An artful mystery with appealing sleuths.
Two young detectives tackle a big small-town case involving a painting.
In this debut novel, Whiz Tanner is a genius sixth-grader who investigates mysteries in his small hometown of Jasper Springs. Playing Watson to his Sherlock Holmes is Joey Dent, who’s not quite as good at deduction, but makes up for it with his eagerness to learn and his hero worship of Whiz. Together they form the Tanner-Dent Detective Agency, complete with the “secret identities” Agent M and Agent K. Whiz is getting tired of solving “small” cases and wants to do something big enough to prove that Tanner-Dent is a professional organization. His wish is granted when an exhibition of famous forged paintings comes to the town museum, and he and Joey suspect one of them has been switched for a cheap fake. The plot thickens when the suspicious work is stolen—by someone dressed as an astronaut. As the Tanner-Dent team proceeds with the probe, it must deal with police who don’t take the two private eyes seriously, annoying neighbors, sinister criminals, and curfews. Rexroad’s series opener shares an upbeat, adventurous spirit with other kid detective books like the Hardy Boys or Encyclopedia Brown series. It even includes such 1950s-style elements as ham radios and unsupervised bike rides—even though it’s meant to take place in the present day. The plot is engaging, with plenty of twists and turns, but observant readers may be able to put together some of the resolution before the end. Whiz and Joey’s odd friendship makes for some sly humor and heartwarming moments, but sometimes their dialogue is less than believable. Sentences like “This reconnoiter excursion should only take fifteen minutes” sound OK coming from a child genius, but when Joey starts dropping his contractions, it seems a little stilted. But young readers who enjoy these kinds of gumshoe tales should still savor the story.
An artful mystery with appealing sleuths.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9817742-2-0
Page Count: 188
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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BOOK REVIEW
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In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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BOOK REVIEW
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