The Calder Game
by Blue Balliett
Scholastic Press pp. 371 $17.99
ISBN-13: 978-0-439-85207-4
ISBN-10: 0-439-85207-2
In The Calder Game, Calder Pillay and his dad take a trip to a small town in England. The town where they’re staying has a sculpture by the famous artist Alexander Calder that the town wants to be rid of, surprisingly. Then Calder and the sculpture go missing on the same night. Calder’s friends, Petra and Tommy, come in from Chicago to solve the mystery of the missing Calders. On their way they see someone following them, get stuck in a maze and have to solve a kidnapping. Petra and Tommy prove loyalty and daring to save their friend.
As you flip through the pages you see fear for the missing Calder and the loyalty of his friends and family as they stick to the case to find him. You see how his friends, who don’t usually get along, work together to find him. Choice comes through as Calder’s friends and family and the local villagers have to choose what paths to follow in order to find the missing Calders.
In this book you feel like you’ve known the characters for years. Balliett uses details so that you know their personalities and ideas. As you read you learn more about each character and the more you know, the closer you are to solving the mystery. Balliett makes the characters come alive in such a way that you feel you could meet them on the bus the next day and know almost everything about them.
When I was reading this book I couldn’t put it down. The clues follow each other one after another and leave you in suspense. Blue Balliett writes in a way that pulls you into the book by making it come alive in front of your eyes. Balliett uses details so you experience the characters feelings and thoughts. The book demonstrates that you can do anything when you work together.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves a tongue biting mystery and art. This book is more for people 10 and up. The suspense and twists will make you unable to put the book down, with a slow beginning that speeds up so you don’t know what’s coming next. You’ll find the third installment of the Balliett art mysteries fresh and exciting.
~ reviewed by Marissa
