The Wright Three [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

I thought I'd give this author's second book a chance even though I found her first one ("Chasing Vermeer") rather disappointing. I like her Hyde Park setting, I like the way she works art into her stories, I like the way the teacher in the book runs her classroom as a place of exploration rather than a lecture hall. So--I thought, thought I--maybe with all these strong elements in place, the author will improve her plotting abilities in her second book.

Alas, no. The story has so much potential that is never met. Once again, coincidence and "intuition" play a huge, way too huge, role in the resolution of the storyline. The Scooby-doo type ending (wherein the bumbling adult bad guys are "unmasked" and supernatural events explained at least in part by their stupid criminal plans) is disappointing and unpredictable from the things we've seen earlier in the story.

The pentaminos storyline has grown wearisome, the bibliomancy one of the kids performs using "The Invisible Man" is irritating and irrelevant, the coded messages simplisitc and unintriguing.

The relationship between the three kids is nicely portrayed--their jealousies of one another, and their attempts to reconcile differences and balance individual needs with group needs. I also liked how the kids in the story work for a cause--saving the Robie House--and I found their demonstration in front of the house in which they "destroy" works of art by chopping them up to be the most interesting part of the book, far superior in terms of action and emotional content than any of the so-called mystery elements. This part of the book is worth reading, and worth having kids read, both because of its philosophies and because it shows how actions by individuals can make a positive difference. Hope the author's next book moves more in this direction and away from the pseudo-mystical, pseudo-supernatural, pseudo-mystery lines the first two have followed.

I think that this book was good and putting it next to the last one I thought that it was a little more interesting. The reason I gave it four stars instead of five was because I thought that the plot of this book was so similar to the last. Also it seemed that the new character, Tommy Segovia, had become the center of attention in the book and pretty much solved the whole puzzle. There did not really seem to be a need for Calder and Petra. Besides that the plot of the story was a really good one and you cant seem to stop reading. All of a sudden you are at the climax of the story. Overall the story was good and full of surprises.

I have to get this off my chest before I begin, I loved Chasing Vermeer. Loved it. At the heart of the story, I thought it was a clever mystery. While the intentional loose ends and coincidences drove me crazy, I thought it was all an integral part of what Blue Balliett set out to create. I couldn't wait to see what she did next and was probably one of the first people bursting down the doors of our local bookseller to buy a copy the day it was released.

Then I got busy, the life of a school teacher isn't easy, and The Wright 3 sat on my shelf for quite a while until recently, I was in the mood for a good mystery. I dusted off the beautiful jacket cover by Brett Helquist and kicked back, ready to see what Calder and Petra were up to now.

I usually like to include a brief synopsis of each book I review, but I have to tell you, I don't know where to begin on this one. Petra and Calder are once again the focus, and this time around, Calder's friend Tommy Segovia has moved back into town, causing all sorts of jealousy between our sleuthing protagonists. Instead of a mystery, this is what really drives The Wright 3 and Balliett does a great job with the trios developing relationship. Tommy struggling as a new kid in school, Petra struggling with Tommy and Calder's friendship, Calder wishing Petra and Tommy would just get along. The tension between the three is almost unbearable. But it's perfectly written.

If only I could say that about the rest of the story. I was okay with Balliett's obsession with coincidences in Vermeer, but this time around, it really gets annoying. In Vermeer, her obsession fit in nicely with the premise of the story. In The Wright 3, over half of Balliett's coincidences never even add up to anything. How many mysteries can Calder solve by building shapes with a bunch of pentomino blocks? How many mysteries can Petra solve in her dreams? I'm ready to see these kids do some real detective work. I guess in order to do some real detective work though, they need a real mystery to solve, something this book is desperately missing.

Balliett tries to create a mystery surrounding Frank Lloyd Wright's, The Robie House, but it falls flat because there is nothing to solve. The house is going to be torn apart with its pieces shipped to museums across the globe. Calder, Petra, and Tommy think they can put together the strange puzzle pieces flying around them and save the house from demolition but the puzzle pieces don't fit together. Most of them never add up to anything. This is a mystery story that is missing a mystery and it's terribly disheartening.

I wanted to like this book. I really, really did. Even while reading the final two chapters, I was faithful that Balliett could still wrap everything up neatly and astonish me. But it didn't happen. I really hope that Balliett will take a break from coincidences and maybe even from Calder, Petra, and Tommy, but I don't see it happening. She's got the talent, there's no doubt about that, but in order to write that one great book I know she's capable of writing, she has to switch gears. Until then, I guess I'll just keep reading, and hoping.

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