The Vandemark Mummy [Mass Market Paperback]

Cynthia Voigt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 1992

"Pleasingly well written...Graced with a sound plot, a scary climax,and, above all, perceptive characterizations...A fine interweaving of fun and substance."
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Althea and Phineas Hall are spending a boring summer with their father until a rich old man donates the mysterious Vandemark mummmy and other antiquities to the college where their father is a professor, with instructions that only he is to care for them. When something happens in the room where the valuables are kept, Phineas and Althea sense that there is danger in the air and that one wrong move could turn a summer mystery into murder....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A collection of Egyptian antiquities draws a 12-year-old boy and his sister into an intricately plotted web of burglary, kidnapping and attempted murder. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10-- Newly arrived in Portland, Maine, Phineas Hall, 12, and his sister Althea, almost 15, live with their father, a classics professor, while their mother pursues her own career in Portland, Oregon. Phineas concentrates on being a child, enjoying his summer, while Althea buries herself in the study of ancient Greek. The focus of their concerns shifts abruptly when a small collection of Egyptian antiquities, including a mummy, is donated to Vandemark College, and Professor Hall is chosen as curator. The collection is first threatened, and then the mummy is vandalized. It is Althea who figures out the culprit's identity; in confronting him, she risks her life and is saved only through the persistence and bravery of Phineas, who conducts a nocturnal search of the labyrinthine library basement. Pleasingly well written, this contemporary mystery is graced with a sound plot, a scary climax, and, above all, perceptive characterizations. The tone is light, deftly counterbalancing the thoughtful presentation of difficult issues concerning feminism and family. In all, it's a fine interweaving of fun and substance. --Cynthia Bishop, Onondaga County Pub . Lib . , Syracuse, NY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (August 23, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449704173
• ISBN-13: 978-0449704172
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,388,811 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cynthia Voigt won the Newbery Medal for Dicey's Song and the Newbery Honor Award for A Solitary Blue, both part of the beloved Tillerman Cycle. She is also the author of many other celebrated books for middle-grade and teen readers, including Izzy, Willy-Nilly and Jackaroo. She was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award in 1995 for her work in literature, and the Katahdin Award in 2004. She lives in Maine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, September 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vandemark Mummy (Mass Market Paperback)

The Vandemark Mummy was a very good book. When the Professsor gets a collection with a mummy in it, his two kids, Althea and Phineas, suspect that the mummy may be fixing to endanger their lives. After Althea disappeared after the mummy had been found after being stolen, Phineas knew exactly where to find her. This book keeps you reading it because it is so good.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book., January 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vandemark Mummy (Mass Market Paperback)

I thoght this book was great!I thought that I would finish reading it the next day but once I started reading it I realized I read the whole book in 1 hour.This was the first book I read by Cynthia Voigt. The second was Homecoming.Right now I'm reading Dicey's Song. I'm almost finished.Well, bye then.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific book!, June 21, 2001

By 

"mfshermantank" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vandemark Mummy (Paperback)

...The Vandemark Mummy was filled with action, mystery, and suspense, making this work of fiction a great summer book. Phineas and Althea’s father is offered a job at a college in Maine. He accepts, and Phineas and Althea have a tough time getting used to the state, the town, and the new people. The college at which their father now works has a collection of Egyptian artifacts, including a mummy. Someone attempts to steal it, shocking everybody. Then it happens again; this time, however, the robbers are successful. Can Phineas and Althea solve the crime, or will the mummy remain permanently off display?