Sammy Keyes has encountered singing nuns, costumed wrestlers, cranky seniors, busy girl scouts, and flashy artists—and that’s just in a few of her books. The teen sleuth’s adventures seem tailor-made to be a jumping off point for a costume party—they’re packed with colorful characters who tend to wear crazy outfits—so it’s not surprising that Santa Maria’s Bendele Books is holding a party and inviting locals to dress up like any of Sammy’s friends, enemies, or associates on Oct. 25.
The event is a blend of early Halloween celebration and fashionably late book-release party. Author Wendelin Van Draanen’s latest addition to the series—Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash—became widely available on Oct. 15.
Becky Bendele, co-owner of Bendele Books, said that as a book distributor, she sells primarily to educators, thus local schools have been given invitations and lists of costume suggestions for the Sammy Keyes party. And she can’t say enough good things about this book—her new favorite in the series—and Van Draanen.
“Of all the authors I know,” Bendele said, “she is the hardest working, and the one most anxious to please her fans.
“There are very few authors who consistently turn out good material,” she added. “Her books are at a very high level.”
They’re also excellent fodder for last-minute partygoers. Have a pirate outfit lying around? A hook? An eye patch? Perfect. You’ll look like you stepped right out of Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway. Own a bunch of scarves? That’s about all you need to be the fortuneteller from Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief. Or you could be an elf. Or a skeleton. Or a pig. Or a condor. Or a TV news anchor. Or a Psycho Kitty Queen woman who looks “like a Barbie doll gone to seed.”
“I kind of wonder: How’d I come up with all these?” Van Draanen said of her growing cast of characters.
No matter how she does it, she continues to do so. For her newest novel, she conjured up a nervous old man—only to quickly kill
him off. Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash opens with Sammy scuttling around on the fire escape attached to the senior high rise where she secretly lives with her grandma. She accidentally startles a man into having a heart attack, and with his last breath, he tells our heroine to get rid of several big wads of cash he’s carrying. Let the mysteries and moral dilemmas begin.
Van Draanen said that this book is funnier than it is morbid, and hopes that readers take it in the right spirit. She’s also flattered to be the genesis of a costume party at Bendele Books.
“They are awesome,” she said, explaining that Becky Bendele tends to bring books out of the shadows and into the light where students—or anybody—can find and read them.
Van Draanen will also act as a costume judge at the event, which will feature prizes, music, ice cream, and a chance to meet the real Father Mayhew from Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy. With so much going on, organizer Bendele could take a second job as a literary party planner. Locals should keep their eyes open for an early May wine and appetizer event with another author.
But back to the costumes: Books in the Sammy Keyes series aren’t too long, so a fast reader unfamiliar with the series could knock off a novel or two between when this paper comes out and the party. (Suggestion: Start at the beginning.) Or, if all else fails, just wrap up in toilet paper from head to toe. Series readers will get it.
INFOBOX: Meet the author … in disguise!
The Sammy Keyes costume party at Bendele Books, 547 West Betteravia Road, suite I, runs from 7 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 25. Author Wendelin Van Draanen will be there, though she’s not revealing what her costume will be until the event. For more information, call 928-3573.
Executive Editor Ryan Miller is a pirate who dresses like a normal person most of the year. Contact him at rmiller@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 23-30, 2008.