The Wright 3 follows three kids: Tommy, Petra, and Calder. They were all a part of Balliett's first book, Chasing Vermeer. Like that book, these 6th graders find themselves in the middle of a mystery that is soaked in art, geometry, coincidences, and cryptic messages. In this case, Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House is about to be cut into sections for display in museums. However, as this is close to happening, some strange things happen around the building. The three friends will try to solve the mystery, but can only do so if they all can get along.
This book is very rich. Starring sixth graders, it was surprising to find that this book featured an 8th grade level vocabulary. It also made allusions to H.G. Wells's The Invisible Man, and Alfred Hitchcock's movie Rear Window. If that wasn't enough, the book goes on and on about pentominoes - geometric puzzle pieces - and a written code that takes an annoying amount of time to decode yet never provides you with anything worth reading. I enjoyed some of the richness, but if your target audience is 5th/6th grade, the vocabulary is going to push away many kids, and those willing to stick around almost certainly haven't read The Invisible Man or seen Rear Window or played with pentominoes. Granted, those aren't prerequisites (Balliett gives summaries and explains pentominoes), but the book certainly carries a deeper richness if you are familiar with those elements.
The Wright 3 has a few fundamental flaws. First, it's not a very good mystery. The plot is scattered, and the clues are mostly in the form of coincidences, pentomino work, and strange supernatural-ish events that in the end have nothing really to do with the culprits, but with the architectural features of the building. In the end, it winds up being more of an adventure than a true mystery, because there aren't really any suspects except one super-obvious suspect. For all of its richness, it's really a poor mystery. The second flaw is that this book has (almost) no audience. Typically, children and adolescents like to read books featuring characters that are their age or older, but rarely younger. That would pin this audience at 4th-6th grades, maaaaaybe 7th grade. The vocabulary is a better fit, however, for 8th grade and up. Those older students, though, still might not get the connections to The Invisible Man and Rear Window. Also, with the book featuring a mediocre mystery plot, it might not hold the interest or the appreciation of an older crowd.
So I don't really know how to rate this book. I don't really know who to recommend it to, aside from advanced 4th-6th grade readers. It's got some really good stuff and some not-so-good stuff.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
72/100
The Wright 3 has a few fundamental flaws. First, it's not a very good mystery. The plot is scattered, and the clues are mostly in the form of coincidences, pentomino work, and strange supernatural-ish events that in the end have nothing really to do with the culprits, but with the architectural features of the building. In the end, it winds up being more of an adventure than a true mystery, because there aren't really any suspects except one super-obvious suspect. For all of its richness, it's really a poor mystery. The second flaw is that this book has (almost) no audience. Typically, children and adolescents like to read books featuring characters that are their age or older, but rarely younger. That would pin this audience at 4th-6th grades, maaaaaybe 7th grade. The vocabulary is a better fit, however, for 8th grade and up. Those older students, though, still might not get the connections to The Invisible Man and Rear Window. Also, with the book featuring a mediocre mystery plot, it might not hold the interest or the appreciation of an older crowd.
So I don't really know how to rate this book. I don't really know who to recommend it to, aside from advanced 4th-6th grade readers. It's got some really good stuff and some not-so-good stuff.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
72/100
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