Julie Anne Grasso

Frankie Dupont is the only soon to be eleven year old with a private eye in training certificate. He fits the part well with retro trench coat and fedora. On this day his parents are heading out of town for an awards ceremony and he is holding down the fort at his dad’s detective agency. He has been roped into going to a local sustainable science fair by his cousin Kat and her best friend Amy. It turns out that his presence is needed their after all, when it is revealed that Amy’s brothers have had the microchip from the robot project swiped. Frankie goes into full detective mode and investigates each of the other children competing. They all have reason to want to take the hi-jinxing twins down a peg.

This was my introduction to Frankie Dupont, but since I got hooked on Encyclopedia Brown in the fifth grade, I have had a soft spot for Tween detectives. The story delivers with clues and red herrings. It filled with larger than life characters who jump off the page and fantastic inventions that only middle graders would actually think up. There is nothing pretentious about this story and middle graders will enjoy reading about a science fair judged by Ms. Ubersyentist, and a police inspector named Inspector Cluesome.

This book is perfectly suited to its audience.

5 stars

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review… (mais)

What I love about the Caramel Cardamon Trilogy is the heroine is small and has a handicap yet solves issues well beyond her years which still being a nice person. It is wonderful that such a person is the center of the story. This story helps students empathize with her while simultaneously being impressed with her cosmic talents and abilities, and knowing she won't miss a beat and will solve any problems that come her way. She has a talented group of interstellar friends who each have their own talents and demonstrate caring for one another. This is a great read and I'm sad the trilogy is over! I'm looking forward to more books by Julie Anne Grasso.

This particular book is about a very wicked plan which takes 50 young space cadets away from home by luring them on a spaceship. Representing their own home areas, they make awesome presentations from a podium before going to a cosmic amusement park. However, it is a trap and could have turned out very badly if not for Caramel's dream walking and other abilities as well as clever last minute thinking.

Engaging read!… (mais)

Great for tweens and class discussions

Fun cruise theme with a double mystery and heartwarming ending. DNA not D and A and many other such word play phrases will engage readers. Perfect for tweens as it is a clever story and the storyline and discussions are all age appropriate. This book was written with figurative language students could find and discuss in class. This book would be nice in gifted ed programs as there are clues, twists, and turns to notice and figure out.… (mais)

This book is excellent for young crime fiction enthusiasts and future detectives. It is also nice for science and inventor fair participants who have experiences such competitions. The mystery and crime are appropriate for ages 8 and up to enjoy and try to solve. With red herrings every which way (or should I say blue salmon) the case is challenging to figure out. Even though there are only 5 suspects, the victims are the ever prankster twins so who could blame anyone for trying to get back at them?

I like the sustainable living green aspect of this fair as every entry has to be created from recycled materials and used in a green way. It isn't easy being green at this science fair!… (mais)