The flibbertigibbet, middle-child star of three picture books jumps to a more extended format without losing her exuberance, short attention span, or stream-of-consciousness style of narration. So wrapped up is Clarice in gobbling down mysteries featuring a Nancy Drew-like sleuth, that she can’t think of any other books to use in a class project that’s supposed to highlight reading’s educational benefits. Then, not only does her partner and best friend Betty Moody disappear on a sudden family trip, leaving her saddled with class troublemaker Karl Wrenbury, but the trophy cup that was earmarked for the winning project disappears. Despite a lack of evidence, humorless teacher Mrs. Wilbarton blames Karl, thus leaving Clarice partnerless again. Meanwhile, there are mysteries on the domestic front. Using extra punctuation and changes in type and line shape for emphasis, Child not only gives Clarice a distinctive preteen voice, but captures the chaos around her with plenty of sketchy, interspersed ink drawings and collages. Not that it wins the trophy, but this middle-class Eloise turns out to be a good loser, and she will certainly win over plenty of readers. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-7636-2186-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Flimsily entertaining
An American schoolgirl in a British boarding school battles a secret society in this adventure.
In this trope-y sequel to The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane (2019), the students at Wellsworth must stay safe from the evil order that’s been there for generations and still entangles their parents. Emmy, a white, well-to-do Connecticut 12-year-old, is determined to return to Wellsworth even though last year she was nearly killed. The Order of Black Hollow Lane, the mysterious bad guys who are disguised as the school’s Latin Society, want something from Emmy. Her long-lost father, for one, and Emmy’s box of medallions, for another. Why? Do they really need a reason aside from being an evil club full of wickedness determined to find a whole box of MacGuffins that will somehow make them even richer and more powerful or at least propel the plot? In any case the dastardly fiends plague Emmy, framing one of her best friends for theft and leaving cryptic notes and computer files to threaten the lives of Emmy’s loved ones. Though the Order has infiltrated this (nearly all-white, wealthy) school for generations, Emmy must somehow defeat them and save her dad. The quest is peppered with spy-thriller moments that are mostly only thinly sketched and go nowhere, though some (such as a disguise right out of Scooby Doo cartoons) are funny enough to keep the action moving.
Flimsily entertaining . (Adventure. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6467-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
PLB 0-06-027720-3 A broadly comic, slapstick mystery. Seymour Sleuth is called to Borneo where Dr. Irene A. Tann (an orangutan) is searching for the Black Flower of Sumatra, which will cure hiccups. But her quest is being sabotaged’sand in the sugar bowl, knots in the underwear—and threatening notes are arriving. The intrepid Seymour and his faithful assistant and photographer Abbott Muggs search for clues and interview the other members of the camp: a reporter, a local guide, and Dr. Tann’s assistant. Among the clues: chocolate smudges on the notes, and a pin with someone’s initials. Seymour solves the mystery, accompanies the band through the monkey’s maze where they find the Black Flower and another surprise. All the characters are animals and the text is in Sleuth’s notebook printing, with photographs by Muggs attached along with realia like the map of Borneo and their plane tickets. It’s very lightweight, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and gives readers a funny first taste of some of the well-loved elements of mysteries. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 31, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-027719-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999
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