Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen is about Samantha Keyes, a 7th grader who secretly lives with her Grams in a senior citizen housing high rise. With nothing to do one day, Sammy peers through her window with binoculars only to witness a man stealing money out of a purse. Just as she realizes what she's seeing, the man looks up at her... Sammy waves! Throughout the rest of the story Sammy and her best friend Marissa start 7th grade, Sammy punches a bully in the nose and gets suspended on the first day of school, and both girls work together to solve the mystery of the hotel thief.I really liked this book! I have several Sammy Keyes books in my library at school but I've never read any of them. I will probably be reading more in the series, now! I really like Sammy. Also, the author does an excellent job of drawing the reader in - making the reader feel like part of the action. All in all, a great mystery!
