Framed!

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2016

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-11

Chapters 12-18

Chapters 19-25

Chapters 26-31

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 6-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 6 Summary: “The Scene of the Crime”

Florian and Margaret decide not to say anything about the copyist. Instead, they focus on the first day of school. This year, Florian is more optimistic because he has Margaret to help him navigate the challenges of the school day. Before school starts, however, his dad’s phone rings at two in the morning. Three paintings have been stolen from the National Gallery. Florian tells his father about the copyist in Gallery 85, the impressionism section. His father takes Florian to the museum, where they learn that a Renoir, a Degas, and a Van Gogh painting are missing. In the underground security center, there is a British insurance agent named Oliver Hobbes on the phone. Earl, a security worker, is looking over the data at the computer. Serena Miller, the director of museum security and a friend of Florian’s parents, arrives with a man from the FBI, Special Agent Marcus Rivers of the art crime team. Everyone is curious to know why Florian is there. When Florian gives them information about the man who changed his identity, Hobbes impatiently dismisses Florian, but the FBI agent is intrigued.

Chapter 7 Summary: “Seen but Not Heard”

Rivers wants Florian to look at photos, so he is allowed to stay as long as he remains quiet. Florian enjoys watching the crime scene unfold. He learns that the security software was being updated that night. The update took 15 minutes and ended at 1:32 am. There were extra guards on shift. At 1:50 am, a custodian noticed that the paintings were gone. Florian looks at the security monitors and observes the police interviewing the cleaning staff. He blurts out that one of the custodians is missing. Agent Rivers counts the staff and runs out of the room. Oliver Hobbes apologizes to Florian for his impatience. When Agent Rivers comes back, he declares that 12-year-old Florian is officially smarter than the police. They ask Florian to scrutinize the security footage more closely in search of the missing custodian. Florian’s dad sees a custodian leaving and crossing the street outside at 1:43 am, but the man is not carrying anything.

Chapter 8 Summary: “Nightcrawlers”

Everyone except Florian and Earl looks for the paintings somewhere in the museum. Earl and Florian brainstorm reasons why the thief might have picked those particular paintings. They pull up information on the paintings and ask what they have in common. Earl wonders why the thief did not take the most valuable pieces. Florian realizes that all of the paintings are approximately the same size.

Florian’s mother arrives to take Florian home. As they leave, they discuss the significance of the paintings’ size. Florian sees the investigators looking in a custodial cart and realizes that the trash bag is empty. Florian runs to where he last saw his father. Agent Rivers is amused and impressed when Florian tells him that the paintings fit in the trash bag perfectly; Florian believes that the thief used trash bags to smuggle the art out of the building. The agents find the three paintings in the recycling bin outside. Agent Rivers says that Florian is smarter than all of them. Everyone applauds.

Chapter 9 Summary: “Sunday Sauce”

Florian’s mom makes her famous spaghetti sauce on Saturday instead of Sunday to celebrate the fact that Florian has saved over 65 million dollars in art. Margaret is there waiting to hear the story. Florian’s mom says they still haven’t caught the thief despite organizing a stakeout at the recycling center. They eat, and Margaret talks about her soccer game and the finals next week. Florian’s father arrives with Agent Rivers, who asks how he can contact Margaret’s parents. Because Margaret also saw the copyist, Rivers needs her and Florian to come to the J. Edgar Hoover Building (the FBI headquarters) to identify suspects.

Chapter 10 Summary: “The Bureau”

An agent drives them to the FBI building so that they can look at photos of suspects. Florian is also scheduled to meet the director. Florian is taken into a room with large marker boards displaying information on different cases. Rivers shows Florian six photos. Florian picks one without any hesitation and then learns that Margaret independently identified the same man. He and Margaret then watch footage from an airport and pick out the copyist again; the man is wearing the same shoes even though his disguise is different.

The man is Pavel Novek from the Czech Republic. He is suspected of art crimes in Eastern Europe but has not been to the United States before this incident. He is involved in the EEL, the Eastern European League, which is a large crime syndicate. Although he is not the actual thief, he is somehow involved in the incident. Margaret and Florian note that he was copying a work that wasn’t stolen, Woman with a Parasol. While the two friends wait for the FBI director, they meet Agent Crosby, who works in the Jewelry and Gems Division. Florian looks at Crosby’s information board and notices a pattern. Agent Crosby is annoyed and doesn’t want to listen, but Rivers pulls rank and makes him show Florian more crime scene photos. Florian asks what the victims have to do with China. Surprised, Crosby answers that they all work on the Chinese counter-intelligence desk. Florian says the CIA should know that the Chinese government is spying on those employees. Crosby looks stunned and Rivers laughs. Margaret says Florian TOASTs everyone.

Chapter 11 Summary: “The Admiral”

Admiral Douglas, the head of the FBI, is tall with a Southern accent. He asks Florian if he’s the super-detective that Rivers claims him to be. Florian proves it by noting the Admiral has a sore back and is wearing a 10-year-old necktie. He then explains the details that led him to those conclusions. The Admiral laughs and asks Florian to explain his theory about China and the CIA employees. Florian explains his TOAST method and observes that the photos of the apartments all show fliers from the same Chinese restaurant on the refrigerators, all with the same free delivery coupon torn off. The operatives from China did not need to sneak in because they were invited when they delivered food. If they left menus at the CIA headquarters with a specific coupon, they would know when the CIA operatives ordered food. Admiral Douglas invites Florian’s parents in and tells them that he wants Florian to work for the FBI as a consultant. Florian’s mother agrees on the condition that they create a college fund to pay him; he is also only allowed to work on cases after he finishes his homework.

Chapters 6-11 Analysis

The second section of Framed! intensifies the rising action even as it diverges from a typical detective novel, for rather than presenting the crime and drawing out the solution for the remainder of the novel, Framed! uses the crime and Florian’s immediate success in solving it to set up further plot revelations and explain the FBI’s subsequent interest in hiring Florian as a consultant. In order for this plot development to be credible, Ponti needs his protagonist to have a major success. By creating two solutions to the crime, one now and another at the end, Ponti propels the plot forward in the moment and simultaneously plants seeds for a deeper revelation in future chapters.

While the first section concentrates on the friendship aspect of the theme with Margaret, this section focuses on the adults whom Florian needs to help him solve the crime. The Importance of Friends and Allies thus becomes apparent as Florian meets several key adults at the museum’s security office. The most prominent of these supporting characters is Special Agent Rivers, whose calm, thoughtful, demeanor and willingness to listen to Florian mark him as a reliable and valuable ally. Rivers’s helpful attitude also serves as a sharp contrast to that of Hobbes, the representative of the insurance company, who is angry and dismissive. Throughout this pointed contrast in the world of adult allies, Ponti shows that wise, positive characters listen to and respect children, whereas the rude and insulting adult—Hobbes—betrays himself as the villain in his very first appearance. Additional allies include Florian’s parents, who are supportive of their son’s talents and unconventional interests. For this reason, Ponti bypasses the typical child/parent struggles that characterize middle-grade fiction and focuses instead on the various ways in which supportive characters can work together. To this end, Florian’s parents serves as allies rather than obstacles.

This section also highlights Florian’s insistence on maintaining The Crucial Habit of Questioning Assumptions during the investigation of the crime. As the protagonist turns his talents toward the case, it is clear that many of the adults in the security room are at a loss because they are laboring under the false assumption that they know what happened with the security check that night. By contrast, Florian’s unbiased perspective prompts questions about why the thief chose those particular paintings, and he also notices the number of custodians in the security footage. While Hobbes displays his antagonistic nature by growing impatient with Florian’s questions, the boy’s lack of assumptions and willingness to ask questions lead the team to the correct conclusion. This particular scene therefore characterizes Florian as a young Sherlock Holmes of sorts, for despite his young age, the investigators are compelled to respect his perspicacity and brilliance.