The Van Gogh Deception by Deron Hicks is a juvenile fiction book for 4-6 graders.
When a young boy is found sitting at the DC’s National Gallery without any idea who he is or how he got there, no one imagined the ripple effect that would happen. As black SUVs and missing security footage start popping up, there will be a race to find out who this boy is before it is too late.
As the boy attempts to piece his life together, he must also use what little he does remember to stop the biggest art frauds ever attempted. Will he remember in time or will his ghosts catch up to him first.
This book was action packed from the beginning. It has a quick pace and the kids are basically on the run from the get-go. I think The Van Gogh Deception has a lot going for it. There is action, there is drama and there is also a lot of interesting facts about art, art history and art restoration.
I wanted to pick a different type of book for my STEM Book Club and I thought this one might do the trick. It is definitely more STEAM then STEM but there are definitely some STEM elements that we can pull out of it–art restoration, tech and chemical compounds to name a few. There is also a QR code for each of the pieces of art mentioned so that kids can see the pictures of the art and learn a bit about them. Once could even talk about what and QR code does.
Like most action packed juvenile fiction stand alone books, I this one ended quite abruptly. Not in an unsatisfying way but I would have liked like a two page epilogue or something. Just more than the hint of a happy ending.
Overall, this was a quick and easy read that I think would appeal to both boys and girls. This one gets 4 stars from me.
That’s all for now!
-M-