A review by ofliterarynature
The Calder Game by Blue Balliett
3.0
Normally if I'm binge-reading a series I wait until I've read them all to write a review, but I have to say something before the end!
The first book was incredibly quirky and clever and intelligent. I really enjoyed it! But my main complaint was that the pattern of coincidences they put together to solve the mystery absolutely would not hold up in the real world - it was unrealistic.
Well, by now in the third book, there's some vague muttering about patterns, a lot of chatter about 'art', and mostly just the kids wandering around on instinct finding nothing until eventually the mystery was solved for them. It was realistic! I got my wish!
And it was so, so boring.
Some of these elements were definitely present in book 2, but gods, so much of the mystery in book 3 was just kind of info- dumped on us, there wasn't really much of a mystery after all.
Here's to hoping book 4 pulls itself a bit more together?
The first book was incredibly quirky and clever and intelligent. I really enjoyed it! But my main complaint was that the pattern of coincidences they put together to solve the mystery absolutely would not hold up in the real world - it was unrealistic.
Well, by now in the third book, there's some vague muttering about patterns, a lot of chatter about 'art', and mostly just the kids wandering around on instinct finding nothing until eventually the mystery was solved for them. It was realistic! I got my wish!
And it was so, so boring.
Some of these elements were definitely present in book 2, but gods, so much of the mystery in book 3 was just kind of info- dumped on us, there wasn't really much of a mystery after all.
Here's to hoping book 4 pulls itself a bit more together?