{"product_id":"sammy-keyes-and-the-psycho-kitty-queen-isbn-9780440419105","title":"Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen","description":"\u003cb\u003eSammy's mom comes to town with a birthday bombshell...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A strong female character looking for more than just a boyfriend. Highly recommended.\" --\u003ci\u003eChildren's Literature\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eIt's Sammy's birthday, which should be a good thing, right? Not when her mom lets her cat out and now he's missing. Not when Sammy finds three dead cats while she's looking for him. And not when a psycho cat lady blames Sammy because one of the dead cats belonged to her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAdd a suspicious pro-wrestler named El Gato, a public cat-fight with her arch-enemy Heather, and a bombshell of a secret from her mom, and you've got a recipe for Sammy's worst birthday ever.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBetter luck next year, Sammy.\u003cu\u003ePraise for the Sammy Keyes series:\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Van Draanen offers such an explosive combination of high-stakes sleuthing, hilarity, and breathlessly paced action that it’s impossible to turn the pages fast enough.” —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“There’s no stopping Sammy.”—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An intelligent, gutsy, flawed, and utterly likable heroine.”—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Move over, Nancy Drew—a new sleuth is on the scene.”—\u003ci\u003eGirls’ Life\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Think a combination of Carl Hiaasen’s \u003ci\u003eFlush\u003c\/i\u003e and Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books and you’ll be right on target.” —\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A high-quality, high-amp mystery series.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Horn Book\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“This funny, clever series is NOT for kids only. I challenge the most seasoned mystery reader to guess ‘who done it.’” —\u003ci\u003eCozies, Capers, and Crimes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Sammy Keyes comes armed with attitude.” —\u003ci\u003eOrlando Sentinel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Sammy doesn’t find mysteries to solve—they find her.” —\u003ci\u003eArizona Republic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Humor, romance and adventure; this story is an absolute blast.” \u003ci\u003e—Chicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“If you haven’t met Sammy Keyes yet, now is the time.” —\u003ci\u003eChildren’s Literature\u003c\/i\u003eWENDELIN VAN DRAANEN was a classroom teacher for many years before becoming a full-time writer. The books in the Sammy Keyes mystery series have been embraced by critics and readers alike, with \u003ci\u003eSammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief\u003c\/i\u003e receiving the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best children’s mystery. Wendelin is also the author of many award-winning novels, including \u003ci\u003eFlipped,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Running Dream,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eRunaway, Confessions of a Serial Kisser,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eSwear to Howdy,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Life of Lincoln Jones, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eWild Bird.\u003c\/i\u003e You can find her online at WendelinVanDraanen.com and @WendelinVanD, and you can follow Sammy Keyes on Facebook.One\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I have to admit that it didn't start with my mother. It started on Hudson's  porch. Hudson Graham is my favorite old guy in the whole wide world because  he's got great stories, great advice, and he knows how to listen.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He's also got the coolest porch you'd ever want to hang out on, and when  Hudson's home, it's usually equipped with iced tea and cake.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Sammy!\" he said when he saw me turn up his walkway on my skateboard. \"How  are you?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Starved!\" I grabbed my board and trotted up the steps, eyeing the crumbs on  his plate. In a flash I knew it had been a piece of his mega-maple  upside-down cake.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He took one look at my face and laughed. \"Your grandmother let you out of  the house without breakfast?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"She was preoccupied. And besides, I wasn't hungry then--now I am!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Why don't I fix you some eggs and toast. Then cake.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Aw, come on, Hudson. It's Saturday.\" I plopped down in the chair beside  him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He looked doubtful. \"Somehow I don't think your grandmother would approve.  And you know I've been working hard to get out of her doghouse...\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Forget the doghouse. If she asks, I'll just tell her it was an early piece  of birthday cake.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Birthday cake? When's your birthday?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Tomorrow.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Tomorrow?\" He jumped out of his chair. \"Why didn't you mention it before?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I shrugged. \"I don't really like my birthday, that's why.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"You don't like it?\" He was hovering over me. \"Why not? Kids your age love  their birthday!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I kicked my feet up on his railing. \"Well, let's see...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e When I turned twelve my mother celebrated by taking me to McDonald's, which  is where she broke it to me that she'd be leaving me with Grams while she  went off to Hollywood. Then, when I turned thirteen, she didn't even bother  to call or send me a card or anything. She finally called two days later  gushing excuses, but it was pretty obvious she just forgot.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Yes, but Sammy, I thought you had gotten past resenting your mother.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I know, I know,\" I sighed. \"I guess I just have negative associations when  it comes to my birthday.\" I swung my feet down and laughed. \"So could you  help me get over it? I want some cake!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He laughed. \"Coming right up.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I followed him inside, saying, \"Actually, Grams always tries to surprise me  with a really nice cake on my birthday. She goes all out and is totally  secretive about what she's concocting. I'll bet that's what she's doing  right now.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Hudson handed over a giant piece of mega-maple cake. \"So you're double  dipping, huh?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I laughed. \"I'm entitled, don't you think? I mean, given the circumstances  and all.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He chuckled and opened the fridge. \"Can I at least insist on milk?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Perfect!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e When we were seated back outside, he said, \"So catch me up. What's going on  at school? And with Heather! You haven't said anything about her in a  while.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"That's because there's absolutely nothing going on with Heather.\" I laughed  and took a bite of cake. \"Can you believe it?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Actually, I was finding it hard to believe myself. Ever since my first day  of junior high, Heather Acosta has worked hard to make my life miserable.  That rabid redhead has done everything from jab me in the butt with a sewing  pin to frame me for vandalism. But for the last couple of weeks, there's  been nothing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Well, nothing serious, anyway. I don't count glaring and sneering and  catcalls. That's just junior high stuff that everyone goes through. I'm  talking diabolical, evil, twisted plots to take over the world. Or at least  the school. Elections aren't for another month, but she's already angling to  be elected William Rose Junior\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e High's \"Most Popular Seventh Grader,\" or \"Class Cutie,\" or whatever other  stupid category she can con the rest of the seventh graders into believing  she should win.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Too bad they don't have a \"Most Likely to Psycho.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I'd vote for her in a hot second.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Hudson shook me from my thoughts, saying, \"Two months until summer vacation.  Is that what you're thinking about?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I laughed. \"Actually, I wasn't.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Aren't all kids in countdown mode by now?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"It's only the first week of April!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He gave a knowing nod. \"Ah. Maybe I'm confusing the kids with the teachers.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I said, \"Huh?\" but then he said, \"So what else have you been up to?\" and I  remembered what I had come to tell him about. \"Oh!\" I said, swigging down  some milk. \"Holly and I have been checking out Slammin' Dave's. Hudson, I've  got a whole new perspective on pro wrestling.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He raised a bushy white eyebrow. \"You do, do you?\" Then he grumbled, \"I  still can't believe that Bargain Books is now a pro wrestling shop--\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Slammin' Dave's is not a shop, Hudson, it's a school.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I almost added that having wrestling dudes across the street from where I  lived was a whole lot safer than having a bookstore, seeing how the guy who  used to own Bargain Books got hauled off to jail for theft, attempted  murder, and arson, but I didn't. I just said, \"And Slammin' Dave takes his  school very seriously.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Hudson grinned. \"Can I deduce from your apparent knowledge base that you've  been spying on him?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I wouldn't call it spying,\" I said through a mouthful of cake. \"Just, you  know, watching.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Through binoculars?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"No! You can't see anything from the apartment. I just go down to the school  and look.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Doesn't that place have heavy black curtains covering the windows?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Well...yeah.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He grinned at me. \"So they let you just stand in the doorway and watch?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Hudson, quit it!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He laughed. \"I just want you to be able to admit it, that's all.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"All right, all right,\" I grumbled, scraping up cake crumbs with the back of  my fork. \"I've been snooping, okay? You happy?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Through cracks in the curtains?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Yeah,\" I muttered. \"Or the back door. They prop it open for ventilation.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Mm-hmm,\" he said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"There's nothing illegal about it, it's just interesting.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Interesting? How so?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Well, you've got all these beefy guys in these totally cheesy wrestling  suits doing flips and body slams and rope dives. It's like they're  catapulting cattle in there.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"And you find catapulting cattle interesting?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I laughed. \"Well, yeah.\" I leaned toward him and said, \"There's this one guy  who started showing up last week. He wears an orange-and-black-striped  caveman suit and a hooded cat mask. It covers his whole face. His whole  head. I mean, once in a while some of the guys will wrestle in full-on  costumes, but this guy wears his mask all the time. He shows up in it, he  wrestles in it...he never takes it off.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"So?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"So does he sleep with it on? Does he eat with it on? Does he take a shower  in the thing?\" I leaned back.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"What doesn't he do in his mask, that's what I want to know.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Hudson laughed, then said, \"Sammy, it's just part of his character.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"His character?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"You know, pro wrestlers create personas--the character they play in the  ring. Like Mark Calloway was The Undertaker, Robert Remus was Sergeant  Slaughter, \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Terry Bollea was Hulk Hogan--\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Wait a minute! How do you know these guys' real names?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He shrugged. \"I've been around for seventy-two years. I'm bound to have  picked up a thing or two.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Now, when he said that, it hit me that Hudson had been seventy-two for a  really long time. So I was about to ask him, \"When's your birthday?\" only  just then something catches my eye. Something pink off to my left. Behind  some bushes. Along the far side of Hudson's porch. So instead I whisper,  \"What was that?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"What was what?\" Hudson whispers back.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I stand up and tiptoe the length of Hudson's porch. And when I sneak a step  down the side stairs and peek around the bushes, I choke out, \"Aaarrh!\" and  jump back. Right on the other side of Hudson's bushes is one of the scariest  sights I've ever seen.","brand":"Yearling","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301644062949,"sku":"NP9780440419105","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780440419105.jpg?v=1767736083","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/sammy-keyes-and-the-psycho-kitty-queen-isbn-9780440419105","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}