Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher

By Wendelin Van Draanen
Rating: 4 stars

Oh, Sammy Keyes, we missed you!  Sammy is back and finally starting 8th grade and immediately there is a problem because she is in Mr. Vince's class--who also coached the softball team she had a run in with in 7th grade.  But no one will let her switch classes, so Sammy is stuck.  When someone writes "DIE, DUDE!" on Mr. Vince's screen, suspicion seems to naturally fall on Sammy.  But the matter passes by until Mr. Vince opens a desk drawer to find a dead rat wearing a "DIE, DUDE!" tag on it.  Suddenly, things are serious when the police get called in to deal with the death threats and Sammy is concerned her friend Billy is involved.  But then there is always the evil Heather...and that new girl Sasha...and what about Lars?  Or the custodian, Cisco?  None of the pieces seem to fit.  Add Sammy's long lost mother visiting town, her boyfriend Casey suddenly seeming not so interested, and Officer Borsch's wedding, and you've got a crazy mix of mystery and mayhem as Sammy tries to solve the case.  The solution is somewhat less tidy than normal since we never clear all of the other suspects, but it is great to have a new Sammy Keyes mystery to chew on.  Hooray!