How to Get Away with Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries, #2)

In this second installment of the middle grade Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery series, How to Get Away with Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce, young Myrtle has been sent on a train trip to the shore for vacation. She'd rather be home, studying law and medicine, and solving murders. But, Myrtle's father is in Paris at a conference and she's sent packing with her governess, Miss Judson, and the formidable (and not a little intimidating) Aunt Helena. She also brings her cat, Peony, along. Peony is a tremendous character and no ordinary cat. 

Things get off to an interesting start when Myrtle hears Mrs. Bloom, an insurance investigator, telling the owner of the train and the resort to which they're headed that his insurance policy on a valuable diamond and Alexandrite tiara will have to be cancelled if he doesn't follow the rules and put it in a safe, as specified. At that moment, it's in a display case for all to see. Then, it goes missing and Mrs. Bloom turns up dead with Aunt Helena's scissors in her back. Are the theft and murder connected? Is it possible that Aunt Helena's a murderer? What happened at the resort town that made Mrs. Bloom a friend to all? 

Myrtle has a little trouble getting involved in the investigation but once it becomes apparent that the railroad inspector is less than competent because of his unwillingness to listen to female witnesses and then Aunt Helena is arrested for the murder, Miss Judson bends to Myrtle's will and they're on the job. They summon a friend to help with the legal aspect (a familiar character from the first in the series) and slowly unwind the mystery. 

Highly recommended but I advise reading the series in order - It's the characters and the dialogue that make How to Get Away with Myrtle such a delight. The cast is fairly large and that's probably my only complaint but it's a minor one because they're all so well delineated that there's never any confusion from one character to the next. I simply found the cast size a little unwieldy and would have to think for a minute or two to remember previous encounters when they were reflected upon. At any rate, I like Myrtle and Miss Judson. I loved the way what appeared to be related threads were broken off into separate stories that were satisfying unto themselves. And, I really adore the young lawyer called in to help, who calls Myrtle "Stephen" for reasons I don't entirely recall, although I remembered him as soon as Myrtle described him. A very satisfying mystery with loads of charming scenes and a few edge-of-your-seat moments. Not to be reserved for middle school kids. Grown-ups need a little good fun, too. 

My thanks to Algonquin Books for the review copy!

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake and Jon Klassen

In Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake, Badger lives in his aunt's brownstone and spends his days studying rocks (although I don't think the word "geologist" is ever used). Since Aunt Lula moved out, Badger's had the place to himself and he's turned the living area into a study with all of his rocks and tools. He's content. He has a routine. Then, one day Skunk shows up on his doorstep and is shocked to find that Badger has no idea why he's there. Skunk says Aunt Lula has told him he can stay with Badger.

They have a little conflict and Badger rudely tries to pass off a small closet as the guest room, but Skunk is a happy-go-lucky little stinker and spends his time making the acquaintance of all the neighborhood chickens, cooking very nice meals for the two of them, and generally being a nice housemate. As they get to know each other, Badger begins to question his desire to have the brownstone to himself, again. But, he's already written a letter to Aunt Lula insisting that he can't work properly with a housemate.

When Badger finally goes far enough to offend Skunk and Skunk abruptly moves out, Badger realizes that a little compromise is not a bad thing if you have a companion to enjoy meals and conversation with. He doesn't want to go back to being alone. Will Badger be able to find Skunk and make amends?

Highly recommended - I'm not sure of the age range for Skunk and Badger but I'm presuming it should be called a middle grade book. You could read it aloud to a not-quite-yet-reading child and readers in second to middle grades would probably read it on their own, depending on the individual's skill level. What I love most about Skunk and Badger is that it's very silly but has a sweet theme. I loved the chicken invasion and the way Badger slowly softens to the chickens. I also just happen to be a fan of rocks (I wanted to be a geologist, at one point, hence the availability of rocks to photograph with the book). So, I had fun reading a children's book with a geologist in it, even if he happened to be a badger.

Also, very important: the illustrations are marvelous. It's a fine thing when even illustrations make you smile or laugh, as these do.

I received an ARC of Skunk and Badger from Algonquin's Young Readers line in exchange for an unbiased review and I can tell you in a completely unbiased way that it's one of my favorite books of the year. I found myself yearning to have my grandchildren nearby. I know Skunk and Badger will make them giggle, when we're finally able to see each other, again. I loved the characters, the often-unexpected word choices, the wackiness, and the gentle undercurrent about the importance of friendship.

The scheduled release date for Skunk and Badger is September 15. Many thanks to Algonquin for the review copy!


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce

In Premeditated Myrtle, Myrtle Hardcastle is a precocious 12-year-old. Her governess, Miss Judson, uses the Socratic method to teach her. Myrtle is a fan of a pulp mystery series about a young (male) detective and reads medical and law books as well as encyclopedias for entertainment. All of which is to say that it isn't surprising she fancies herself a young detective.

One morning, Myrtle is looking through her telescope (which is supposed to be for learning about the stars, but Myrtle is also a little rebellious) and notes that her elderly neighbor and the gardener have not held to their morning routine. Concerned, Myrtle calls the police and they find the elderly neighbor dead in her bathtub. The death is ruled a heart attack but Myrtle is unconvinced and decides to investigate.

Was the elderly neighbor killed by the gardener for her prized lilies? Or was she knocked off by the first cousin, twice removed, with the American accent for her inheritance? What about the nephew in the tragically loud coat? Who had the motive, means, and opportunity to kill Myrtle's neighbor? If she was killed, why did her death appear to be from natural causes? And, what has happened to the old lady's garden plot where she grew her lilies?

Recommended for middle grade and up - There's a lot to this story and at over 350 pages it's a long one for a middle reader but it has loads of wonderful twists and turns. I loved all of the main characters — Myrtle, her governess, her father, the cook. There's also a secondary character thrown in toward the end, Mr. Blakeney. He is a delight. Myrtle is smart beyond her years and knows it but she's also pretty self-aware. She knows when she's not behaving like a proper Victorian girl and she's also well aware that being a young and female, smart or not, means most people are not going to give her the time of day, much less listen to her ideas about a possible murder.

The only things I didn't like about Premeditated Myrtle were the fact that Myrtle almost never bothered even attempting to tell the adults what she'd discovered on the assumption that they wouldn't listen, anyway, and the fact that nobody sounded English but the gardener with the Yorkshire accent (and I can't say if his accent is accurate). I tend to dislike it when characters keep too much to themselves. It's a personal preference, but I favor actual conflict caused by telling the truth and not being believed to lies and secrets. But, there were a couple scenes in which she did try to let people in on a clue or two and they ignored her, just as she suspected they would. I'm sure 12-year-olds will relate to Myrtle's frustrations with the adults, especially on the occasions that she attempted to get them to listen and failed.

My thanks to Alqonquin Young Readers for the review copy! My copy of Premeditated Myrtle says it's a May, 2020 release but I screwed up again and didn't check to see if the release date has been shoved back due to the pandemic. Sure enough, it's now got an October release date, so if you're interested it will have to be pre-ordered. I've opted to go ahead and review while it's fresh in my mind.


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Just Fly Away by Andrew McCarthy

While I was taking a shower and trying not to get water all over the giant taped-up crack, I couldn't get out of my head the fact that my father had been in love with a tomato-eating blond when he was a thieving teenage bowler who had harbored secret dreams. Would I ever be able to look at a tomato the same way again? Or a bowling ball? Or even listen to B. Springsteen for that matter?

~ p. 169

Just Fly Away is a Young Adult novel about a 15-year-old whose life is turned upside-down when she discovers her father has a child he's never mentioned. The fact that her half-brother is only 8 years old means her parents were married at the time of little Thomas's conception. Upset by her father's betrayal, Lucy begins to spend more time at a friend's house, where she falls for her friend's brother, Simon, and eventually seeks out little Thomas for reasons even she can't explain. But, knowing where he is and what he looks like is no help. When Lucy loses her temper and is rude even to Simon, who has been endlessly patient with her, she decides on the spur of the moment to run away.

It takes about 115 pages to get to the part where Lucy runs away and I think that is the book's biggest downfall because once she leaves New Jersey, Just Fly Away starts to really become interesting. Lucy is unsure where to go, at first, but then she remembers her paternal grandfather in Maine. She's only met him once but surely he'll be happy to see her.

At her destination, Lucy gets a fresh perspective on her family, the truth about her father's past, the way she's treated her boyfriend, and how to fit a new family member into her world. Meanwhile, she's enjoying the rugged Maine coast and getting to know her grandfather. But, then tragedy strikes and the lessons she's learned become even more crucial.

I bought Just Fly Away primarily because I so thoroughly enjoyed Andrew McCarthy's travel book, The Longest Way Home, when it came out in 2012. His travel writing is excellent and I presumed he would find a way to incorporate travel into his fiction. The first 115 pages were slow and full of teenage angst -- to the point that I had to sit back and think about how I would have felt if I found out my father had cheated and had a third child tucked away somewhere, just to keep myself going. It didn't take a lot of pondering to realize that I definitely would have been devastated and thrown into the same sort of emotional chaos Lucy experiences -- especially during the tender early teen years. That helped me stick out the slower parts in anticipation of the time when Lucy ran away.

I did think there were occasions when it was clear that the author was a male writing from the perspective of a female. It's hard to imagine any female never even mildly obsessing about her clothing, even when she's been wearing it for two days. If I were her, the first thing I'd do at Grandpa's? Look for the detergent and ask for money for a second outfit so she could get out of that stinky underwear. But, I liked the book enough, in the end, to give it 4 stars out of 5.

Recommended - The writing is a little simplistic; in trying to capture the teenage voice, at first I thought the author may have gone overboard. But, once I became accustomed to it, I thought the style worked. The second problem was that it took a long time before the story moved from "Confused teenage girl drifting away from her family and close to a boy" to "What will happen when she runs away?" When Lucy leaves town, that's when Just Fly Away becomes interesting, the pace picks up, an entertaining character is added, and the story veers into territory that the author clearly understands: how travel can clear one's mind and help a person come to resolution. While the first 1/3 is slow, it's definitely worth sticking out the slower beginning for the latter 2/3 of the book.

©2017 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Thoughts about 3 quirky books: The Future for Curious People by Sherl, The Time Fetch by Herrick, 2 AM at The Cat's Pajamas by Bertino

This is kind of weird, really -- three quirky reads in under a month? That doesn't happen often. I'm just going to talk a little about each of them and what I thought was good or bad, as per my new commitment to kicking formality in the head and shoving it out the door.

The Future for Curious People by Gregory Sherl has an interesting history. The story idea was the very prolific and professional Julianna Baggott's. But she thought the story needed a twenty-something's perspective and basically turned over everything she'd written to Sherl, a poet she believed competent to handle her baby. She holds the copyright although his name is on the cover. Fascinating.

The Future for Curious People is about two people who are involved in relationships. Godfrey has proposed but not been accepted by his girlfriend, Evelyn is uncertain her boyfriend is the right person with whom she should settle. Both go to the same "visionist", a doctor who gives them each a drug and puts a wacky device on their heads. They then can see scenes from their possible futures with a specified person. This alternate reality is oddball, in and of itself, but it's the hodgepodge of crazy characters that make the book truly shine. I responded mostly as intended, I think. I loved the two main characters and hoped they'd drop their respective partners and end up together. I liked the goofy secondary characters and the idea of the visionist.

Otherwise, I thought the book had a sagging middle problem and  -- this is bizarre -- after finishing the book I completely forgot the ending by morning. Either I was really beat or it wasn't memorable, I'm not sure which. Still, I liked The Future for Curious People especially for the characterization, and I'd read it, again, sagging middle and all. I did like the beginning best, though, and would not hesitate to reread only the first 100 pages for the sake of character study. My copy was sent by Algonquin.  So was the next book . . .

The Time Fetch by Amy Herrick is either a middle reader or young adult. I'm not actually certain but it's suitable for either and I think it leans MR.  I've got the book here and I like the first paragraph from the cover flap so here 'tis:

Under normal circumstances, a Time Fetch sends out its foragers to collect only those moments that will never be missed or regretted. It then rests, waiting to be called back by the Keeper, who distributes the gathered time where it is needed in our world and others.

Going on in my own words, a rather strange boy (middle schooler, I think?) named Edward thinks the Fetch is a rock and pulls it out of its hiding place to take to science class, setting into motion a chain of dangerous events in which time, the earth and the people existing within Earth's time are put into jeopardy. Edward's two best friends and a snarky girl from school (acting out as bullying characters often do) have to eventually join together to save time and the world.

Again with the nutty characterization, which I loved, but The Time Fetch is fantasy. As I was reading, the main thought running through my head was, "This would have been a favorite if I'd read it as a child. I would have read it over and over again." When I sat down to write to friends about the reading, I thought the synopsis made it sound kind of ditzy. It didn't come off that way as I read but there were moments that I thought were less than stellar. The end was wild and hairy, twisty fun, though, so I closed it feeling satisfied. I may even try to foist it on my 22-year-old.

2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino (from Crown via Shelf Awareness) is a book that has a smidgen of magical realism mixed in with a large dollop of -- yes, again -- eccentric characters. Madeleine is a motherless child of 10 whose behavior is appalling. Her father has retreated to a drug-addled haze in his despair but she has a large support circle comprised of people who knew her mother and look out for Madeleine as they promised in her mother's dying days. Sarina is a divorced teacher who teaches Madeleine and is surprised to find herself still attracted to a man from her past. Lorca is the owner of The Cat's Pajamas, a jazz club. Three threads and a pretty good job of knitting the threads together in unanticipated ways.

I'd been in a bear of a slump when I picked up 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas and because it was the first book to suck me in for quite a while, it kept me up very, very late. In fact, I tried desperately to finish by 2 A.M. for kicks. I failed, but I didn't sleep long and finished it shortly after an early wake-up call.

The funny thing about 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas is that I was aware of its flaws (truly vulgar language that crossed the characterization lines, a failure to pull off the magical realism due to one particular scene in which that magical touch should have shown up but didn't, one of the three intersecting storylines' failure to be as compelling as the others, a tragically odd and confusing ending) but I loved it at the time for pulling me out of the slump. Upon reflection, it loses some of its glow because the vulgarity stands out in my memory.

The author's turn of phrase was what made the book particularly quirky and I was mesmerized by her use of language. 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas is one of those books that don't hold up as well upon reflection; they just happened to be right for the moment. I loved it, for the most part; I'm glad I read it. I will hesitate to read more by the author till I've heard whether or not future offensiveness in her writing is off the scale. That was the one thing that bugged me during the reading, although I had fun observing how the author played with words. She definitely has a unique style.

The cover . . . oh, my. That cover cannot possibly be properly portrayed photographically. It is sparkly-beautiful. I appreciate all three of the covers in this post but 2 A.M. is my favorite.


©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Anton and Cecil: Cats at Sea by Lisa and Valerie Martin

Anton and Cecil: Cats at Sea by Lisa and Valerie Martin
Illustrated by Kelly Murphy
Copyright 2013
Algonquin Young Readers - Adventure/Middle Reader
Source: By request from Algonquin

What a poorly designed bird, Anton thought as he crept toward the water, keeping his head down. His instinct proved a sound one, for there were flat rocks in the burbling water of the stream, which made it easy to scamper to the other side, where a grove of real trees with limbs promised both shade and shelter. The bird had evidently given up for now.

~p. 126

You can see from looking at the cover why I specifically asked to review Anton and Cecil. Cat book!!!  When Algonquin launched its Young Reader imprint, I was hoping they'd send me the first new titles off the press, which included Anton and Cecil -- and they may have, but the launch occurred during the time when parcels were disappearing at our new location (one book was taken right out of the envelope, the envelope badly re-taped and sent on with the other book intact). That problem was eventually resolved, thank goodness, so when I was recently contacted by an Algonquin rep about a memoir, I asked if it would be possible to get my mitts on a few books I'd missed the fun of reviewing during our mail crisis. I so appreciate the kind response. My thanks to Algonquin for providing a copy of Anton and Cecil!

Brief synopsis:

Anton and Cecil live in a lighthouse with their mother. They're siblings, although Anton is sleek and gray, Cecil fluffy and black and their personalities every bit as different as their looks. While their mother continues to bear new rounds of siblings, Anton and Cecil like to explore, occasionally stealing fish from the sailors. Cecil is the more adventurous of the two cats, taking daily trips with the day fishermen while avoiding the ships that go to sea for longer stretches, sometimes never to return. Anton loves listening to sea shanties at the local inn. Both are careful to avoid the port at night, when cats have been known to disappear.

Then, one evening, Anton is snatched up to be used as a mouser on one of the ships. When Cecil realizes his brother is missing, he investigates and then takes to the high seas, as well, determined to find Anton.  He has no idea the sea is so immense.  Will Cecil be able to find his brother? What will become of Anton, who dislikes the taste of mice and rats?

My thoughts:

I was hoping Anton and Cecil: Cats at Sea would be the kind of adventurous cat tale I sought out as a youngster and found the story contained all the elements I loved. The book alternates between Anton and Cecil's viewpoints, both of them experience danger and adventure, both develop surprising friendships, both come up with clever solutions when they're in a tight spot, plus the brotherly relationship is well-described: they argue but they love each other.  Perfect.

Highly recommended:  An exceptionally well-plotted, quick-moving adventure that is great for cat lovers of all ages. I probably would have read this book around the age or 8 or 9. It would also be terrific to read to younger children. Although there are frightening moments when the cats are kicked, locked up, stranded on an island, taken to be sold or in other ways threatened, everything works out in the end and the brothers are happily reunited. My only complaint about the book is the use of "fo'c'sle"written phonetically rather than spelled out "forecastle" on p. 167, a minor complaint but I do think it's best to write the actual word rather than focusing on the pronunciation when writing for the younger crowd.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.