Overview
Sophie and Sam Shattenberg are two Jewish sisters from Queens, New York. Both love knishes and kosher pickles. Both have said “I'm wawkin' here!” to cab drivers—and meant it. When the unthinkable happens and their father dies, the girls are devastated. Desperate to get away from their greedy stepmother, they withdraw their father's money from the bank, pick up fake IDs, and hit the road. All is well until their car breaks down outside of Venice, Indiana, a town so isolated that the mechanic tells them, “You could get lost here forever.” Which is exactly what they decide to do....
Sam and Sophie arrive in the small town of Venice, decide to stay, and try to blend in. They get jobs, make friends, and practice “talking the talk” instead of “tawking the tawk.” Then the most popular girl in town—the queen of the upcoming Rose Festival—disappears. The sisters were the last people to see her and so become prime suspects. Sophie and Sam realize that they're going to have to find the missing girl themselves if they want to clear their names. Even if their names are fake....
The Chief of Police thinks Noelle is dead, and all the evidence points to Sophie, so she and Sam set out to learn what really happened.
Editorials
Gillian Engberg
*Starred Review* Gr. 7-10.The first titles in the new Missing Persons mystery series introduce teen orphans Samantha and Sophie Shattenberg, sisters who flee their Queens, New York, home after their father's death to escape their stepmother, who intends to abscond with the family money and ship Sophie off to boarding school. A few felonies later (fake documentation; funds illegally transferred from their father's account), the girls settle into a new life, and new identities, in tiny Venice, Indiana. In the Rose Queen, the girls become prime suspects in the disappearance of an obnoxious local beauty queen, and crack the case to clear their names. That success turns into jobs with the local P. I., and in Chocolate Lover, they connect art stolen during the Holocaust with its missing owner, while exploring their own family tree. Although Rabb indulges in a few small-town stereotypes, she creates breezy, compelling mysteries that can read as stand-alone titles. More interesting, though are the deeper identity struggles of the likable sisters who cherish their New York Jewish roots even as they try to live (and fall in love) while masquerading as young Midwestern gentiles.
—Booklist
Publishers Weekly
Despite an uneasy mix of humor and dark currents, this whodunit makes for an entertaining read. After their widower father dies, narrator Sophie Shattenberg, 15, and her 17-year-old sister Sam run away before Enid, their stepmother, can send Sophie to a boarding school "focused on rehabilitating unruly youth." The two head to Indianapolis, where a shady friend of Sam's knows an underworld boss, taking with them the $300,000 that Enid would have inherited. When their car breaks down in tiny Venice, Ind., the New York City teens try to blend with the quirky natives (the sisters pose as orphans from Cleveland). But nasty Noelle, the town's Rose Queen, goes missing after a fight with Sophie, and the siblings become suspects. To clear their names, they investigate Noelle's disappearance. Readers will likely be drawn to smart but ditzy Sophie and appreciate her bond with sensible Sam. Sophie's interactions with the inept brothers who comprise the town's police force and Venice's popular teens ("I thought that was a Cleveland accent," Noelle says after hearing Sophie talk) make for some hilarious scenes. But the mood can be somber, too: Sophie and her sister remain well aware that they are alone in the world and Noelle's case turns out to be creepy-and is rather quickly resolved. Still, the mixed overtones likely won't stop readers from following the sisters' next adventure, The Chocolate Lover (ISBN 0-14-250042-9, due simultaneously), in which the girls act as assistants to Venice's only private detective, hired by an old man (whose last name is Shattenberg, too) to find his missing sweetheart. Ages 12-up. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
Two sisters, Sophie 15 and Sam 17, are recently orphaned. Their stepmother inherited everything and the girls learn she plans to put Sophie in boarding school. They do not want to be separated. Sam manages to transfer $300,000 to herself from their father's account. They know they must leave New York, get new identities and start a new life. Sam has a friend who makes the sisters new identity cards with new names. They are on their way. When their car breaks down in Venice, Indiana, they decide to stay there. They get jobs at a local country club, rent a house and become a part of the community. One new friend, a detective, helps them later on when they try to find a missing girl. Sam reminds Sophie not to become involved, however Sophie gets a crush on the life guard in spite of their precarious position. Sam and Sophie drive Noelle, the Rose Queen, home one night in spite of the fact that she has been rude to Sophie. She disappears and the sisters are suspected of knowing something about the missing Noelle. They were the last to see her. The detective helps them solve the case and when Noelle is found, they are praised by the community. It appears they have found a home. Young adults should find each of the other books in the series an interesting read. 2004, Speak/Penguin, and Ages 13 up.—Jennie DeGenaro