Passport to Murder by Mary Angela
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A murder mystery set in and around academia. Working for tenure can be murder, literally. I enjoyed it. I liked the bookish heroine and her way of investigating that depends on her emotional intelligence.
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine. http://affairedecoeur.com.
This is a perfect first few weeks of school kindergarten book. During those weeks when classroom management is so important, this book could be used for discussions about lunchroom behaviors or good manners.
This collection of Berenstain Bears stories are simple a classic! A lot of us grew up with them. We are familiar with a lot of their stories and the morals that come with being with them on their adventures. If you've read any of the Berenstain Bears books, then you probably know that the Bears usually have a problem, need to solve that problem, and then learn a valuable lesson from said problem.
This particular book contains six stories about the Bears going to school. It tackles stories about it being your first day at school, having to do a lot of homework, and even what happens when you have a bully at school. I highly enjoyed all of these stories and I think any child will enjoy reading this book as well. The writing is simple and easy to understand with their being a bit of social commentary that any adult will appreciate.
If you have a child that's about to start school or might be having trouble in school, then I recommend you and your child to read this book together. There are a lot of morals and lessons one can learn from the Berenstain Bears so it's a good idea to introduce such morals to someone when they are young! Great read for anyone, really!
Even on a quiet island in Martha's Vineyard, academia is lethal!
I liked this book, but it did seem to drag towards the end and end abruptly. Readers who like a spry, very smart amateur sleuth like Miss Marple will appreciate Victoria Trumbull.
Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine. http://affairedecoeur.com.
I loved this book. It was delightful, from beginning to end. I was searching for how to classify it, and in the afterward, Ms. Berry mentioned the term, British Farce. And that's what this is. I am all for Girl Power, and this book is very much about girl power and the bond between girls/women. Not only is this a sisterhood bonding story, it's also a bit like Oceans Eleven, one of those caper-type stories where you have a disparate group of individuals who are thrown together under a common bond. I'd call these girls the Scandalous Seven. You have Dear Roberta, Dull Martha, Pocked Louise, Dour Elinor, Stout Alice, Disgraceful Mary Jane and their de facto leader, Smooth Kitty. Each girl brings a different characteristic to the book, and I loved each and every one of them. I just wanted to give them all a hug (even Elinor, whose obsession was death was a little bit disturbing at times).
Such a dark subject, a double murder at a quiet ladies school. However, Berry handles it with a deft touch. Instead of spending too much time dwelling on the horror of the girls' predicament, the reader is focused on how these girls react to it and take measures to prevent their sisterhood from ending prematurely. I like the way they work together, and despite the typical occasional squabbles among young women, they look out for each other and validate each other.
I loved the humor. It was mostly subtle, but sometimes laugh out loud. It reminds me very much of British comedy with some British mystery thrown in.
There is a nice dose of romance, because, well they are young women, and romance is often a factor. However, the youngest, Pocked Louise, could give a fig for boys. She's our resident sleuth, and a very smart sleuth she is and she thinks boys are foul. The other ladies, all seem to find guys who prick their fancy. Even Smooth Kitty, who thinks she's got everything all figured out. It thought it was so funny how big a flirt Disgraceful Mary Jane was, and a very unrepentant one at that!
I have been quite stingy with five star ratings lately, but I can't talk myself out of giving one for this book. I am very thankful to Olga Godim for bringing "The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place" to my attention. It was scandalously good!
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