The Van Gogh Deception

This is your modern day suspenseful interactive middle grade mystery. Arthur is found sitting alone in the National Gallery in Washington D.C. with no idea where his family is, or even what his own name is. Arthur is placed into foster care with a mother (Mary) and daughter (Camille). His memory could come back at any moment, and things begin to quickly unravel as it becomes apparent Arthur is in danger. Camille refuses to leave Arthur's side as he tries to figure out who he is and trying to stay safe. Readers will not be able to put this Da Vinci Code like page turner down until the last page, all the while being able to see the art being depicted throughout the book with QR codes.

This would be a great interactive book to get kids show more motivated and possibly interested in art! show less

Meh, wasn't engaged. Although Deron Hicks wrote from an interesting perspective ~ art fraud, malicious villains, and young kids to the rescue, I found the writing only mediocre and the plausibility of the plot questionable.

The action is rapid and ratchets up throughout the last half of the book. The story provides few breaks in the chasing and evasions, so the readers do not have a bit of relief between hectic episodes. Some situations are quite dangerous, which could readily upset a younger or sensitive middle grader. Camille's behaviour as a ten-year old was particularly unrealistic in the face of being kidnapped, facing down stun guns, and poisoned darts.

My other niggle related to how dated this story is, only 10-years later. show more SpongeBob Square Pants? I mean, really? A kiddie TV show from the 1990's. As for inserting QR codes as art history learning points, I'm unsure whether QR insertion is simply gimmicky and kids won't be interested or, like me, find the images too small to convey much. Middle graders are so used to the mobile-phone world and the widespread use of QR to convey information that I can't see that as 'special'. I also found the codes disrupting my involvement with the story, especially when some codes seem to be irrelevant at that point in the narrative or now lead to a removed page.

YA readers might find the action beguiling and the plot completely satisfactory. The story is quite a fast-paced mystery with sneaky bad characters. As an adventure with artistic mentions, there could well be a strong appeal to creative students. show less

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 show more 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. show less

It's a middle grade novel, but this adult librarian loved it! Suspense, mystery, and kid heroes—who could ask for more? But there IS more! The art history in this book is meticulously researched along with art forgeries. AND, there is a QR code for the famous paintings mentioned so that you can scan them as you read to see them for yourself. On top of that, it is a smart and witty book that had me on the edge of my seat (cliché, I know!) more than once. Adding this to our school library.

Standard juvi mystery, reminded me a bit about the Da Vinci Code because of the art references. I would've given it a 4 but there's QR codes throughout that link to images of the famous paintings they discuss, and I think that's really cool.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

When a young boy with amnesia is found sitting in The National Gallery, it sets off an adventure full of art and mystery.

I loved all the art and art history in this! It was really well integrated and added a lot to the book.

The main characters of Art and Camilla were a lot of fun too, and made a great pair. I loved that the kid characters were well-rounded, smart, and loyal.

The book occasionally felt a little slow at times. I did feel it could be tightened up a bit.

This was a fun, quick read that I think adults and middle graders alike could and would enjoy. The art history aspect was a show more wonderful bonus. show less

This book was full of twist and turns that kept me reading and reading! I couldn't wait to see what was in store for Art! This book tells the story of a boy who is found staring at a painting with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. He is placed in foster care and meets Camille, a sassy red head who quickly becomes a friend. The contents of his jacket pocket are the only clues he has to start uncovering who he is. Once his memory returns to him though, he is on a mission to be reunited with his father and that the bad guys don't get away with their Van Gogh Deception.

I loved the way this book was formatted. The incorporation of QR codes that bring the reader to the painting that is being discussed allows for a greater show more visual understanding, technology incorporation and overall interactive piece. I also liked how within the chapters the book switched characters by saying the date, time and location rather than the characters name. This is not something I've seen before in a children's book. Overall, Hicks did a great job of creating an empathetic, intelligent and suspenseful narrative! show less