A promising start to a weird new series.
Ada Goth solves a mystery.
Ada lives in Ghastly-Gorm Hall with her reclusive father, Lord Goth. Since her mother passed away, her father can barely stand to spend time with Ada, so she spends her days hanging about, keeping to herself and staying out of the servants’ ways. One night, the ghost of a mouse named Ishmael comes to visit Ada, and together they work to discover the truth behind strange happenings at Ghastly-Gorm Hall. Ada is supported by twisted and kooky characters, and the author delights in bending this odd world close to the breaking point. Riddell peppers the story with literary references older readers will chuckle at, but the jokes never come at the expense of the enjoyment of younger readers. The mystery is a bit flat: the sinister gamekeeper is clearly up to something, and the author never suggests otherwise. In compensation for this narrative bust, the characters do more than their part to make the book one worth reading. Future installments are welcome as long as they involve governess Lucy Borgia, pals Emily and William Cabbage, and the Attic Club. The illustrations complement the twisted world nicely. The characters (the humans all seem to be white) are all drawn with fine, squiggly lines and detailed with precision. A small, removable novella, Memoirs of a Mouse, is tucked into a pocket in the back cover.
A promising start to a weird new series. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-230-75980-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Macmillan UK/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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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