Reviews

Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit by Lilliam Rivera

renel's review

4.0

I liked this book. Love the comics more, but this was good too. I do wonder why the two mini comics that replace a written scene were picked for the two most boring scenes. They could've picked much better scenes to portray as mini comics.

geeky_spider's review

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

3.75

diana_blackmoon's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

1. I don't understand why would you write middle grade, made main character 16 and then use her as narration. As a result Goldie sounds like 10 year old that is full of herself. It is so much different than the comics. 
2. Book is full of tell not show and while comics is about building relationships with people by solving mysteries again book is focused on Goldie and her self help book quotes that she keeps thinking.
3. A lot of people are annoyed that crime did not happen till half of the book. I think they are right. Especially that it was so obvious what kind of mystery is going to be solved. 

I am so disappointed in this book.

taliaissmart's review

3.0

Goldie is a queer teen sleuth who lives in/works at a Florida resort in the 60s. Not totally sure why this is written as a middle-grade book rather than YA, but it's fun! This one is about some hijinks that occur when a movie is filmed at the hotel. Based on Hope Larson's comic book series (which I love & highly recommend). Start there for sure!

rants_n_reads's review

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

daisysbookshelves's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

heatherbookely's review

4.0

I love Goldie! I love the comics, and was excited when it was announced that Lilliam Rivera would be writing a Goldie book. There are two mini-comics in the book, which further the plot, and I loved that; it broke up the plot and quickened the pace a little during exciting parts of the story. I think Rivera did a great job with Goldie's character and wrote her true to the comics; she was very excitable and talkative, which reads differently when it's linnear words rather than within bubbles in a comic strip, something I thought was interesting.

I love Goldie, I love her crush on Diane, pick this up for a fun read.

caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review

3.0

A fun light middle grade mystery! It was my first introduction to Goldie Vance, but I imagine a lot of readers are familiar with the comics. I liked Goldie's personality; she was a perseverant, confident sleuth who didn't take no for an answer (but feels shy about asking her crush Diane out). Some other characters needed more fleshing out, though, and the actual mystery plot didn't start until literally halfway through which was disappointing. I was also a bit confused about what the book was doing with the setting--is it some idealized 1950/60s with no homophobia and racism? (The year isn't made clear anywhere which I guess I'd deliberate?). I would have liked it to lean into the setting more, with characters' dialogue in particular (they sound like contemporary teens). Overall though, very happy to see casual queer representation in middle grade mystery! I think I would like the comics better than this prose novel (although the finished copy--I read an ARC--is supposed to have two colour inserts with scenes as comics, so that will be really cool!).

nora_mcgowan's review

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

jennabenna's review

lighthearted slow-paced

3.0

Because of all the tags (middle grades, mystery, lgptqai+) I was really hoping to love this book. But the main mystery (a stolen diamond swim cap) didn't happen until more than halfway through the book. Goldie and her friends were likeable, but she is a 16 year old acting like a 12 year old. The book is clearly aimed for middle grades, and her age is just a number to make it plausible that she can solve mysteries and drive. Overall, I just wasn't sure who the target audience was, and the pacing was so off that it took me FOREVER to get through.