Customer Reviews

Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things

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4 star:		(3)
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Every summer I look forward to reading the new Sammy Keyes book by Wendelin Van Draanen. Her first five Sammy books were amazing. The children in my classroom love them. I wasn't thrilled with the next three, particularly Snake Eyes. I kept those three in the drawer because I was worried about the lamguage and the level of violence in them. With this book, Van Draanen has returned to creative plot twists and language more suitable for my elementary students. Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things will definitely have a spot on my classroom bookshelf. I couldn't put it down! Appropriate for ages 8+

Sammy Keyes's friends leave town for the summer, except for the ever-fascinating Casey, who Sammy runs into in the sporting goods store at the mall. He and his buddy Billy are gearing up to go backpacking. Casey invites Sammy, who has never even been camping. Sammy is intrigued but turns him down because of that ridiculous girl/boy thing, which she heartily resents.

But then she runs into a girl from school named Cricket. Although Sammy barely knows her, she lets Cricket persuade her to go camping with her Scout group, who regularly hike out to a condor-monitoring station to count condors. The troop leader, Robin, signs Sammy up (although Sammy is already in the throes of serious misgivings). Cricket blathers on and on about Robin's adorable, smart, passionate-about-condors nephew, Quinn, while Sammy tries unsuccessfully to back out of the camping expedition. What has she done?

Sammy meets Cricket's butterfly-collecting brother Gary, who lives in front of the computer. She discovers that their mother died and their dad is a workaholic. Sammy feels terribly for Cricket and can't hurt her feelings, so she's stuck for sure with the dreaded camping trip. But, after all, it's only four days --- plus, the entire camping experience will give her something in common with Casey.

As the trip starts, though, it's more nightmarish than Sammy ever could have dreamed. The Scouts are wacky, infighting eco-maniacs who casually mention lurking rattlesnakes, mean wild boars, ticks carrying Lyme disease and enormous scorpions. Sammy is also not impressed with college student Vargus and his major attitude, whom she meets when he almost crashes his jeep into their van.

Sammy can't believe the agony of Borrowed Hiking Boot Blister Syndrome and the horrible fact that drinking water is limited. Is she in camping hell? But Sammy comes into her own when the group finds the lookout trashed and then, later, an injured condor. Sammy recognizes a mystery, even out in the wilderness --- and solving it just may make the camping trip worthwhile after all.

Breathless adventure, a funny fish-out-of-water plot, a truly puzzling mystery, realistic characters, lots of fascinating nature facts and a bit of subtle romance --- not to mention Sammy's trademark wisecracking voice --- all add up to yet another truly excellent mystery in Wendelin Van Draanen's Sammy Keyes series.

Fair warning: start this book and you may well not be able to do anything else until you've finished it!

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon

This is the first Sammy Keyes book I've read, but I definitely plan to read more now!

Sammy's character is endearing because she's strong and capable while still being vulnerable. Especially to the guy she's crushing on and her ditzy mother.

Watching Sammy try to figure out what's so great about a big ugly bird and why it's important to "save the condors" is hilarious!

"Cool your heels" with this great Sammy Keyes book and you'll soon figure out why that expression has me giggling.

Sammy Keyes is one of the greatest characters in children's literature. I recommend Ms. Van Draanen's books to all my students, as well as my nieces and nephews. Sammy is about as alive as any character on paper can be - she's got a lot of strikes against her, and yet she perseveres, believing in herself and her great friends. I especially enjoy listening to the books read by the wonderful Tara Sands, who does a magnificent job with all the characters, but especially Sammy. Because these fun and cleverly written books (which are genuine mysteries by the way, with great clues and red herrings along the way, and usually a very surprising ending) are written in the first person, Ms. Sands gets to tell you the story in Sammy's own voice! A great marriage of vocal talent and writing talent - I'm waiting eagerly for this book to come out on CD. And I'm also hoping that Ms. Van Draanen will change her mind later, and choose to write more than 20 books. I know that's greedy, but like many, many readers (and listeners), I will ALWAYS want to know - what happens next to Sammy Keyes, great friend, granddaughter, and detective?

This book is enjoyable for all ages. Not only did I learn a lot about the preservation of endangered species and how much effort it takes to succeed, it gave me a new respect for wildlife. Sammy Keyes is tenacious in her endeavor to save the wild condors and her journey in this book is most interesting to read.

this is one of my three favorite sammy keyes books. i love how outdoorsy and of course casey and billy are in it too! :-)

My 12 year old daughter has just discovered this series of books. She has read several and I anticipate she will read them all before she's done. I keep having to make her turn off her light at bedtime because she wants to read "just one more chapter".

I personally started reading this series in middle school. I am currently in my freshman year of college and still adore these books. Admittedly, I could be a bit biased about this one, considering how much I like Casey (one of the sweetest fictional guys ever). I thought the book was enjoyable overall, and I was glad to learn more about Cricket. I'd been curious about her since Runaway Elf. My only small qualm is how suddenly Sammy told Casey her secret. I understood why she wanted to, but it just seemed really abrupt to me. But then, this would mean Casey will have a bigger part in future books? I certainly hope so. And you've got to love Billy, seriously.

This book was very good and I enjoyed reading it. Sammy goes camping, sorry, BACKPACKING with a friend and her "girl scout troop" where she unexpectantly meets someone she knows, and it's not Heather.