Wendelin Van Draanen

Thirteen-year-old Sammy's penchant for speaking her mind gets her in trouble when she involves herself in the investigation of a robbery at the "seedy" hotel across the street from the seniors' building where she is living with her grandmother.

Sammy Keyes and the hotel thief

Lynn Braden

Sammy Keyes is just about to start 7th grade in her first year of junior high. She has been living with her grandmother for over a year because he mother is in Hollywood trying to get a part in a movie or television show and doesn't really have time for Sammy. Sammy's Grams has a pair of binoculars that Sammy has been using to see what's going on in the neighborhood when she accidentally spots a robbery in progress in a hotel room across the street. She calls the police but realizes she can't tell them that she is living with her grandmother because people over 50 aren't supposed to be living in Grams' apartment building - a fact that Mrs. Graybill who lives across the hall keeps reminding her. When she tells the police that she is just visiting and really lives where her friend Marissa actually lives, Sammy's story starts to fall apart and she becomes a suspect herself. It doesn't help that she gets suspended on the first day of school for punching a girl in the nose that was harassing Marissa and stuck a pin through Sammy's clothes and into her butt.
Sammy Keyes is a funny character who is smart and not afraid to stick up for herself or her friends. She has excellent instincts which help her as she tries to figure out a way to find the hotel thief. Overall, a quick read with quirky characters and a couple of nice twists.

Sammy Keyes and the hotel thief

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