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Cezanne Is Missing
In the months following the atrocious events of September 11, a 15-year-old girl learns the story of her art teacher, a suvivor of Auschwitz and a fighter in the Warsaw Ghetto resistance. After frantic attempts to decode a diary written by her teacher's long-lost brother during World War II, she is suddenly drawn into the dangerous network of the underworld kidnappers who have targeted her teacher. Utterly clueless about this terrible epoch in history, she begins to see the link between hatred and intolerance throughout history. Set in New York City, the fast-paced, original plot is both educational and compelling.
- GenresHolocaust
323 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Frank McMillan
5 booksalso writes under Frank N. McMillan III
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 20, 2008
I totally loved this book! Frank McMillan rocks like he invented it!
August 11, 2009
I Loved this book so much! It was a super good book that i have read like 10 times! It was awesome!!!!!!!!!!
August 6, 2018
I had to read this book as summer reading for a class back in 8th grade. This book tries to make a deep connection rift with Nazi art thieving, but it was literally the most boring trash on the planet and so hard to sit through.
April 19, 2008
This action-packed thriller for young adults educates both the heart and the mind. A fast-paced mystery with an old school twist, the novel is narrated by Lauren, a savvy 15 year old girl; a punk music loving hipster who knows her way around the hard streets of NYC but doesn't know history very well. Nor does she care: "History sort of bores me," she cynically observes at the start of the story. Well, that changes fast, when, as an innocent bystander, she becomes a captive audience of one when gang members of the Russian Mafiya show up at her weekly lesson with her art teacher, a 75 year old world-famous sculptor. She witnesses their ruthless demands on her teacher to decode an old European diary, written by a long-lost family member, that describes a treasure trove of Impressionist paintings smuggled during World War II. She also witnesses a kidnapping and will soon learn the personal story of her teacher, a survivor of Auschwitz whose entire family perished during the war, in a flashback passage, both painfully and beautifully moving, that is an emotional tour de force. Teaming up with her crush, her art teacher's 15 year old grandson, with lives on the line, Lauren races against time to solve a mystery that has its tangled roots in the darkest days of Nazi-occupied Europe, as ancient evil stretches its poison shadow into today, as the fast-paced events of the story take place against the backdrop of New York's great museums, Grand Central Station, a frantic chase down 5th Avenue and more. The ending will bring you to tears. And I mean that in a good way. So, yeah, I totally loved this book. Already used in classes across the country, it's highly recommended for schools and libraries. Not to be missed.
October 31, 2016
Actual Rating: 2.5
This one was exactly 2.5 stars, which made it super hard to place it in either 2 or 3.
I feel like the story itself is good- three, even four stars in some places. But I found it very preachy in some places, or going off on a tangent that didnt really make sense. What really bothered me, though, had nothing to do with the story or the characters, but how it was written. There were just too many of my pet peeves, and many little things that bothered me just enough to interfere with the story: using all caps when characters are screaming (or whispering loudly????) instead of just exclamation marks, using "...." too much, ending every sentence with "...., of course", and some missing quotation marks were just some off the top of my head. Apart from that, the insta love... Sighs. And I didn't feel like the author had ever met a teenage girl. (Purple-dyed hair and green contact lenses??? And some random comments that just????? Like.... her best friend not talking to her cause she didnt want to date her cousin???? What????)
Point being, the writing was awful. But the story was good, especially the part told by Mrs. Rosen, and the oldest characters (the ones who went through the Holocaust) were cool. The rest fell kind of flat, though, and most of the plot was predictable and unrealistic.
Still, the bad rating is from lots of tiny things that together bothered me too much, but on the whole it wasn't a bad book.
This one was exactly 2.5 stars, which made it super hard to place it in either 2 or 3.
I feel like the story itself is good- three, even four stars in some places. But I found it very preachy in some places, or going off on a tangent that didnt really make sense. What really bothered me, though, had nothing to do with the story or the characters, but how it was written. There were just too many of my pet peeves, and many little things that bothered me just enough to interfere with the story: using all caps when characters are screaming (or whispering loudly????) instead of just exclamation marks, using "...." too much, ending every sentence with "...., of course", and some missing quotation marks were just some off the top of my head. Apart from that, the insta love... Sighs. And I didn't feel like the author had ever met a teenage girl. (Purple-dyed hair and green contact lenses??? And some random comments that just????? Like.... her best friend not talking to her cause she didnt want to date her cousin???? What????)
Point being, the writing was awful. But the story was good, especially the part told by Mrs. Rosen, and the oldest characters (the ones who went through the Holocaust) were cool. The rest fell kind of flat, though, and most of the plot was predictable and unrealistic.
Still, the bad rating is from lots of tiny things that together bothered me too much, but on the whole it wasn't a bad book.
July 25, 2011
The best part of this book for me was when Mrs. Rosen was telling about her experience during the Holocaust. This really put the heart in this story and teaches a valuable lesson to anyone who reads it, no matter if they have read extensively on the subject or are experiencing the horrors for the first time like Lauren. I thought the romance between Lauren and David was handled a little awkwardly, but I guess young love can be awkward so I can forgive that.
August 9, 2013
This was somewhat a predictable little mystery that lacked lots of detail, not that it was a bad story. The most interesting part of the book was the account of Mrs. Rosen's time during the Holocaust.
November 20, 2024
I enjoyed reading this book. Loved the character Mrs. Rosen. The officer that had worked in Corpus Christi and San Antonio was a hoot. C.W. had impressive fighting/self defense moves. Overall enjoyable.
April 19, 2009
i absolutely adored this book.... its truly one of those can-not-put-down books!!
August 3, 2009
Were there really people helping the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto escape to unoccupied territories?
March 6, 2012
This is an awesome mystery with Holocaust overtones. Students marvel that it is written by a man but through the voice of a young lady. Great for a first novel.
December 4, 2013
Juvenile fiction, too juvenile.
May 2, 2016
Part historical fiction, part mystery, part art history, part action-adventure, this novel looks at the events of the Holocaust and their long-term effects.
September 26, 2009
This is one of the best books ever!!!!
October 30, 2014
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews