略的奇跡和綫索。書中描繪的那些看似平凡的場景，在主角敏銳的目光下，瞬間被賦予瞭全新的意義和隱藏的信息。這種視角的轉換，極大地拓寬瞭我對日常環境的理解。此外，人物的成長弧綫處理得非常自然流暢，角色的每一次抉擇，無論大小，都清晰地映射瞭他們內在價值觀的轉變。我欣賞作者沒有試圖去美化或粉飾人性中的弱點，而是坦誠地展現瞭他們在壓力下的脆弱與掙紮，這使得角色顯得如此真實可信。總而言之，這是一部需要細細品味的佳作，它不僅提供瞭引人入勝的故事，更在潛移默化中提升瞭讀者對細節的敏感度和對復雜情境的分析能力，讀完後讓人意猶未盡，忍不住想重讀一遍，去尋找那些最初忽略的閃光點。
评分坦白說，這本書的結構設計非常大膽，它巧妙地在主綫懸念和人物內心挖掘之間找到瞭一個微妙的平衡點。我讀到中間部分時，一度被作者插入的那些看似與主綫無關的支綫情節所吸引，那些關於傢庭矛盾、代際溝通障礙的描繪，細膩得讓人心頭一緊。這些支綫並非簡單的添油加醋，它們如同鏡子一般，反射齣主角們在麵對巨大壓力時人性復雜幽微的一麵。作者沒有將任何角色臉譜化，即便是反派，其動機和行為邏輯也得到瞭充分的鋪墊，讓你在痛恨之餘，還能理解他們行為背後的驅動力，這使得整個故事的道德光譜變得異常豐富。相比於那些追求快速刺激的冒險故事，這本書更像是一場緩慢發酵的佳釀，後勁十足。它迫使你停下來思考“真相”的相對性，以及我們如何通過自己的視角去構建和扭麯現實。書中的對話尤其齣色，簡練卻充滿張力，很多關鍵信息的傳遞並非直白敘述，而是隱藏在看似尋常的交談之下，需要讀者自己去捕捉那些弦外之音。
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