Finding the Forger

Bianca Balducci Mystery #2

by Libby Sternberg

Bianca, an investigator-in-training, stumbles upon a mystery at the local art museum involving fake paintings and a totally hot security guard, while dealing with boy trouble, bad hair, and shopping mishaps. Original.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Mystery

194 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Libby Sternberg is an Edgar finalist, a Launchpad Prose Top 50 finalist, and a BookLife quarter-finalist twice.

She writes historical fiction, women’s fiction, and more under the names Libby Sternberg and Libby Malin, and one of her romantic comedies was bought for film.

She has written two retellings of classic stories:"Daisy" ("The Great Gatsby") and "Sloane Hall" ("Jane Eyre").

"Sloane Hall" was one of only 14 books highlighted in the Huffington Post on the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Bronte's birth.

"Daisy" has been hailed by Publishers Weekly's BookLife contest as "A delightful portrayal of a female character claiming the story as her own, repossessing her own voice.”

Born in Baltimore, she now lives in Lancaster, PA with her husband Matthew. She has three grown children.

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable, easy read - a decent mystery, but a little "wandery" - the characters are a bit all over the place. Still okay, though. If kids like art mysteries, like "Chasing Vermeer" they might like this - but very different styles!

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's okay, a light fun read without any complexities. Part of my problem is that I think I'm a bit too old for the book, but I'm judging it within what I think is its intended audience. My main complaints are that the ages of the characters seem really off with the style of the book. The characters are ages 15-18 but the book reads like something best suited for readers about 10 years old. The characters don't seem their ages, seeming to be more like ages 13-15. The mystery is also not very interesting. I had it figured out as soon as Neville was introduced. The endless jealousy and friendship problems are somewhat funny but also kind of overdone to the point of becoming irritating. The endless fights and jealousy is also something that mostly only happens in middle school, adding to the feeling of the ages being off. The relationship between Bianca and Connie is fun and realistic though.

[Biancalovestoread12 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was friggin hilarious. I read it about two years ago, and I remember staying up all night until I finished reading. I read the series out of order, but I really didn't care--that just gave me an excuse to reread it! lol.

[Roxanne E. Baron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Done

[Laurelyn]

Sophomore Bianca Balducci amateur sleuth, following in the footsteps of her private investigator sister, is eager to investigate the mysterious happenings at the art museum. Caught in the middle of two feuding friends Bianca is trying to be nice to everyone while worrying about losing her boyfriend. Finding the Forger is the second in the series of Bianca Balducci Mystery and despite references to previous books in the series; the books can be read out of order. The author, Sternberg, writes in first-person narrative providing an inside look into the mind of a teenage girl and daily life as a sophomore.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was average...I honestly didn't except any more than that out of it anyway, since I fished it out of the clearance bin at Drug Mart. The plot was generally engaging and held my attention for the most part. The thing about the book that I enjoyed most was the witty protagonist, although the mystery was more or less predictable.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The narrator chatting to the read throughout the book was somewhat annoying.

[♥Marissa♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

AWESOME! : P

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 2.5/3
It was an okay story. I don't really know what it was that I didn't like about it, but it seemed a bit off. Younger readers who like mysteries might like it though.

[Kellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun teen mystery. I had the mystery of the painting and the poetry magents figured out much sooner than Bianca did, though. It's either the most obvious person, or the least obvious person! LOL