A lively, diverse mystery with enjoyable, informative plotting and a relatable young female protagonist.
A girl searches for an elusive bird of myth in the nation’s Capitol building in this sequel.
After solving the truth behind the “Demon Cat of Capitol Hill” in Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza (2020), the first volume of this middle-grade series by veteran public radio journalist Felde, preteen detective Fina Mendoza finds herself embroiled in another mystery. Has the trickster Chickcharney bird of Bahamian folklore taken up residence in the Capitol building? It is some months since 10-year-old Fina and her teenage sister, Gabby, moved from California to the nation’s capital with their father, a member of the United States Congress. Busy Papa isn’t keen on Fina continuing her sleuthing, but she can’t say no to investigating whether the bird roosting in the Capitol building is indeed the Chickcharney, a long-legged, owllike creature from her friend Monica’s native island in the Caribbean. Monica is convinced that the bird has an important message for her, and Fina hopes it might have one for her, too, from her deceased mother. But what message did the bird send when it pooped on the president’s head during his State of the Union address—an event that so dominated the news cycle it eclipsed what the leader said? (According to Papa’s legislative analyst, the State of the Union reminds Congress of all the good things the president did and all the things he wants the branch to do, and then “somebody from the other party goes on TV to complain about everything the president just said.”) This year, Papa delivers the Spanish-language rebuttal and takes on immigration reform, with repercussions when Fina’s strong-minded Abuelita gets involved. Felde, executive producer of the podcasts Book Club for Kids and The Fina Mendoza Mysteries, combines her knowledge of the behind-the-scenes workings of Congress and Capitol Hill’s historic locales with suspense, humor, and a young, first-person Latina protagonist who is alive with realistic curiosity, empathy, and determination. Woven into the plot, with a light but meaningful touch, are political differences, immigration issues, Fina’s eventful approach to inquiry and research, and a strong, loving family still adjusting to loss and change.
A lively, diverse mystery with enjoyable, informative plotting and a relatable young female protagonist.Pub Date: July 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73709-781-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Chesapeake Press
Review Posted Online: July 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Funny delivery, but some jokes really miss the mark.
An animal ghost seeks closure after enduring aquatic atrocities.
In this sequel to The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter (2020), sixth grader Rex is determined to once again use his ability to communicate with dead animals for the greater good. A ghost narwhal’s visit gives Rex his next opportunity in the form of the clue “bad water.” Rex enlists Darvish—his Pakistani American human best friend—and Drumstick—his “faithful (dead) chicken”—to help crack the case. But the mystery is only one of Rex’s many roadblocks. For starters, Sami Mulpepper hugged him at a dance, and now she’s his “accidental girlfriend.” Even worse, Darvish develops one of what Rex calls “Game Preoccupation Disorders” over role-playing game Monsters & Mayhem that may well threaten the pair’s friendship. Will Rex become “a Sherlock without a Watson,” or can the two make amends in time to solve the mystery? This second outing effectively carries the “ghost-mist” torch from its predecessor without feeling too much like a formulaic carbon copy. Spouting terms like plausible deniability and in flagrante delicto, Rex makes for a hilariously bombastic (if unlikable) first-person narrator. The over-the-top style is contagious, and black-and-white illustrations throughout add cartoony punchlines to various scenes. Unfortunately, scenes in which humor comes at the expense of those with less status are downright cringeworthy, as when Rex, who reads as White, riffs on the impossibility of his ever pronouncing Darvish’s surname or he plays dumb by staring into space and drooling.
Funny delivery, but some jokes really miss the mark. (Paranormal mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5523-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
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