My words

Hi!
I'm Webster, creator of this blog. Sammy's story starts with Hotel Thief, then winds through Halloween and the holidays in Skeleton Man, Sisters of Mercy and Runaway Elf. Then comes The Curse of Moustache Mary, a sort of Wild West story which twists and turns around the Edge of the World. Next is Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy, where Sammy and Marissa hop the Greyhound to Los Angeles to shake some bubbles out of the Gas-Away Lady's head (you know who I'm talking about, right? Her mom!) and come face to face with a real live mummy! In Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes, Sammy's got a new neighbor (who falls off toilets) to deal with, the Junior Sluggers' Cup tournament to compete in (with Heather!), and Gangster Girls to avoid. You won't believe what Sammy gets into!
The next book is Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception. Think bad art, a renaissance faire, and (back by popular demand) Casey. Which, of course, is gonna fry that vicious Heather to a crisp! But fish are flying (right into Ms. Acosta), bandits are hiding, and Grams is teaming up with Sammy to dig up clues.
The ninth book is Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen. It’s Sammy’s birthday book, but gee, what a birthday—Dorito (Sammy’s cat) goes missing, Sammy discovers dead cats in Dumpsters around town, and Sammy’s mother returns to break some very bad news. Add a pro-wrestling school (where Sammy learns moves that she can use on You-Know-Who!) a good-luck charm from Heather’s brother, and you’ve got non-stop teen-angst action.
The tenth in the series (and the half-way point!) is Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway. It’s the end of 7th grade, and for once Heather gets blamed for something Sammy did. Will Sammy confess? Or let Heather stew in the sweet juices of revenge? Add to this moral dilemma an end-of-the-year dance which Casey asks Sammy to, a band of teen-pirates, eminent domain (of all things) and a mystery so deadly and, uh, stinky, that even Sammy’s never uncovered anything like it. A real page-turner!
The latest book, just recently released, is Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things. In this backpacking adventure, Sammy’s first mistake is trading in her high-tops for hiking boots, but blisters become the least of her worries as she and a friend get lost in the woods and have to face rattlesnakes, ticks, scorpions, killer trees, boys, and oh, yeah…a dangerous condor poacher.
If you’ve never tried a Sammy Keyes adventure/mystery—pick up any one that sounds good to you—you don’t have to read them in order. And if you’ve already read all of them, let me introduce the Shredderman, another book series written by Wendelin Van Draanen, you can find out more about the shredderman series in my other blog.
So keep reading, 'cause readers rock!