What do you think?
Rate this book
Chasing Vermeer #4
Pieces and Players
THE PIECES
Thirteen extremely valuable pieces of art have been stolen from one of the most secretive museums in the world. A Vermeer has vanished. A Manet is missing. And nobody has any idea where they and the other eleven artworks might be... or who might have stolen them.
THE PLAYERS
Calder, Petra, and Tommy are no strangers to heists and puzzles. Now they've been matched with two new sleuths -- Zoomy, a very small boy with very thick glasses, and Early, a girl who treasures words... and has a word or two to say about the missing treasure
The kids have been drawn in by the very mysterious Mrs. Sharpe, who may be playing her own kind of game with the clues. And it's not just Mrs. Sharpe who's acting suspiciously -- there's a ghost who mingles with the guards in the museum, a cat who acts like a spy, and bystanders in black jackets who keep popping up.
With pieces and players, you have all the ingredients for a fantastic mystery from the amazing Blue Balliett.
Thirteen extremely valuable pieces of art have been stolen from one of the most secretive museums in the world. A Vermeer has vanished. A Manet is missing. And nobody has any idea where they and the other eleven artworks might be... or who might have stolen them.
THE PLAYERS
Calder, Petra, and Tommy are no strangers to heists and puzzles. Now they've been matched with two new sleuths -- Zoomy, a very small boy with very thick glasses, and Early, a girl who treasures words... and has a word or two to say about the missing treasure
The kids have been drawn in by the very mysterious Mrs. Sharpe, who may be playing her own kind of game with the clues. And it's not just Mrs. Sharpe who's acting suspiciously -- there's a ghost who mingles with the guards in the museum, a cat who acts like a spy, and bystanders in black jackets who keep popping up.
With pieces and players, you have all the ingredients for a fantastic mystery from the amazing Blue Balliett.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 31, 2015
60 people are currently reading
1747 people want to read
About the author
Blue Balliett
16 books520 followersI was born in New York City and grew up playing in Central Park, getting my share of scraped knees, and riding many public buses and subways. By the time I was a teenager, I sometimes stopped at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Frick Museum after school, just to wander and look and think. The Met has five Vermeer paintings and the Frick three, so Vermeer and I have been friends for many years.
After studying art history in college, I moved to Nantucket Island, in Massachusetts, in order to write. I surprised myself by writing two books of ghost stories, stories collected by interviewing people. My husband and I met and were married on Nantucket, lived there year-round for another 10 years, and had our two children there.
When our kids started school, we moved to Chicago. I began teaching 3rd grade at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. One year my class and I decided to figure out what art was about. We asked many questions, visited many museums in the city, and set off a number of alarms — by mistake, of course.
In writing Chasing Vermeer, I wanted to explore the ways kids perceive connections between supposedly unrelated events and situations, connections that grown-ups often miss. Given the opportunity, kids can ask questions that help them to think their way through tough problems that adults haven’t been able to figure out — problems like the theft of a Vermeer painting!
In The Wright 3, I play with questions about architecture as art, the preservation of old buildings, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy. I wanted to continue exploring controversial ideas within the three-dimensional art world. We need kids to develop into powerful, out-of-the-box thinkers, now more than ever. I believe in making trouble — of the right kind.
My third book, The Calder Game, takes place in a small community in England, a 1,000-year-old town that I visited while on a book tour. I had a wonderful time writing this book. I had to do lots of eavesdropping, poking around, tiptoeing through graveyards, and climbing walls, and then there was all the Cadbury chocolate I had to eat. Alexander Calder's work is art for any age. I first saw his sculpture when I was 9 years old, in a show at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It was art but it was magic, and it left me hungry for more. This, I'm sure, was the beginning of my belief that art is about adventure.
Blue Balliett grew up in New York City and attended Brown University. She and her family now live in Chicago, within walking distance of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House. Balliett's books have now appeared in 34 languages. Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired the film rights to Chasing Vermeer.
After studying art history in college, I moved to Nantucket Island, in Massachusetts, in order to write. I surprised myself by writing two books of ghost stories, stories collected by interviewing people. My husband and I met and were married on Nantucket, lived there year-round for another 10 years, and had our two children there.
When our kids started school, we moved to Chicago. I began teaching 3rd grade at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. One year my class and I decided to figure out what art was about. We asked many questions, visited many museums in the city, and set off a number of alarms — by mistake, of course.
In writing Chasing Vermeer, I wanted to explore the ways kids perceive connections between supposedly unrelated events and situations, connections that grown-ups often miss. Given the opportunity, kids can ask questions that help them to think their way through tough problems that adults haven’t been able to figure out — problems like the theft of a Vermeer painting!
In The Wright 3, I play with questions about architecture as art, the preservation of old buildings, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy. I wanted to continue exploring controversial ideas within the three-dimensional art world. We need kids to develop into powerful, out-of-the-box thinkers, now more than ever. I believe in making trouble — of the right kind.
My third book, The Calder Game, takes place in a small community in England, a 1,000-year-old town that I visited while on a book tour. I had a wonderful time writing this book. I had to do lots of eavesdropping, poking around, tiptoeing through graveyards, and climbing walls, and then there was all the Cadbury chocolate I had to eat. Alexander Calder's work is art for any age. I first saw his sculpture when I was 9 years old, in a show at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It was art but it was magic, and it left me hungry for more. This, I'm sure, was the beginning of my belief that art is about adventure.
Blue Balliett grew up in New York City and attended Brown University. She and her family now live in Chicago, within walking distance of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House. Balliett's books have now appeared in 34 languages. Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired the film rights to Chasing Vermeer.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews
April 6, 2015
You have no idea how much I debated how many stars to give this book. In the end, I gave it three stars, but that’s just a number. Really, Pieces and Players is pretty difficult to classify. In some parts it was good, and in some parts it was bad. It confused me quite a bit and played my emotions like a harp. Pieces and Players was a highly uneven book with passages that made my heart sing and passages that left me wondering what the hell was going on. Worse, some of them were the same passages.
It’s very similar to Balliett’s first book, Chasing Vermeer, which works to its benefit and its detriment – sometimes at the same time. Balliett’s characters have no problem with believing in some pretty wild ideas, and I wish I could say that I shared their belief. Ostensibly, this is a novel about the theft of several valuable paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Gallery – I mean Sarah Farmer Gallery. But what it actually is about is, as per usual for Balliett, art. Specifically, what art is.
Balliett’s ideas about art were present from the beginning of her works, but they’re much more prominent here. Actually, they were pretty blatant. I can’t say I agreed with all of them, but I like the idea that every person has a piece of art that “dovetails to their soul.” For me, that piece of art is Holbein’s The Ambassadors. I can’t tell you why I love that painting so much. There are better ones out there. But seeing it in London a few years ago was practically a religious experience for me.
Getting back on topic, after reading this book, I’m beginning to see why so many people hated Chasing Vermeer, and I’m actually quite terrified that I’d join them if I read that book again. (Since I always face my fears, that’s next on my reread list.) There isn’t much of a plot, in the strictest sense of the word, and our characters seem to be abnormally self-conscious. In addition, Balliett doesn’t seem equipped to handle a large number of characters. Some seem underused; some seem overused. Few get much character development.
But don’t think that this is a totally bad book. Balliett’s prose is still nothing short of magical and I do like some of the ideas that she postulates, even if I think she’s a bit loony for proposing them. It’s quite possible that I’m just getting too old for Balliett’s works. It’s possible that they require a person who is able to completely suspend disbelief, which is absolutely not me. Or maybe they’ve just gotten worse over the years. You be the judge.
It’s very similar to Balliett’s first book, Chasing Vermeer, which works to its benefit and its detriment – sometimes at the same time. Balliett’s characters have no problem with believing in some pretty wild ideas, and I wish I could say that I shared their belief. Ostensibly, this is a novel about the theft of several valuable paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Gallery – I mean Sarah Farmer Gallery. But what it actually is about is, as per usual for Balliett, art. Specifically, what art is.
Balliett’s ideas about art were present from the beginning of her works, but they’re much more prominent here. Actually, they were pretty blatant. I can’t say I agreed with all of them, but I like the idea that every person has a piece of art that “dovetails to their soul.” For me, that piece of art is Holbein’s The Ambassadors. I can’t tell you why I love that painting so much. There are better ones out there. But seeing it in London a few years ago was practically a religious experience for me.
Getting back on topic, after reading this book, I’m beginning to see why so many people hated Chasing Vermeer, and I’m actually quite terrified that I’d join them if I read that book again. (Since I always face my fears, that’s next on my reread list.) There isn’t much of a plot, in the strictest sense of the word, and our characters seem to be abnormally self-conscious. In addition, Balliett doesn’t seem equipped to handle a large number of characters. Some seem underused; some seem overused. Few get much character development.
But don’t think that this is a totally bad book. Balliett’s prose is still nothing short of magical and I do like some of the ideas that she postulates, even if I think she’s a bit loony for proposing them. It’s quite possible that I’m just getting too old for Balliett’s works. It’s possible that they require a person who is able to completely suspend disbelief, which is absolutely not me. Or maybe they’ve just gotten worse over the years. You be the judge.
April 13, 2015
This was a tiresome read. Between making up a swear word that was used far too frequently, the descriptive fist-bumping, and the lack of a distinctive voice between characters, I am disappointed in this book. Chasing Vermeer was a really good read, not great, but it lucked out with its publishing date (right around the Da Vinci Code) and the puzzle within the illustrations really engaged young readers. I was hoping Balliett would grow as a writer, because there were some weak points with characterization and dialogue with that work too. She clearly loves art, but does not know how kids speak. Even exceptional kids still talk like kids, but these characters seem false and one-dimensional.
It's such a shame, because this had the chance to be a great book, as a Bostonian, the Gardner art heist is very much a part of my city's history. Kids getting to solve an art heist, a pretty cool idea, and I liked the concept of characters from other stories coming together in one book. But this story falls flat. It's difficult to follow, the plot is wildly over the top, even messy. After six plus books, I was hoping for more.
It's such a shame, because this had the chance to be a great book, as a Bostonian, the Gardner art heist is very much a part of my city's history. Kids getting to solve an art heist, a pretty cool idea, and I liked the concept of characters from other stories coming together in one book. But this story falls flat. It's difficult to follow, the plot is wildly over the top, even messy. After six plus books, I was hoping for more.
June 25, 2015
I enjoyed all of Blue Balliett's other books, and when I realized this one brought all the characters from the other books together, I was super psyched. But I'm sorry, this book is terrible! It really felt like it was first draft that needed a lot more editing and revision.
In Chasing Vermeer, the nonlogical clues like a dream about a piece of clothing that leads to a book that leads to a clue are charming. In Pieces and Players, it's just a deluge of random nonsensical remarks by indistinguishable characters, which makes you feel as if you (or the author) is going mad. Unlike the other books, the random observations don't actually help solve the crime like in the other books.
The kids make zero contribution to solving the crime until they use a Ouiji board through which a ghost tells them where the paintings are hidden. They still don't pursue it, and are instead taken to the place by Ms. Sharpe randomly, and then when the paintings are found the adults are like "the kids did this!".
Ms. Hussey and Ms. Sharpe, who in the other books are presented as delightful, intriguing helpers to the children in this book come across as thoroughly unlikeable---mean-spirited, judgmental, and easily offended. Which is confusing because they are the ones who asked the 5 children to help with the crime, but then are constantly offended by them.
It's too bad this wasn't edited and revised into a better book. The reflections on art are really great, as in all of this author's books.
In Chasing Vermeer, the nonlogical clues like a dream about a piece of clothing that leads to a book that leads to a clue are charming. In Pieces and Players, it's just a deluge of random nonsensical remarks by indistinguishable characters, which makes you feel as if you (or the author) is going mad. Unlike the other books, the random observations don't actually help solve the crime like in the other books.
The kids make zero contribution to solving the crime until they use a Ouiji board through which a ghost tells them where the paintings are hidden. They still don't pursue it, and are instead taken to the place by Ms. Sharpe randomly, and then when the paintings are found the adults are like "the kids did this!".
Ms. Hussey and Ms. Sharpe, who in the other books are presented as delightful, intriguing helpers to the children in this book come across as thoroughly unlikeable---mean-spirited, judgmental, and easily offended. Which is confusing because they are the ones who asked the 5 children to help with the crime, but then are constantly offended by them.
It's too bad this wasn't edited and revised into a better book. The reflections on art are really great, as in all of this author's books.
April 26, 2015
Why did I hate this book so? I couldn't even finish it! After Blue Balliett's first two books which I loved, I have been looking forward to it for so long! To me this book was chaos, the children weren't trying to solve a mystery instead they were running around with no idea what they were doing. The book is full of nonsensical thoughts, teenagers who are distracted and hard to like. The few times when Balliett talks about art are magical but then you return to this nonsensical approach to solving a mystery. In addition, the book just seems to go on and on about nothing just like the kids, "yak, yak, yak..." The combination was really bad for me but I can hope some readers find the wonderful mystery I did in Chasing Vermeer.
August 20, 2017
I enjoyed her other books, but this is so nonsensical I don't know what to do with it. There's no actual detective work being done in this book and every "clue" comes from supernatural intervention. For example, information comes to them in dreams from the stolen paintings themselves and from a Ouija board session. The constant illogical deduction is near infuriating, "Hey, there's five crows sitting over there. They're black, the jacket on the man in one of the paintings is black. Maybe we should follow the crows as they have a clue for us." IT MAKES NO SENSE! Ugh.
January 18, 2017
A very good and interesting book. Nothing more
December 27, 2014
Disclaimer: I've never been a big fan of mysteries. For me to like a mystery, it has to be very subtly written and woven. This one is not. Not to me. I do love that she has brought all of her characters together in this book. And it does make me want to visit the art landmarks in Chicago that are important in this book. But all the Mother Goose references, the wacky names, and the passages about the meaning of art in life seemed too heavy-handed. Not sure kids will like this one, but I've got a Blue Balliett fan waiting eagerly for this book to return to school after break, so we'll see...
April 2, 2015
I'm a fan of Blue Balliett overall and was so excited about the idea of all of Balliet's various characters teaming up. Unfortunately, I found the language-play, clues, red herrings, and all not just confusing but also pretty boring while simultaneously over-the-top. While engaging enough to keep reading, I had a hard time imagining who would actually enjoy this book. I hope you do, but I didn't.
November 29, 2018
I read the other 3 chasing Vermeer books in the series and thought that was it. I found this book about 2 weeks ago and was floored that this was the 4th book in the series and i didn't even know about it! I instantly wanted to find it and read it! Granted, the last time i read one of the books from this series was back in 4th grade, but i still love the plot line and all! Would recommend this series a thousand times over, and more.
March 26, 2019
This book was just...not good.
I remember reading Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3 when I was young, around the time they came out. I'm no longer sure if I just didn't have as many standards then, if the first two books were better, or if I blanked out all of the boring parts and convinced myself I liked the books because of the art references. I'm starting to think it was a mix of the three.
What I do remember of the first two is that there were more puzzles that felt like you could work on them alongside the characters, and the subject matter (classical art) felt somewhat unique and mature for a children's book. Aside from that, I've always struggled, even back around the time I read it, to remember much of what happened. I read The Calder Game finally last year and thought it was okay, but not that good, and this last book is just kind of bad.
The only good thing I can say about Pieces and Players is that the general sense of mystery was there, and I was curious what the resolution would be. The only other reason I chose to finish it is because it was the last book of the series and I felt like I should just for completion.
Here is a summary of all my problems with this book:
Storyline
The storyline itself is super super slow. Nothing particularly relevant happens for 3/4 of the book.
It's not even a very good mystery. There are no real clues that actually lead them anywhere. The kids just randomly guess based on whimsical associations they make with no logic, are sometimes right, but even then don't really take the information anywhere.
The entire "solving" of the mystery happens in the last quarter, enabled by some really terrible plot choices - they talk to a spirit using a ouija board to get some relevant info, then spend pretty much a single day running around a building to find it. The actual whodunnit is unsurprising and anticlimactic, and I had already made that guess very early in the book.
Art Analysis
I know some people said a saving grace in this book was the art analysis, but I didn't even enjoy that. I felt that Balliett is too prescriptive in how she believes art should be viewed, and half the time the discussion felt forced and unnecessary. For example, the kids take a whole day to visit the Millenium Waterfall and the bean, but it doesn't affect anything else, and her takes on those two are overly Disney-ified (the guy who made the bean is a huge jerk, and a lot of Chicagoans think the bean is super pretentious).
She also really pushes this idea that human faces are really important (I'm a landscape girl myself), keeps talking about art interpretation being this whimsical thing about feelings and connections, and focuses only on some of the most famous pieces from the Gardner collection.
Characters
I pretty much liked none of the characters. Eagle was bearable, but that's the best I can say. Ms. Hussey and Mrs. Sharpe lost all of their previous interesting personality and were just there to be plot devices. None of the kids really had much personality, and Tommy was straight up obnoxious.
Even Mrs. Farmer, who was clearly intended as a benevolent deus ex, came across to me as petty, although maybe that was a holdover from the author making petty writing choices to portray the kids as awesome all the time and all of the adults (even the ones we were supposed to like) as being assholes who don't understand the art like kids do.
The author also has no idea how to write teenagers. The constant mentions of acne and sexual awareness are awkward, not relatable. I know I'm not a teen, but I can say with certainty that 13-year-old me wouldn't have liked it either. The "teens" also act like they're more in the 6-8 range, with their made up words, pig latin, and random whimsical associations.
I think the worst part is we keep being told these kids are Special and Gifted, when they really seem kind of dumb based on how they act. This kind of unintentional condescension helps no one - kids will either see through it or be deluded into thinking their random nonsense is meaningful, when it won't be in the real world. I get the concept of "kids see things adults miss sometimes" and I don't disagree, but this book has moved beyond that to "kids make random shit up and therefore are better than adults at things like investigating thefts because kids have IMAGINATION".
There's also no really good character interaction. The kids sometimes fight, but then they get over it without much fuss. They get suspicious of various adults, but then they don't do much about it. Tommy's flaws make him unlikeable, which would be okay if it seemed more intentional, and no one else really has any flaws. It's just a bunch of cookie cutter "special" kids who "think differently".
Other Issues
I think overall this book was just not very believable because of the constant unrealistic writing choices. The art sends the kids dreams that we're supposed to believe are real. The ouija board thing we're clearly supposed to believe is them actually talking to a spirit. I'm not religious and have nothing against ouija boards but I also am a firm believer of not spreading hoodoo nonsense that we know doesn't work.
Other unbelievable things: the police and all other adults are completely useless compared to some kids with imagination, no one does anything about the sudden influx of teens in black jackets in the area, and the kids for some reason think it's a good idea to break into a museum with an adult man they don't know very well without telling their parents? And the twist at the end with Eagle also felt really out of nowhere and unnecessary to the story.
I also hated the writing style of periodically just telling us things the kids missed. It felt like forced expo and almost none of it went anywhere.
Finally, I just didn't enjoy the overly rose-tinted view of Chicago, the Gardner/Farmer museum, and art in general.
In conclusion, it felt like the author had no idea how to actually connect this book into a mystery and mostly just wanted to pontificate about art. The actual Gardner heist is much more interesting to read about, and this version of events just seems unrealistic and overly twee.
I remember reading Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3 when I was young, around the time they came out. I'm no longer sure if I just didn't have as many standards then, if the first two books were better, or if I blanked out all of the boring parts and convinced myself I liked the books because of the art references. I'm starting to think it was a mix of the three.
What I do remember of the first two is that there were more puzzles that felt like you could work on them alongside the characters, and the subject matter (classical art) felt somewhat unique and mature for a children's book. Aside from that, I've always struggled, even back around the time I read it, to remember much of what happened. I read The Calder Game finally last year and thought it was okay, but not that good, and this last book is just kind of bad.
The only good thing I can say about Pieces and Players is that the general sense of mystery was there, and I was curious what the resolution would be. The only other reason I chose to finish it is because it was the last book of the series and I felt like I should just for completion.
Here is a summary of all my problems with this book:
Storyline
The storyline itself is super super slow. Nothing particularly relevant happens for 3/4 of the book.
It's not even a very good mystery. There are no real clues that actually lead them anywhere. The kids just randomly guess based on whimsical associations they make with no logic, are sometimes right, but even then don't really take the information anywhere.
The entire "solving" of the mystery happens in the last quarter, enabled by some really terrible plot choices - they talk to a spirit using a ouija board to get some relevant info, then spend pretty much a single day running around a building to find it. The actual whodunnit is unsurprising and anticlimactic, and I had already made that guess very early in the book.
Art Analysis
I know some people said a saving grace in this book was the art analysis, but I didn't even enjoy that. I felt that Balliett is too prescriptive in how she believes art should be viewed, and half the time the discussion felt forced and unnecessary. For example, the kids take a whole day to visit the Millenium Waterfall and the bean, but it doesn't affect anything else, and her takes on those two are overly Disney-ified (the guy who made the bean is a huge jerk, and a lot of Chicagoans think the bean is super pretentious).
She also really pushes this idea that human faces are really important (I'm a landscape girl myself), keeps talking about art interpretation being this whimsical thing about feelings and connections, and focuses only on some of the most famous pieces from the Gardner collection.
Characters
I pretty much liked none of the characters. Eagle was bearable, but that's the best I can say. Ms. Hussey and Mrs. Sharpe lost all of their previous interesting personality and were just there to be plot devices. None of the kids really had much personality, and Tommy was straight up obnoxious.
Even Mrs. Farmer, who was clearly intended as a benevolent deus ex, came across to me as petty, although maybe that was a holdover from the author making petty writing choices to portray the kids as awesome all the time and all of the adults (even the ones we were supposed to like) as being assholes who don't understand the art like kids do.
The author also has no idea how to write teenagers. The constant mentions of acne and sexual awareness are awkward, not relatable. I know I'm not a teen, but I can say with certainty that 13-year-old me wouldn't have liked it either. The "teens" also act like they're more in the 6-8 range, with their made up words, pig latin, and random whimsical associations.
I think the worst part is we keep being told these kids are Special and Gifted, when they really seem kind of dumb based on how they act. This kind of unintentional condescension helps no one - kids will either see through it or be deluded into thinking their random nonsense is meaningful, when it won't be in the real world. I get the concept of "kids see things adults miss sometimes" and I don't disagree, but this book has moved beyond that to "kids make random shit up and therefore are better than adults at things like investigating thefts because kids have IMAGINATION".
There's also no really good character interaction. The kids sometimes fight, but then they get over it without much fuss. They get suspicious of various adults, but then they don't do much about it. Tommy's flaws make him unlikeable, which would be okay if it seemed more intentional, and no one else really has any flaws. It's just a bunch of cookie cutter "special" kids who "think differently".
Other Issues
I think overall this book was just not very believable because of the constant unrealistic writing choices. The art sends the kids dreams that we're supposed to believe are real. The ouija board thing we're clearly supposed to believe is them actually talking to a spirit. I'm not religious and have nothing against ouija boards but I also am a firm believer of not spreading hoodoo nonsense that we know doesn't work.
Other unbelievable things: the police and all other adults are completely useless compared to some kids with imagination, no one does anything about the sudden influx of teens in black jackets in the area, and the kids for some reason think it's a good idea to break into a museum with an adult man they don't know very well without telling their parents? And the twist at the end with Eagle also felt really out of nowhere and unnecessary to the story.
I also hated the writing style of periodically just telling us things the kids missed. It felt like forced expo and almost none of it went anywhere.
Finally, I just didn't enjoy the overly rose-tinted view of Chicago, the Gardner/Farmer museum, and art in general.
In conclusion, it felt like the author had no idea how to actually connect this book into a mystery and mostly just wanted to pontificate about art. The actual Gardner heist is much more interesting to read about, and this version of events just seems unrealistic and overly twee.
May 26, 2017
It was interesting that this book was based on an actual art theft. My kids loved this book, I struggled with it. I enjoyed the mystery and puzzle solving, but then ghosts, ouija boards that give clues and art that is alive was too much for me.
November 30, 2020
I did enjoy the characters from Blue’s other books showing up but I couldn’t help wishing that it was still a story following only our three original friends. Also felt it focused to much on zits! Even for a book about teenagers!
Want to read
February 28, 2017I just found out there's a book four so um obviously I need to read this book.
December 4, 2015
Pieces and Players by Blue Balliett is an art heist mystery. Three of the kids have been featured in previous books by Balliett where they solved mysteries. This book has two more kids thrown in. I don't know what it was about this book, but I just did not enjoy it and I don't know if my detachment caused some of my issues or not. I felt the clues were very vague and I'm unsure how trying to dream about artwork will help you solve the mystery of where it went. Also, the whole ghost element and quija board usage weren't really working for me. I also was annoyed by the use of the non-swear word swear word and the secret language that was somehow related to pig Latin. And, i didn't understand the connection with the art heist and nursery rhymes, but maybe that was something I missed. And, The kids weren't clearly defined for me. I guess you can tell by my laundry list of complaints, this book was not my thing. Basically, I adult-ed this book something fierce.
August 30, 2015
library copy
September 24, 2017
Knowing a bit about the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft, I'm aware of Balliett's source. And once I read a description of the Farmer Museum I had to close this book and take a break, because the memories and emotions I attach to the ISG (and the theft) bubbled up. It's no surprise that she literally used the precise works taken from the ISG--and she certainly isn't the only author to imagine how they might be found--but I find this re-creation of that event painful. I've read about the immense efforts of the detectives and museum staff trying to get those works back, and since doing that, have visited the museum. Those frames still hang empty today, glaring markers of the loss of human culture. Reading about that theft so blatantly opened up the painful wound in my art-loving heart that absorbs all loss of artwork.
I'm a big fan of this series. Precious few authors, I find, have successfully incorporated visual or multimodal forms of art into fiction. Chasing Vermeer, the only such novel to have truly satisfied me, seemed an excellent venue for teaching children about artwork and making it exciting. I read it--the first time, at least--at precisely the right age. But it's disappointing Balliett keeps writing about white, male, Western artists. I want to hear about Sofonisba Anguissola or Judith Leyster or . . . goodness, I don't know. Most of the historic female artists I can list off the top of my head (or look up on the list I keep on my computer) are European. But the point stands: none of the artists mentioned in this book were women.
I read a bunch of other reviews before writing this, and so the following sentiments react or respond to what other people have said. I don't entirely agree with Balliett's philosophies about artwork. I see pieces far too analytically, examining historic influences, the use of color, and composition. The concept of people in art as living and moving feels odd to me, simply because so few works truly capture the soul of the sitter in my eyes--and even then, that doesn't make them feel alive. To each their own, of course; and the whimsicality of speculating the portrait's story exactly captures how I think people should interact with art.
I agree with reviewers who write that all the characters got lost amidst this ensemble. None of them seemed to have arcs, and most of what I got was 1. Tommy's an asshole and 2. the author loves Zoomy. A general theme she tried to tackle (unsuccessfully, I'd argue) was growing up, teenagerdom, and the awkwardness associated with it. But the kids became disrespectful and combative and unlikable. Struggling with pimples or trying to be cool or becoming sexually aware are all decent themes (ps. both girls totally came off to me as lesbian?) but Tommy, who mostly narrated, was mean whenever he felt threatened and had no redeeming qualities that stood out. Like, you know, apologizing. I recently read E.L. Konigsburg's Silent to the Bone and that tackled the idea of sexual awakening in a much more nuanced, understanding, and open way. I do think the friendship between the five developed at a good pace, even if I struggled to see why Calder was even in this book and what the difference was between Petra and Early beyond curvy and thin. As to the mystery--it's odd. There isn't much of the kids off by themselves figuring things out. As someone too old for this book, it's not too difficult to guess whodunnit (not that I got it precisely) but nonetheless the logic is weak. Something happened where 2+2=7 and I can't believe Calder let her get away with that, even if 7 is prime.
I actually, generally speaking, enjoyed this book. It's fun to be in this world, with these characters. The writing style hasn't changed. But I was annoyed whenever Tommy was an asshole and the deep structural faults were a letdown. Whoever said "this feels like a first draft" hit it on the nose, or perhaps I've merely aged out of buying into her coincidence-centric worlds. I'm not sure I would've been able to enunciate all of that without reading other reviews, so I really appreciate everyone else's thoughts.
I'm a big fan of this series. Precious few authors, I find, have successfully incorporated visual or multimodal forms of art into fiction. Chasing Vermeer, the only such novel to have truly satisfied me, seemed an excellent venue for teaching children about artwork and making it exciting. I read it--the first time, at least--at precisely the right age. But it's disappointing Balliett keeps writing about white, male, Western artists. I want to hear about Sofonisba Anguissola or Judith Leyster or . . . goodness, I don't know. Most of the historic female artists I can list off the top of my head (or look up on the list I keep on my computer) are European. But the point stands: none of the artists mentioned in this book were women.
I read a bunch of other reviews before writing this, and so the following sentiments react or respond to what other people have said. I don't entirely agree with Balliett's philosophies about artwork. I see pieces far too analytically, examining historic influences, the use of color, and composition. The concept of people in art as living and moving feels odd to me, simply because so few works truly capture the soul of the sitter in my eyes--and even then, that doesn't make them feel alive. To each their own, of course; and the whimsicality of speculating the portrait's story exactly captures how I think people should interact with art.
I agree with reviewers who write that all the characters got lost amidst this ensemble. None of them seemed to have arcs, and most of what I got was 1. Tommy's an asshole and 2. the author loves Zoomy. A general theme she tried to tackle (unsuccessfully, I'd argue) was growing up, teenagerdom, and the awkwardness associated with it. But the kids became disrespectful and combative and unlikable. Struggling with pimples or trying to be cool or becoming sexually aware are all decent themes (ps. both girls totally came off to me as lesbian?) but Tommy, who mostly narrated, was mean whenever he felt threatened and had no redeeming qualities that stood out. Like, you know, apologizing. I recently read E.L. Konigsburg's Silent to the Bone and that tackled the idea of sexual awakening in a much more nuanced, understanding, and open way. I do think the friendship between the five developed at a good pace, even if I struggled to see why Calder was even in this book and what the difference was between Petra and Early beyond curvy and thin. As to the mystery--it's odd. There isn't much of the kids off by themselves figuring things out. As someone too old for this book, it's not too difficult to guess whodunnit (not that I got it precisely) but nonetheless the logic is weak. Something happened where 2+2=7 and I can't believe Calder let her get away with that, even if 7 is prime.
I actually, generally speaking, enjoyed this book. It's fun to be in this world, with these characters. The writing style hasn't changed. But I was annoyed whenever Tommy was an asshole and the deep structural faults were a letdown. Whoever said "this feels like a first draft" hit it on the nose, or perhaps I've merely aged out of buying into her coincidence-centric worlds. I'm not sure I would've been able to enunciate all of that without reading other reviews, so I really appreciate everyone else's thoughts.
April 26, 2019
Important pre-review tip: this book has cross-over characters from Balliett's 2 non-Vermeer books, Hold Fast and The Danger Box. I haven't read them, and they aren't absolutely necessary to understand this book, but reading them between books 3 & 4 may enhance the experience of book 4.
Diversity: the three main kids in the series are all bi/multi-racial, and have different family structures (lots of siblings, only child, single parent, etc). The series pulls on ideas from history, math, classic literature, art history and appreciation, and all kinds of pattern recognition (among other stuff I've probably forgotten. It's hella smart, guys). You might need to have a talk with your kids that correlation =/= causation.
TLDR: A good series, wicked smart but better for younger, age-appropriate readers who won't notice it's flaws.
.
.
.
OKAY. The review:
This series is cursed. Cursed, I tell you!
Book 1 I thought was clever and intelligent, but complained that the use of coincidence to solve the mystery bordered on mystical and deemed it too unrealistic. By book 3 I got my wish - the coincidences were negligible, they didn't solve much of anything, it was very realistic! And incredibly boring. (Book 2 fell somewhere between the two of course).
Book 4 though. It had a great mystery with a good balance of useful/useless coincidence and actual detective work, and this time jumped straight over that 'maybe' border with the mystical and they straight up talked to a ghost. It was wonderful!
But Rebecca, you said it was cursed!
I did, and it's because I got all of my wishes for the last book in this series, but they were served along with a very, very, V E R Y healthy sized portion of [insert whiny teenager voice] p u b e r t y, ugh!
Maybe it's just me, but if this had been the first book instead of the last (that I know of) book, I would have dropped this in the DNF pile 3 minutes in (and very nearly did anyways). One of the charms of reading this series as an older reader is that the protagonists are kids, they're friends, they squabble over kid stuff and it's not much more complicated than that. That changed in book 4, but thank the gods that the worst of it showed up in clumps and I could push through and ignore it the rest of the time. I wish it wasn't there, but the book was still absolutely worth the read!
Diversity: the three main kids in the series are all bi/multi-racial, and have different family structures (lots of siblings, only child, single parent, etc). The series pulls on ideas from history, math, classic literature, art history and appreciation, and all kinds of pattern recognition (among other stuff I've probably forgotten. It's hella smart, guys). You might need to have a talk with your kids that correlation =/= causation.
TLDR: A good series, wicked smart but better for younger, age-appropriate readers who won't notice it's flaws.
.
.
.
OKAY. The review:
This series is cursed. Cursed, I tell you!
Book 1 I thought was clever and intelligent, but complained that the use of coincidence to solve the mystery bordered on mystical and deemed it too unrealistic. By book 3 I got my wish - the coincidences were negligible, they didn't solve much of anything, it was very realistic! And incredibly boring. (Book 2 fell somewhere between the two of course).
Book 4 though. It had a great mystery with a good balance of useful/useless coincidence and actual detective work, and this time jumped straight over that 'maybe' border with the mystical and they straight up talked to a ghost. It was wonderful!
But Rebecca, you said it was cursed!
I did, and it's because I got all of my wishes for the last book in this series, but they were served along with a very, very, V E R Y healthy sized portion of [insert whiny teenager voice] p u b e r t y, ugh!
Maybe it's just me, but if this had been the first book instead of the last (that I know of) book, I would have dropped this in the DNF pile 3 minutes in (and very nearly did anyways). One of the charms of reading this series as an older reader is that the protagonists are kids, they're friends, they squabble over kid stuff and it's not much more complicated than that. That changed in book 4, but thank the gods that the worst of it showed up in clumps and I could push through and ignore it the rest of the time. I wish it wasn't there, but the book was still absolutely worth the read!
December 28, 2019
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 1.5 of 5
Thirteen paintings, from Degas to Vermeer, have gone missing from one of the most secret of museums. Four school children who have had some experience with missing museum art are brought together by a strange woman (Mrs. Sharpe) to investigate. A series of clues are discovered by the children and it takes a lot of brain power to decipher where the clues are leading. But is Mrs. Sharpe helping them, or working some other angle?
I have reviewed a couple of other books in the past with the themes or subjects of art theft, and I think this is one of the biggest, important issues that the average person on the street is not aware of, and for this reason I am greatly appreciative that author Blue Balliet brings the issue to children in the form of mystery books.
But this book is a mess.
Starting with the characters, I had great trouble telling the children apart. Their voices are not distinct and even their behaviors are far too similar. The adults in the book are also essentially one stock character broken into a group. And of course the adults are not helpful, even though they seem to be the ones who've hired the children to find the art.
The clues that are provided are so obtuse I can't imagine anyone reading along could possibly jump to the conclusions that are intrepid sleuths make!
And then there's the repetition. I was constantly feeling "weren't we just here? Didn't we already make that discovery?" I think that a lot of that comes from having so many paintings that have gone missing and the clues being a bit obscure had me constantly scratching my head trying to follow the progression.
I really like the idea here, but the implementation definitely didn't work for me.
Looking for a good book? Pieces and Players by Blue Balliet is a children's mystery with an art theme, which definitely had me interested, but the story itself just gets bogged down and is not at all engaging.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
Thirteen paintings, from Degas to Vermeer, have gone missing from one of the most secret of museums. Four school children who have had some experience with missing museum art are brought together by a strange woman (Mrs. Sharpe) to investigate. A series of clues are discovered by the children and it takes a lot of brain power to decipher where the clues are leading. But is Mrs. Sharpe helping them, or working some other angle?
I have reviewed a couple of other books in the past with the themes or subjects of art theft, and I think this is one of the biggest, important issues that the average person on the street is not aware of, and for this reason I am greatly appreciative that author Blue Balliet brings the issue to children in the form of mystery books.
But this book is a mess.
Starting with the characters, I had great trouble telling the children apart. Their voices are not distinct and even their behaviors are far too similar. The adults in the book are also essentially one stock character broken into a group. And of course the adults are not helpful, even though they seem to be the ones who've hired the children to find the art.
The clues that are provided are so obtuse I can't imagine anyone reading along could possibly jump to the conclusions that are intrepid sleuths make!
And then there's the repetition. I was constantly feeling "weren't we just here? Didn't we already make that discovery?" I think that a lot of that comes from having so many paintings that have gone missing and the clues being a bit obscure had me constantly scratching my head trying to follow the progression.
I really like the idea here, but the implementation definitely didn't work for me.
Looking for a good book? Pieces and Players by Blue Balliet is a children's mystery with an art theme, which definitely had me interested, but the story itself just gets bogged down and is not at all engaging.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
July 7, 2017
Sometimes I think a series goes a little too far . . . I have liked the "Chasing Vermeer" series but think it could have been complete without this final foray . . . Not my favorite series, but it's been entertaining and I do like the tie-ins to art and artists that makes you curious enough to go search up the art and see what it looks like. I like thinking that kids are reading these books and becoming interested in great art, expanding their horizons. But this book gets a little too wacky for my taste. Following along the lines of the first book, there has been an art robbery, this time multiple paintings (by different artists) stolen from a small museum. The kids we've seen so far in the series, Petra and Tommy and Calder, are joined by two additional children, Zoomy and Early, in a request by one of the museum's trustees and their old friend Mrs. Sharp in looking for ideas to solve the crime. However, where the first book was exploratory, interesting, and based in the interesting theory of whether or not "coincidence" is accidental, this book veers off the path in the realm of ghosts, ouji boards, and dreams featuring characters in pictures talking to people. This felt just really off-base and although I still enjoyed the characters and their interplay to some extent, the story was just a little too strange and the ending a little anti-climactic.
June 7, 2019
This is marked on GoodReads as Chasing Vermeer #4, but it includes the kids from the Chasing Vermeer series (Petra, Tommy, and Calder) as well as the kids from Hold Fast and The Danger Box. It also continues the exploration of ghosts that the author brought up in Out of the Wild Night.
So, I think it really helps to read all her stuff in chronological (published) order. :-)
It's interesting to see the kids as teenagers. They're 13 and worried about boys and girls and changing bodies and zits and body odor. They don't know if they can trust adults and they wonder a lot about what other people think of them and whether they've just said something stupid.
It's a mystery, but it's not a mystery that could have been solved without supernatural help. So.....
It's definitely a book about art and living with it and studying it and letting it speak to you.
So, I think it really helps to read all her stuff in chronological (published) order. :-)
It's interesting to see the kids as teenagers. They're 13 and worried about boys and girls and changing bodies and zits and body odor. They don't know if they can trust adults and they wonder a lot about what other people think of them and whether they've just said something stupid.
It's a mystery, but it's not a mystery that could have been solved without supernatural help. So.....
It's definitely a book about art and living with it and studying it and letting it speak to you.
December 16, 2017
Blue Balliett is high on my list of favorite YA authors. The way she describes our interaction with art makes me want to go to a museum and stare. I've learned a great amount of art history because her novels made me curious; more than I ever picked up in school. Even my husband who took art history courses in college hadn't heard of the Gardner Museum theft this book is based on. We spent an evening researching it further.
Calder, Petra, and Tommy are now 13, with all the awkwardness that brings. Early (from Hold Fast) and Zoomy (from Danger Box, which I have to read yet) join the team to solve the mystery of the biggest art heist in history. 13 pieces from the Farmer museum have been inexplicably stolen. The kids spend Spring Break analyzing this "prime crime".
Balliett always does a rich job of exploring how we interact with the world. This book frequently refers back to "the deeps" - first a way Zoomy describes his life with blindness, it becomes how all the kids refer to the adult world and it's complexities. No one is all good or all bad; Eagle's character displays this well.
Calder, Petra, and Tommy are now 13, with all the awkwardness that brings. Early (from Hold Fast) and Zoomy (from Danger Box, which I have to read yet) join the team to solve the mystery of the biggest art heist in history. 13 pieces from the Farmer museum have been inexplicably stolen. The kids spend Spring Break analyzing this "prime crime".
Balliett always does a rich job of exploring how we interact with the world. This book frequently refers back to "the deeps" - first a way Zoomy describes his life with blindness, it becomes how all the kids refer to the adult world and it's complexities. No one is all good or all bad; Eagle's character displays this well.
October 21, 2019
I gave this book rather high marks for the unique combination of its characters and its chosen plotline. The Chasing Vermeer series focuses on a small group of middle school students who along with their teachers solve art mysteries through a rather interesting approach to problem solving. The themes and codes in the books are great for young readers.
What makes this work so interesting to me is that its entirely focussed on the Gardiner Heist, the worlds most expensive and mysterious art theft, a mystery that is now decades old and very far from being solved. In fact, by introducing young audiences to the beauty of the Gardiner Museum, which is fictiuously renamed the Farmer and moved from Boston to Chicago, and by expressing the uniqueness of art and the specific items stolen, Blue Balliett is clearly inviting a new generation of thinker to possibly study this crime. Perhaps in a whistful way suggesting a discovery or dare I say recovery may be possible some day long after the FBI, Boston police and journalists from today have passed.
What makes this work so interesting to me is that its entirely focussed on the Gardiner Heist, the worlds most expensive and mysterious art theft, a mystery that is now decades old and very far from being solved. In fact, by introducing young audiences to the beauty of the Gardiner Museum, which is fictiuously renamed the Farmer and moved from Boston to Chicago, and by expressing the uniqueness of art and the specific items stolen, Blue Balliett is clearly inviting a new generation of thinker to possibly study this crime. Perhaps in a whistful way suggesting a discovery or dare I say recovery may be possible some day long after the FBI, Boston police and journalists from today have passed.
July 24, 2020
If I didn't have a personal rule to finish every book that I start, I would have quit reading this one. Since I really enjoyed the first 3 books in this series, I kept thinking that it would get better. It did not. It was so fragmented and not very interesting. I fell asleep every time I tried to read it, which was why it took me a week to finish it. I like smart kids but this was really reaching. The kids got clues from dreams, that they assimilated into meaning something pertinent, from a Ouija board, a "feeling" that a ghost was nearby, and from letters one kid kept pulling out of his pocket (B for boring). They also are sure that an ordinary cat is a spy.
The book had to do with 13 pieces of priceless art stolen from a museum run by a bunch of elderly people. That's another gripe I had. The elderly people were referred to as doddering, creaking, and all sorts of names and insulting references. And why ask a bunch of 5 kids to investigate anyway?
I really can't give a work of someone's writing art less than 2 stars so that's why this is 2 stars.
The book had to do with 13 pieces of priceless art stolen from a museum run by a bunch of elderly people. That's another gripe I had. The elderly people were referred to as doddering, creaking, and all sorts of names and insulting references. And why ask a bunch of 5 kids to investigate anyway?
I really can't give a work of someone's writing art less than 2 stars so that's why this is 2 stars.
September 18, 2024
I read some of the reviews before reading the book. Like everyone else, I loved the first three books. I haven't read the books about Zoomy or Early. This book IS a bit different. But I am not going to fault a children's book author for writing a book for children. Yes, puberty is a bit annoying when you're older. But it's a very real, mystifying and uncomfortable time for the intended audience of the book.
I will say that I had not a clue on this particular mystery (the theft the book is about) until it was being solved. And while I didn't necessarily enjoy it as much as the others, I don't feel that makes it a worse book. It's a more complicated story. And even I had a lightbulb moment when Early wondered why her friends didn't know that people always get irritated with one another when they're frightened.
If you're a fan, give it a try. If you can't get past the puberty, well....they're growing up and will outgrow it soon enough.
I will say that I had not a clue on this particular mystery (the theft the book is about) until it was being solved. And while I didn't necessarily enjoy it as much as the others, I don't feel that makes it a worse book. It's a more complicated story. And even I had a lightbulb moment when Early wondered why her friends didn't know that people always get irritated with one another when they're frightened.
If you're a fan, give it a try. If you can't get past the puberty, well....they're growing up and will outgrow it soon enough.
October 23, 2025
I wanted to like this book, I really did. The description told me to expect an art heist solved by children, which was delivered, but it didn't tell me how. I went in blind and was honestly expecting clever children using their creativity and perspective to find clues adults overlooked. Like seeing the world from a shorter height finds something the taller adults missed etc. Real detective work. What I was not expecting was a nonsensical story where the resolution was autism and ghosts. Like this one kids would fidget with the Pentomino pieces in his pocket and come up with a theory involving the letter "T" because he happened to feel the "T" piece in his hand. The the children would infer clues because the missing paintings came to them in their dreams. An absolute mess of a story that stretched the "emotional connection to the painting" angle beyond the breaking point. Do not recommend. Please don't even share with your children for their own good. Hard pass.
August 18, 2023
Overall, a wonderful addition to this series. The main characters for Balliett's Danger Box and Hold Fast join the original trio in this story, full of twists and turns. The descriptions of the museum are so vivid you can almost feel it, and there is a fun magical/ghostly aspect of this story that captures the imagination. The only areas I found less enjoyable were the ones focused on puberty (maybe because I'm already well past it and who likes revisiting that Era of life?) and honestly the somewhat heavy focus on Tommy. The rest of the characters experience so much growth in this book, but Tommy is constantly lagging behind in maturity and just ends up rude/crude at times, which left me wishing more for him. If you enjoyed the rest of the series, this is still worth the read and definitely makes you curious about Zoomy and Early's stories as well.
March 1, 2018
I realize I'm not the target audience for this book, but I've enjoyed reading the author's other novels. This one was a convoluted disappointment. The thinking processes of the characters, the conclusions they reached, the story itself were all a bit too far fetched, even within the story's universe. Plus, I cannot recommend any story aimed at kids that treats so lightly ouija boards and talking to spirits. That such things were integral in the conclusion of the story and were presented as anything other than serious and dangerous is beyond the pale, in my opinion. That is my Catholic perspective on it, but it also reaffirms for me that it's never a bad idea to read the books your kids may end up reading. Better to be aware.
January 4, 2025
Ughhhhhhhhh
Here are my list of grievances:
* Tommy is my least favorite and of course he has the most book time. He mentioned his zits at least 10 times. And everyone else’s.
* Where the hell was half the story? I had to go back multiple times to make sure I wasn’t actually skipping paragraphs. Nope, the writing was just everywhere.
* There are 5 “main characters” plus the 5 adults, so whenever the character view changed it only lasts a paragraph and a half. Except for Tommy, he got half the book. * The Ouija board? The ghosts? The moving paintings? The first couple books had some supernatural stuff but this was over the top.
I think I’ll just continue to consider this series as a 3 parter. Such a bummer. I will still probably read Early and Zoomy’s stories though.
Here are my list of grievances:
* Tommy is my least favorite and of course he has the most book time. He mentioned his zits at least 10 times. And everyone else’s.
* Where the hell was half the story? I had to go back multiple times to make sure I wasn’t actually skipping paragraphs. Nope, the writing was just everywhere.
* There are 5 “main characters” plus the 5 adults, so whenever the character view changed it only lasts a paragraph and a half. Except for Tommy, he got half the book. * The Ouija board? The ghosts? The moving paintings? The first couple books had some supernatural stuff but this was over the top.
I think I’ll just continue to consider this series as a 3 parter. Such a bummer. I will still probably read Early and Zoomy’s stories though.
September 26, 2021
I enjoyed many of the art mystery books that Balliett had previously written and thought this audio book would be a fun one to insert in my current lighter readings. It took me a while to get into the book, but it did win me over. I enjoyed the meshing of the two groups of kids investigating the art mystery and their unusual skills, and the red herring inserted with the romantic lead to Miss Huzzy.
Mostly I enjoyed the discussion of the art and the way the kids made it come alive with their personal connections to the paintings, and their love of the museum.
WARNING: Be aware that this contains ghostly activity and use of an Ouija board to talk to the spirits.
Mostly I enjoyed the discussion of the art and the way the kids made it come alive with their personal connections to the paintings, and their love of the museum.
WARNING: Be aware that this contains ghostly activity and use of an Ouija board to talk to the spirits.
September 10, 2017
This was on my to read list. I hadn't read any of the other books in the series and had only picked this one up because of the connection to the Gardner museum in Boston. This plot being told from multiple points of view and with no real indication of when the view changed made this confusing at times. Also there was just a lot of wild leaps and guessing and the fact that five kids were expected to solve the art theft was just odd. Maybe if I had read the other three first and gotten to know the characters it would have been better.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews