Sammy Keyes has lots of problems. She gets suspended from junior high school --- on her very first day --- for punching Heather Acosta in the nose. She witnesses a man stealing $4000 from a lady's purse, and when he sees her watching him through her grandmother's binoculars, she waves at him. She's living with her grandmother in a senior highrise, where there aren't supposed to be any children, and nosy Mrs. Graybill is trying to prove it and kick her out. The burglar sure wants to shut her up. And the police are suspicious of her, too.

An ordinary seventh grader might be worried about it all. But Sammy is a spunky heroine who tackles life with cheerful courage. Street-smart and intelligent, she knows she'd better solve the burglary because if she doesn't, either the police will pin it on her or the thief will do worse. And he may be the last person she'd suspect...

   --- Reviewed by Tamara Penny