The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett (2006, Hardcover)

Excellent architectural thriller in the Nancy Drew tradition; the twist with Blue Balliett's books is that the settings are real, based on art and architecture, geometry, and math and these elements play a part in the solution of the mystery.

The book takes part in and around Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House; it's the next best thing to living inside it a while yourself.

Balliett's books are wonderfully exciting reads that have not only action but knowledge as the basis for the excitement. The knowledge here is "presented' is in such a way that the Robie House and Frank Lloyd Wright will remain a vivid piece of the reader's memory, as do the Vermeer paintings in the earlier "Chasing Vermeer". For me, the interiors of the house, its wood and stained glass, the lighting, were more vividly presented than the paintings in the earlier book, which relied more on having a companionpiece book of Vermeer's paintings to make it come alive.

The pentominoes introduced in "Chasing Vermeer" make their appearance again, but more engaging is the geometry found in the windows of the house. Also making an appearance here, as in "The DaVinci Code" is the Fibonacci Sequence.

The book introduces esoteric mathematical concepts without flogging the reader with them: it is designed to stimulate and provide opportunity for further investigation into the concepts; as such, it is an excellent book to read along with your child or students, inspiring them to and helping them with further investigation to the thoughts introduced in the book. Having the fictional background of the story skillfully tying together the concepts makes the discovery that they are real concepts very exciting for the curious mind.


As in the Harry Potter books, Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn, King Arthur, and other children-teen-young adult classics as well as much modern Anime and Manga ("Naruto," "Full Metal Alchemist," "Inuyasha," "Samurai Champloo")-- the protagonists, or participants, in the adventure, are two boys and a girl/two males and a female who work together as a team sharing each others' strengths and tolerating each others' weaknesses as well as helping each other to grow and overcome those weaknesses.

note: sorry for putting quotation marks around book titles: this format does not allow for html