Thursday, June 21, 2012

The Girl Is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines

Goodreads Description: "Iris Anderson is only 15, but she's quickly mastering the art of deception in this YA novel for fans of Veronica Mars.
It's the Fall of 1942 and Iris's world is rapidly changing. Her Pop is back from the war with a missing leg, limiting his ability to do the physically grueling part of his detective work. Iris is dying to help, especially when she discovers that one of Pop's cases involves a boy at her school. Now, instead of sitting at home watching Deanna Durbin movies, Iris is sneaking out of the house, double crossing her friends, and dancing at the Savoy till all hours of the night. There's certainly never a dull moment in the private eye business."

My Review: What a great mystery book! Okay, fact about me? I hate mystery books. They just annoy the heck out of me. I have no patience for them! So yeah, NOT an avid mystery reader AT ALL. But I picked up this book, thinking, You know what? I hate mysteries---but I love historical fictions. So let's try it. And I'm so glad I did! First of all, the mystery was actually intriguing and...well, mysterious! It didn't annoy me and amazingly, I didn't get so impatient with the book that I threw it at a wall (yes---I've done that before). So I liked the whole mystery part, with Iris trying to figure out where in the world Tom Barney went! Second of all, I simply ADORED the historical aspect. The whole setting with Iris living in New York City during World War II was brilliant---simply because it focused less on the actual WAR (as most historical fictions would do) and more on the slang and culture of society at the time. So it was great hearing all the slang that teens used and reading about what they wore and what they did for fun. And the last thing I liked about this book were the characters themselves. Iris was very winning---sassy and smart and quick. She showed me that no matter what the time period or generation, teenagers will always be the same and will always have the same emotions and thoughts and problems. Her relationships with her friends---such as Pearl and Suze---were really interesting to read about (especially Pearl; MAN, that girl infuriated me!), and her relationship with her dad was the most interesting to read about. I liked seeing them grow closer throughout the whole book. The book just left a good taste in my mouth and I wouldn't mind reading it again  (although maybe sometime in the DISTANT future...I still really do dislike mystery books). 

Cover: One word: LOVE. I love it! It's so perfect for a mystery, with the darkness and the girl's expression. And I absolutely adore the girl's clothing and hair and makeup, and the telephone next to her! So 1940s and 50s. Ooooh. 

Overall Grade: A-

2 comments:

  1. Sounds good! I'll have to check it out!

    Ky

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  2. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this one so much =) It's on my TBR. That's funny how you liked hearing the slang of that time because that's something that always bugs me, haha.

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