Well-plotted, if predictable. The characters are flat and at no point did I care what happened or feel emotionally engaged. ( )

Fun!

Great characters! I love Art and Camille.

It was a bit confusing at the beginning but the development of the story was done very well.

Amusing.

Suspenseful and intense. It was much more intense and contained more danger to the characters than I’d expected to read in a middle grade mystery.

Great mystery!

The story makes fine use of the Washington, D.C. settings, especially the National Gallery of Art. A not too detailed but useful pictorial map of the National Mall area is included at the front of the book and I bookmarked it and referred to it several times.

In addition to Art and Camille, I also liked Camille’s mother, Mary Sullivan and a couple of others. All the characters are interesting, even though I would say there is not much depth to most of the secondary characters.

I guess this is middle grade but the crimes aspect I wouldn’t recommend for younger middle grade readers. I am not sure but I’d say ages 9-12 most girls and most boys could enjoy this book. I think it would make a great read aloud book for families and for classrooms. It’s also a page-turner and for independent readers could be a one day book or even an in one sitting book.

I appreciated how for the Kindle edition there are QR codes to “follow the codes” and they’re clickable to see the particular art work mentioned in the story on those pages. There is the image and information about the piece and which museum and where in the museum the piece is housed. There is also a website given whose site has most of the artwork that I think can be used for audiobook and paper book readers. It was a pleasure to be able to effortlessly view the artworks as they were mentioned. For this reason this is one time I would always recommend an e-edition over audio or paper book editions.

If you do not like spoilers please do not read reviews that might have them and do not read the description fields for books 2 and 3 or any other books in this series that might be listed online. I read a couple of things before reading the book that I wish I had not seen.

I see that there are already two other books in this mystery series and I’m eager to read them. I have some ideas of what might happen with the adults as well as with the kids in the books’ stories. It will be entertaining to find out if my hunches prove true or not.

Perfect book/series for kids who enjoy mysteries, adventure, art, and museums, or any of the above. This would be a good book for kids who live in or have visited Washington, D.C. and for kids who will move to or will visit Washington, D.C.

Highly recommended!

4-1/2 stars, rounded up because it’s an excellent mystery for children and for older readers too. I enjoyed it immensely. ( )

A young boy who has forgotten his name and everything else about himself is found sitting on a bench in the National Gallery in Washington DC. Doctors at the hospital pronounce him healthy except for his amnesia. When the police can't find anything about him, an article asking for the help of the public is placed in the newspaper, and the boy is assigned to foster care with Mary Sullivan and her daughter, Camille. Mary and Camille start calling the boy Art because the name inside his jacket says, "Arthur." Mary decides to try and jog Art's memory by taking him back to the National Gallery where he was found, but as Art starts to regain his memory, he finds that he and Camille are in danger and they must use all of their resources to save their lives.

The Van Gogh Deception is filled with QR codes allowing the reader to access pictures of the paintings mentioned in the book, not only making the story more enjoyable, but also educational. The story is clearly well researched, including all kinds of information about art forgery and art history. The plot is fast-paced, especially once Art begins to remember who he is and why he was at the museum. Overall this is a good middle grade story with a wealth of facts and details. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. 5-8

Plot Summary: Art is found staring, just staring forward in the National Gallery. When he can't say who he is, how old he is, his name, or his parent's names, the cops put him in a temporary home with Mary and her daughter Camille. Art is quiet compared as he ponders who he is. He feels like he has a wall in his brain blocking his memories. Camille tries her best to trigger his memories with her constant bombard of questions but nothing helps. The next day, Camille, Mary, and Art return to the museum with the hope of triggering the memories. It doesn't work, but Art realizes he knows a whole lot more than more 12 year old kids about famous artists and their work. Like, a whole lot more. Seriously. He discovers a piece of plastic in his pocket and suddenly realizes someone at a table nearby in the gallery cafe has the same piece of plastic. He abruptly follows the man, and Camille, confused about whether she should wait for her mom to return from the bathroom or keep an eye on Art, as her mom instructed, doesn't know what to do. She decides to follow Art, who realizes the plastic piece is for the coatcheck at the museum. What will be given to him? Will it have clues to who he is? As he goes through the items he collected, a man approaches them and asks that they go outside where Mary is waiting. But when they get outside, the man shows a taser gun and is willing to hurt them in order to force them into the SUV. Now they're kidnapped and the security footage from the last 24 hours miraculously disappeared. Why? Who is Art? What do these people want? How many of them are there? How can they escape?

Setting: Washington DC, winter, whole story takes place in about 36 hours

Characters:
Art - fairly calm yet frustrated about having amnesia, amused by Camille, easy going, smart
Camille Sullivan - 10 y/o, bright red hair, VERY chatty
Mary Sullivan - has a great relationship with her daughter, has difficult kids in emergency foster care often
Dorchek Palmer - mastermind behind the biggest thrill of his life, cool calm and collected most of the time, despite when things don't go as planned to his team of highly trained tech experts, spies, and geniuses
Detective Brooke Evans - person who calls Mary and places Art in her care, answers Mary's call for help when the kids disappear, understanding and patient and kind and everything a cop should be to everyone

Recurring Themes: art, confidence, amnesia, friendship, life and death, intelligence

Controversial Issues:
pg 70 - "He knew that van Gogh had cut off his ear in Arles after an argument with another famous painter, Paul Gauguin. And he knew that van Gogh, whose life had ended far too young by his own hand, had almost died in that city."

Personal Thoughts: This is a suspenseful book with just the right amount of character development. I cared about the characters as they faced life and death situations. This book was very well-written.

Genre: mystery, action/adventure

Pacing: fast once you get past the first few pages
Characters: decent development
Frame: everything you need to know about art is explained, and QR codes link to pictures of famous art
Storyline:

Activity: ( )