Vanished! (2) (Framed!)

My son, who typically prefers to play flag football or video games than read, enjoyed the first book in this series, FRAMED. Then he began VANISHED! and couldn't put it down. Florian Bates, the protagonist, is a middle schooler who is very good at noticing details that other people miss. So good, that he solved the mystery of an art theft that had stumped the grown ups in the first book (FRAMED!) and now he's a consultant to the FBI. He goes undercover at an elite prep school in Washington, D.C. to figure out who is behind a series of pranks. There is a varsity lacrosse player from a wealthy, politically elite family that bullies him and Florian bravely sets a trap that the bully arrogantly walks right into. It's a thing of beauty. The author realistically portrays the social dynamics among the cliques at the school, and there are wonderful scenes showing the strong friendship between Florian and his neighbor/sleuthing partner Margaret. This is a suspenseful read with a lot of humor and fun twists.

Florian Bates and Margaret Campbell are at it again. It being working for the FBI. This time, their job is to attend Chatham School, where the president's daughter attends, to solve the mystery of a prankster, code name, Loki. They use The Theory of All Small Things (TOAST) to help them. And there are over-laying puzzles along the way -- including Florian's bullying by a nasty, spoiled Senator's son. The kids at Chatham are all children of the higher ups in Washington. The story takes a surprising and satisfying turn along the way (many, actually). Florian and Margaret, plus their FBI handler, Marcus, are in fine form.What stopped this novel from getting 5 stars is that it takes too long to take off. Plodded along for over 100 pages. Once it got going, however, the action was breathless. As usual, Mr. Ponti filled the reader with historical knowledge without hammering it. Okay, if I could've given it 4.5 stars, I would have. Recommended!

I bought this for my son who is 10 years old. He really enjoyed Mr. Ponti's first book, Framed and this one is just as good. As a mother, I really appreciate the language in this book (no cuss words). Most books with middle school age characters tend to use some cuss words but this one is clean. The main characters are always very respectful.

After reading Framed (required for school), my son asked me to purchase Vanished so he could read it for pleasure! This is the first time my child has asked me to buy him a book! He's ridiculously smart but would rather be active than sitting still reading a book. If you're in the same boat as me, go out and buy these two books! It's worth the investment!

Really good book and series! I would definitely recommend it! I got this for my sister (12) and she read them in just a couple days because she loved them so much! I read them after she was done with them and I also really enjoyed them. I liked the first one the best though. It just had this novelty to it along with a really good plot. These books definitely have a Sherlock Holmes vibe which is something I really like.

Kids reported that this one was not quite as good as the first, but still worth reading. Suspenseful and while certain things were a little predictable the overall twists were well done. They wasn't a book they couldn't put down, but still one that they really enjoyed.

I bought two sets of these and sent them to two kiddos I know stuck at home during the pandemic. They both loved the series. One stayed up all night and read the first two books. I would highly recommend these. I love seeing kids read in a world with too much screen time!

My 8th grade son really liked the first Framed book, but adored this one. Couldn't put it down and finished it in a day and a half. That's the only bad part!