Posts tagged with wendelin-van-draanen

Sep 10 2014

Sammy Keyes and The Kiss Goodbye, by Wendelin Van Draanen

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After eighteen installments, Wendelin Van Draanen is ending her award-winning Sammy Keyes series. The final book, Sammy Keyes and The Kiss Goodbye, was released this week, and it's a creative and genuinely sweet send-off...

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Dec 7 2010

Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher, by Wendelin Van Draanen

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We adore Wendelin Van Draanen's books, but we understand why the director of the recent film adaptation of her novel Flipped re-set the plot in the 1950s—Ms. Van Draanen's unif...

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Aug 9 2010

Flipped: new and improved?

If you've never read Wendelin Van Draanen's adorable 2001 novel Flipped, Random House is releasing an "enhanced" e-book edition of the book featuring a bunch of tie-ins from the upcoming movie ada...

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Jun 7 2010

There's a fine line between "sweet" and "totally hokey"

Well, the trailer is out for the movie adaptation of my beloved Flipped, and I'm really not feeling it. The book was wholesome, sure, but this looks like a non-ironic version of Pleasantville wit...

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Feb 10 2010

Behind the times

Wait. There's a Flipped movie?!? AND IT'S COMING OUT THIS YEAR? (...and why is it suddenly set in the fifties?)Why am I so behind on Wendelin Van Draanen news? Turns out there's both a plot summar...

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Aug 25 2009

Wordcandy (hearts) public libraries

Once again, my local library has come through for me with their excellent books-on-CD selection. My family and I are heading off to the beach this week, and we'll be listening to the complete and ...

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Feb 15 2008

Confessions of a Serial Kisser, by Wendelin Van Draanen

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Seventeen-year-old Evangeline Logan, the heroine of Wendelin Van Draanen’s new YA novel Confessions of a Serial Kisser, has a lot in common with the eponymous star of her kid-friendly Sammy Keyes mystery series. Both girls are smart, resourceful, and fearless...

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Oct 3 2007

Something to look forward to...

Two of our favorite Wordcandy YA authors have new books scheduled for the spring:Peter Abrahams has announced that the third book in his excellent Echo Falls mystery series will be called Into the...

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May 22 2007

Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things, by Wendelin Van Draanen

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Wendelin Van Draanen’s Sammy Keyes series is one of our favorites. It’s smart, straightforward, and it hasn’t put itself under pressure by announcing a finite number of installments, so plot lines develop at a natural pace. Van Draanen's eponymous heroine is a genuinely likable character, and her adventures consist of a nicely judged blend of mystery, romance, and hair-raising adventure...

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Aug 14 2004

Wendelin Van Draanen

Once, during a long-ago NPR interview, I listened to an Amazon.com employee blithely recommending Wendelin Van Draanen's Sammy Keyes mysteries to the parent of a five-year-old. Um… no. (Unless y...

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