Title of Book: The London Eye Mystery; Author: Siobhan Dowd; ISBN: 978-0385751841; Published by: Yearling
Summary:
Ted and Kat’s cousin Salim came for a short visit while on his way to move to New York City where his mom had just accepted a new job. Salim wanted to experience the London Eye ride, but when the ride stopped, he wasn’t in the exiting passengers. The whole family including Salim’s father whom he doesn’t currently live with, descend into Ted’s family’s house to find Salim. Salim was rescued when Ted finally figured out he was in a high rise building that was schedule for demolition.
My Impressions:
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Ms. Dowd isn’t, but her portrayal of a boy with some sort of autism (?) is remarkable! Ted’s condition was handled in such a real way that it made perfect sense to have that character tell the story. Ted is not glorified in any way, nor does his family treat him like a baby or a saint. He and his sister get into fights just like you would imagine any siblings would. In fact, it’s easy to forget Ted has anything at all until his hand “shakes itself out” or he rattles off weather statistics to calm himself. Another neat thing about this book is it starts with a 3 ½ page description of the mystery and then the events leading up to the mystery unfold. I also love the smallish size of the book- I think that would attract readers. The British spelling (colour, favourite, etc..) did not in any way detract the flow of reading. I would unreservedly recommend this to anyone 14 or older. FYI- the author died in 2007 (the same year the book was published) from breast cancer.
Flashlight Reading Under the Covers Rating: 5 out of 5
Reviews:
Booklist (retrieved from Amazon.com)
*Starred Review* The facts seem simple enough. While their mothers have coffee, Ted and his older sister, Kat, and their cousin, Salim, wait in a queue to ride the London Eye, an observation wheel that allows those locked in the glass-and-steel capsules to see 25 miles in every direction. A stranger from the front of the line offers one free ticket, and since Salim is the visitor, stopping in London before moving with his mum to New York, he takes it. Ted and Kat see him enter the capsule and follow his ride, but to their shock, he doesn’t exit with his fellow riders. This book, very different from Dowd’s searing A Swift Pure Cry (2007), is much more than a taut mystery. In Ted, Dowd offers a complex young hero, whose “funny brain . . . runs on a different operating system” (seemingly Asperger’s Syndrome) and who is obsessed with shipping forecasts and with his inability to connect well with others. After several long days have passed with no sign of Salim, Ted must use the skills he has and overcome some of his personal challenges to find his cousin. Everything rings true here, the family relationships, the quirky connections of Ted’s mental circuitry, and, perhaps most surprisingly, the mystery. So often the mechanics of mystery don’t bear close scrutiny, but that’s not so here. A page turner with heft. Grades 5-8. --Ilene Cooper
Suggestions for Use in a Library:
Perhaps this is out of line, but I would suggest a cancer awareness day in honor of the author’s lost battle with cancer. Invite local doctors and nutritionists and health specialists to come and give talks on how to reduce a person’s risk of cancer. Have a jar for donations to be given to the American Cancer Society. If your town does a walk for Life, consider doing this activity before their culminating walk and making a presentation of the donations at the walk ceremony.
Summary:
Ted and Kat’s cousin Salim came for a short visit while on his way to move to New York City where his mom had just accepted a new job. Salim wanted to experience the London Eye ride, but when the ride stopped, he wasn’t in the exiting passengers. The whole family including Salim’s father whom he doesn’t currently live with, descend into Ted’s family’s house to find Salim. Salim was rescued when Ted finally figured out he was in a high rise building that was schedule for demolition.
My Impressions:
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Ms. Dowd isn’t, but her portrayal of a boy with some sort of autism (?) is remarkable! Ted’s condition was handled in such a real way that it made perfect sense to have that character tell the story. Ted is not glorified in any way, nor does his family treat him like a baby or a saint. He and his sister get into fights just like you would imagine any siblings would. In fact, it’s easy to forget Ted has anything at all until his hand “shakes itself out” or he rattles off weather statistics to calm himself. Another neat thing about this book is it starts with a 3 ½ page description of the mystery and then the events leading up to the mystery unfold. I also love the smallish size of the book- I think that would attract readers. The British spelling (colour, favourite, etc..) did not in any way detract the flow of reading. I would unreservedly recommend this to anyone 14 or older. FYI- the author died in 2007 (the same year the book was published) from breast cancer.
Flashlight Reading Under the Covers Rating: 5 out of 5
Reviews:
Booklist (retrieved from Amazon.com)
*Starred Review* The facts seem simple enough. While their mothers have coffee, Ted and his older sister, Kat, and their cousin, Salim, wait in a queue to ride the London Eye, an observation wheel that allows those locked in the glass-and-steel capsules to see 25 miles in every direction. A stranger from the front of the line offers one free ticket, and since Salim is the visitor, stopping in London before moving with his mum to New York, he takes it. Ted and Kat see him enter the capsule and follow his ride, but to their shock, he doesn’t exit with his fellow riders. This book, very different from Dowd’s searing A Swift Pure Cry (2007), is much more than a taut mystery. In Ted, Dowd offers a complex young hero, whose “funny brain . . . runs on a different operating system” (seemingly Asperger’s Syndrome) and who is obsessed with shipping forecasts and with his inability to connect well with others. After several long days have passed with no sign of Salim, Ted must use the skills he has and overcome some of his personal challenges to find his cousin. Everything rings true here, the family relationships, the quirky connections of Ted’s mental circuitry, and, perhaps most surprisingly, the mystery. So often the mechanics of mystery don’t bear close scrutiny, but that’s not so here. A page turner with heft. Grades 5-8. --Ilene Cooper
Suggestions for Use in a Library:
Perhaps this is out of line, but I would suggest a cancer awareness day in honor of the author’s lost battle with cancer. Invite local doctors and nutritionists and health specialists to come and give talks on how to reduce a person’s risk of cancer. Have a jar for donations to be given to the American Cancer Society. If your town does a walk for Life, consider doing this activity before their culminating walk and making a presentation of the donations at the walk ceremony.
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