A review by ljrinaldi
Girl Detective by R.A. Spratt
5.0
The book is describing Friday as an 11 year-old Sherlock Holmes, and that is sort of correct. But she is not just that. She is a whole person herself.
If you are thinking, oh, this is sort of like Encyclopedia Brown, which is what I thought going in, you will be pleasantly surprised that it is not. The only similiarty is that there are usually simple mysteries that if you are observant you can solve as well. All but a few were like that, at least for me. Some, near the end, felt a little dues ex macina.
There are some great lines in the book, to give you a good idea of the humor, as well as the writing style.
See, if you didn't know this, you learned this now.
Another quote that I put aside for this was:
And don't be put off because the books were originally written and published in Australia. It has been "translated" for the most part, although there were little bits where I could tell it wasn't originally an American book (which is fine by me).
So, you are probably asking, what is the book about? Well, it is about an 11 year old girl solving mysteries. If I say much more than that, it takes away from the enjoyment of reading and enjoying the book, at least it would for me. Friday is very likable, despite not fitting in (or in spite of, because who really does fit in at school?).
And yes it is Middle School (as opposed to YA), but don't let that stop you. It is a quick (about 2 or 3 hours) fun read, and if you are burned out on YA or NA or whatever the current trend is, I would suggest picking this one up.
If you are thinking, oh, this is sort of like Encyclopedia Brown, which is what I thought going in, you will be pleasantly surprised that it is not. The only similiarty is that there are usually simple mysteries that if you are observant you can solve as well. All but a few were like that, at least for me. Some, near the end, felt a little dues ex macina.
There are some great lines in the book, to give you a good idea of the humor, as well as the writing style.
Friday had received an A+ for her presentation on Rosalind Franklin and how Watson, Crick and ovarian cancer had combined to cheat her out of a Nobel Price for her role in the discovery of the structure of DNA
See, if you didn't know this, you learned this now.
Another quote that I put aside for this was:
"Yes," said Friday. "The one thing Binky excels at is following instructions without thinking."
"He gets that from our father," said Melaine. "All the Pelly men are good at not thinking."
And don't be put off because the books were originally written and published in Australia. It has been "translated" for the most part, although there were little bits where I could tell it wasn't originally an American book (which is fine by me).
So, you are probably asking, what is the book about? Well, it is about an 11 year old girl solving mysteries. If I say much more than that, it takes away from the enjoyment of reading and enjoying the book, at least it would for me. Friday is very likable, despite not fitting in (or in spite of, because who really does fit in at school?).
And yes it is Middle School (as opposed to YA), but don't let that stop you. It is a quick (about 2 or 3 hours) fun read, and if you are burned out on YA or NA or whatever the current trend is, I would suggest picking this one up.