Just like gelato: dense, tasty fun that you can eat with a spoon.
Moving to Rome unexpectedly would be hard for any 13-year-old, but via a series of mysterious synchronicities, Beatrice Archer soon finds herself embroiled in international art intrigue as well.
One night Beatrice witnesses a (bronze) turtle theft from her bedroom window overlooking the Fontana di Tartarughe (Turtle Fountain) in the Piazza Mattei. While her father, who heads the history department at the American Academy of Rome, is skeptical of what she saw, soon redheaded, white Beatrice is drawn into the legend behind the sculpture and the history of the Mattei family who commissioned it, including the fate of the long-suffering 16th-century duchess Caterina. Forced to marry a harsh man that she didn’t love, the duchess found solace in her diary (excerpted in the book) and a secret room below her palazzo, which Beatrice and her new friend Marco, a white Italian boy who’s fluent in English, seek to find. Eventually Beatrice deepens her understanding of the Jewish Ghetto neighborhood. Although a few plot details strain credulity, debut author Parks keeps the story moving at a jaunty pace, with rich context, footnoted Italian phrases, and art history pitched at just the right level and tone for middle graders. Readers can find online photos of the sculpture and the Palazzo Mattei di Giove to follow along, and an author’s note provides further context.
Just like gelato: dense, tasty fun that you can eat with a spoon. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-264452-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans.
Only children, rejoice! A cozy mystery just for you! (People with siblings will probably enjoy it too.)
Debut novelist Cornett introduces the One and Onlys, a trio of mystery-solving only kids: Gloria Longshanks “Shanks” Hill, Alexander “Peephole” Calloway, and narrator Paul (alas, no nickname) Marconi. The trio has a knack for finding and solving low-level mysteries, but they come up against a true head-scratcher when the yard of a resident of their small town is covered in rubber ducks overnight. Working ahead of Officer Portnoy, who’s a little on the slow side, can Paul, Shanks, and Peephole solve the mystery? Cornett has a lot of fun with this adventure, dropping additional side mysteries, a subplot about small businesses, big corporations, and economics, and a town’s love of bratwurst into the mix. Most importantly, he plays fair with the clues throughout, allowing astute readers to potentially solve the case ahead of the trio. The tone and mystery are perfect for younger readers who want to test their detective skills but are put off by anything scary or gory. The pacing would serve well for chapter-by-chapter read-alouds. If there are any quibbles, it’s the lack of diversity of the cast, as it defaults white. Diversity exists in small towns, and this one is crying out for more. Hopefully a sequel will introduce additional faces.
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-3003-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Supernatural mystery meets generational drama with hopeful endings for all.
Eleven-year-old Frank must solve a supernatural mystery to save his new home.
As fifth grade comes to an end, Frank Fernández is looking forward to finally staying put in Alabama for a second year, as promised, after a childhood spent following his parents’ home renovation work all across the country. Frequent relocation has made Frank wary of forming friendships or making plans, but his hopes for more stability are temporarily dashed when his parents announce plans to renovate a lighthouse in the Florida Keys, near where his mother grew up and his father’s home country of Cuba. Papi promises this will be their last move, though: The lighthouse will be theirs. But from their first day on Spectacle Key, things seem to go wrong: Tensions rise between his parents, and Frank’s hopes of a forever home are under threat from seemingly supernatural forces. In order to put down roots, Frank and new ghostly friend Connie, a White girl with freckles, must discover what secrets the island is hiding, uncovering Frank’s own family roots along the way. Frank is a fan of horror—he names his new Great Dane puppy Mary Shelley. But though there is some mild peril to be found, rather than a ghostly thriller, this is an appealing, lightly spooky family drama with valuable lessons for those who would hide from a difficult past instead of confronting and healing generational trauma.
Supernatural mystery meets generational drama with hopeful endings for all. (Supernatural. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-313481-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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