"SAMMY KEYES AND THE KISS GOODBYE," by Wendelin Van Draanen, Knopf Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 240 pages (f) (ages 10 and up)
In "Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye," the last installment of the Sammy Keyes series, the easy voice of the favorite high-top sneaker-wearing narrator has been silenced by foul play.
From the first words of “A Warning from Wendelin,” the author alludes that something terrible has happened to Sammy: She is in a coma after being pushed from the third story of the Highrise, her former home where she resided illegally with her grandmother.
While Sammy isn’t conscious to unearth any clues, mysteries still abound. Her friends try to figure out, first, why the gutsy sleuth was visiting her old stomping grounds and, second, which of her many enemies would have motives and means to harm her.
By switching the last book to third-person perspective instead of first, author Wendelin Van Draanen has found a clever way to highlight how many lives Sammy has touched in her community of Santa Martina. Van Draanen is also given a chance to personally say goodbye to the character she has written about for 18 books.
Throughout the course of the novel, the colorful cast from the previous books are given a chance to reflect on their relationships, often at her hospital bedside.
As each character — from the long-suffering Sgt. Gilbert Borsch to Sammy’s parents, the absent soapstar Lana Keyes and newly reunited popstar Darren Cole, to retired superhero Justice Jack — thinks about his or her relationship with the eighth-grader, a theme of redemption and forgiveness is established.
“Somehow the scrappy girl who’d had practically no family and only one friend (in the first novel, "Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief") had a whole city rallying around her. She was surrounded by family,” Van Draanen wrote.
Van Draanen is able to remind readers of the antics of previous mysteries through this format and is able to avoid too much sentimentality as Sammy’s rag-tag best friends, including a former homeless girl and an old frenemy, try to track down the still-at-large criminal. However, there are points in the narrative where the message of “kids know best” and “don’t get bogged down by rules” can get a little cloying.
By the end of the story, it's easy to cheer and want to lace up a pair of high-tops in solidarity as loose ends are tied up.
This book contains general drug references to a meth lab, moments of domestic abuse and minor, infrequent swearing. There is no sexual content.
If you go ...
What: He Said, She Said tour with Wendelin Van Draanen, author of "Sammy Keys and the Kiss Goodbye" and Mark Huntley Parsons, author of "Road Rash"
When: Sunday, Nov. 2, 2 p.m.
Where: Dolly's Bookstore, 510 Main St., Park City
Web: dollysbookstore.com
Also ...
When: Monday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m.
Where: The King's English, 1511 S. 1500 East, Salt Lake City
Web: kingsenglish.com
Note: Places in the signing line are reserved for those who purchase a copy of the featured book from The King's English.
Email: vromney@deseretnews.com, Twitter: GinnyRomney