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A review by greenldydragon
The Classy Crooks Club by Alison Cherry
3.0
One sentence summary: Great premise, average execution.
Review: I may have had too high of hopes for this book. Grandmas in a heist club? I’m so IN. Pulling in a 12-year old and not telling her all the details about what she is doing or super important details about people she is trusting? I’m SUPER concerned. AJ is a realistic, soccer-loving, video game-playing 12-year old that kids will feel empathy for. Her reactions to the Grandmas and dramas with friends are really well drawn by the author. My concern is with the actual Grandmas. As the book is from AJ’s point of view, it’s understandable that there is some mystery about each of them, but they fail to tell her pertinent facts ALL THE TIME in this book – to the point where there's a big spoiler I can't share but is frustrating. Grandma Jo is shown as a horrible individual who hates her granddaughter until AJ shows she is worthy of respect. While AJ learns a great lesson that even “moral” stealing is wrong, we never learn why Grandma Jo treats her in this way. The ending makes it seem like they have come to respect one another, but Grandma Jo is still focused on her own concerns and shows little concern for her granddaughter. I’m rather torn if this is one that I will suggest to others to read.
Review: I may have had too high of hopes for this book. Grandmas in a heist club? I’m so IN. Pulling in a 12-year old and not telling her all the details about what she is doing or super important details about people she is trusting? I’m SUPER concerned. AJ is a realistic, soccer-loving, video game-playing 12-year old that kids will feel empathy for. Her reactions to the Grandmas and dramas with friends are really well drawn by the author. My concern is with the actual Grandmas. As the book is from AJ’s point of view, it’s understandable that there is some mystery about each of them, but they fail to tell her pertinent facts ALL THE TIME in this book – to the point where there's a big spoiler I can't share but is frustrating. Grandma Jo is shown as a horrible individual who hates her granddaughter until AJ shows she is worthy of respect. While AJ learns a great lesson that even “moral” stealing is wrong, we never learn why Grandma Jo treats her in this way. The ending makes it seem like they have come to respect one another, but Grandma Jo is still focused on her own concerns and shows little concern for her granddaughter. I’m rather torn if this is one that I will suggest to others to read.