Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief

Sammy’s two closest relationships in the novel are with her grandmother, Grams, and her best friend, Marissa. How do they each support Sammy, and what are their relationships with her like? How do Grams and Marissa develop the theme of The Importance of Family and Friendship?

What does the subplot with Heather reveal about Sammy’s character? How does the author use this subplot to advance the novel’s exploration of the moral complexity of crime and justice?

How does the novel’s 1990s setting impact the theme of The Power of Observational Skills and Critical Thinking? Consider how Sammy’s strengths as an amateur detective are particularly useful in the absence of smartphones and advanced surveillance technology.

How does Van Draanen use the binoculars to develop the theme of observational skills and critical thinking, advance the plot, and showcase the protagonist’s key traits?

How does the author use techniques like similes, wordplay, and comedic situations to add humor to the mystery? How does the novel’s humorous tone affect readers’ connection to Sammy and their overall experience of the story?

How does sharing food serve as a motif of the importance of family and friendship? Give particular consideration to the prominence of Double Dynamo ice cream cones and to Marissa and Sammy’s conversation about family dinners.

How does Van Draanen use a combination of generic conventions and narrative techniques, such as foreshadowing, red herrings, plot twists, and cliffhangers, to craft a suspenseful mystery?

How do Sammy’s actions both uphold and undermine laws and rules? How does her living situation affect her interactions with law enforcement and other authority figures? What message is the author trying to communicate about The Moral Complexity of Justice and Crime?