Despite her attempts to lead a normal life filled with shopping trips and dates with her hunky boyfriend, middle schooler Sherry Holmes Baldwin finds herself thrust back into the role of supernatural sleuth. In this sequel to I So Don’t Do Mysteries (2008), Sherry and her best friend, Junie, take on the serious task of unmasking an individual who is stalking Sherry’s stepmother. Similar to the previous text, Sherry’s deceased mom and grandfather lend support from beyond the grave, a device that, through humor and a thorough setup, manages to be more believable than creepy. In addition to wanting to protect her stepmother, Sherry is determined to crack this mystery for a chance to be awarded five minutes of “Real Time” with her deceased mother. Perfectly tame for middle schoolers—Sherry’s dates never pass PG, and although the threat of the stalker is at times menacing, Sherry’s silly, over-the-top inner dialogue helps defuse the situation and provide comic relief. (Mystery. 10-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-385-73604-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Intriguing clues and danger signs abound in a mystery in which a strong, upbeat teenager has every reason to be down, but pushes through her mourning and guilt to detect her way through to the finish. An invisible threat lurks in the small retirement community where 13-year-old Crystal and her mother are lovingly saying goodbye in their hearts to their beloved Gram, who has passed away. But there is much more on Crystal’s mind than sorting through and boxing up belongings, so she is not aware of a hidden menace; her nightmares point to her as the one responsible for the car accident in which her father died and she lost the use of her legs. Unexpectedly, a welcome opportunity for a prestigious art show comes to Crystal’s mother, a prospect beneficial to their household’s struggling financial situation, but leaving Crystal in the care of a neighbor, Zola, and an older cousin just at the peril’s peak. Zola suddenly disappears on the day she is to take responsibility for Crystal’s care, and the various normal explanations for Zola’s disappearance that Mitchell (Gullywasher Gulch, 2002, etc.) makes probable, intensify the plot. The balance between the emotional upheavals, attempts to carry on good lives, the inevitable guilt, and the process of growing up intertwines with the mystery of Zola’s safety and whereabouts. Crystal’s efforts in finding the truth about Zola become self-restoring, but are far riskier than either she or her cousin feared. Run-of-the-mill mystery writing for fans of the simple solution. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 1-59078-070-1
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This lightweight whodunit stays puzzling through trickery. Brian Bain just wants to stay out of trouble for a little while, for since his last adventure in the chemistry lab he’s been grounded. However, when a fellow student is kidnapped, Brian teams up with student journalist Roni to solve the mystery. Alicia, the kidnapped girl, was the victim of a brutal mugging the week before—could her disappearance be connected to the beating? Brian and Roni investigate ex-boyfriends, absent-minded adults and an island full of frightening but entertaining squatters. A reader who can see through the mystery’s misdirection might solve the puzzle before Brian and Roni. A frustratingly casual treatment of child abuse mars this venture, however; a woman who’s known to be responsible for a child’s vicious beating strikes that child in front of the police and is not immediately restrained or ever arrested. If the story contained any condemnation of this behavior, perhaps it wouldn’t be so jarring, but the characters seem more willing to condemn potential male abusers than actual female ones. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: May 18, 2006
ISBN: 0-399-24377-1
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Sleuth/Penguin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2006
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