| Spectrum Book Club (Recommended Reading) |
| Sherlock Holmes had his uncanny powers of observation and deductive reasoning.
Miss Marple had her lifelong observations of human nature and that deceptive
dear-old-granny front. Every good detective has their 'thing,' that quirk
that sets them a little apart and somehow makes them uniquely positioned
to uncover life's little (or big) mysteries.
Minerva Clark, thanks to a computer art experiment gone strangely awry, has become a teen girl who is OK with herself. Almost unbelievable, but Karen Karbo pulls it off. That trait, and Minerva's funky ferret Jupiter, help her see the world just a little more clearly. So when Dwight, a ferret-friendly bookstore clerk turns up dead, Minerva knows things are not as they seem and she sets out to discover who really dunnit. The challenge with most mid-grade mysteries is in the set-up. How do you get the kids into suspenseful situations without making a big deal of their missing or incompetent parents? But Minerva's home life is the perfect balance of independence (mom left to teach yoga, lawyer-dad travels all the time) and concern (three big, and basically good-people brothers at home). Minerva, too, once she gets over her big self, is a likeable, thinking
heroine. What really makes this book stand out for me, though, is that
the betrayals suit the universe the author has created. Minerva Clark
Gets a Clue shows a pre-teen world that is both dark and light, puzzling
but ultimately understandable, much like the rebuses Minerva loves. |
| Kirkus Reviews |
| "Identity development and identity theft are the pivots of this summer-fare whodunit. Thirteen-year-old Minerva Clark is pretty typical; she loves her oddball older brothers, puzzles and her pet ferret. She hates her hair, her legs and the way her friends seem to have become mean-girl-junior-high-school-goddesses overnight. She hates that she's already 5'8", that mom's left the family to teach yoga in New Mexico and that she can't seem to stand up for herself-until, that is, she is accidentally electrocuted by her very own big brother. With one well-placed electrode and a single clap of thunder, Minerva's mind is purged of self-hatred and self-consciousness, allowing her to become a sort of cross between Nancy Drew and Adrian Monk, investigating a complex web of check fraud, theft and murder involving her previously-thought-perfect glamour-girl cousin, Jordan ("On the days I didn't want to be her, I hated her.")" |
| Horn Book |
| "The jolt of electricity seventh-grader Minerva Clark receives while playing lab rat for her brother's computer-generated art project rewires her brain. According to the puzzled neurologist who examines her after the accident, Minerva scores unusually low on both the TSSA and TPS -- the Test of Serious Symptoms of Adolescence and the Think Poorly of Self test. "What I got out of what Dr. Lozano was saying was that I used to think I was a Freak Show Freak, but not anymore." No longer obsessing about her height or chest size or hair frees Minerva's mind for other activities -- like investigating crimes. Karbo's innovative, good-natured satire of adolescent girl behavior shines when portraying Minerva's quirky but affectionate home life, in which her three older brothers stand in for her perpetually out-of-town parents, and when detailing her new-found recognition of her peers' insecurities. While on the trail of a local identity-theft racket in which her beautiful, popular cousin is somehow involved, Minerva confronts girls who once intimidated her with their fashionable outfits and "perfect shiny curtains of perfect straight hair" and realizes they are just as down on themselves as she used to be. Though the plotting of the mystery is a bit clunky, the "clues" Minerva gets about how teenagers think -- or too often don't think -- are first-rate." |
| Booklist |
| "Seventh-grader Minerva worries about her hair and weight, and wonders if her schoolmates will think she's weird because she likes staying home with her ferret and creating rebuses. Then she has the worst day ever, during which her favorite cousin, Jordan, is arrested and she gets an electric shock--with unusual results. Suddenly, she's no longer self-conscious. In fact, she's self-assured enough to turn her attention to a mystery in which a death, identity theft, and a money scam each play a part. This is Karbo's first novel for young people (all four of her adult books ended up as New York Times Notable Books), and it's both ambitious and, at times, convoluted. Minerva is wonderful--a likable, well-developed personality, whose droll, engaging narrative, which incorporates her wordplays and IM messages (and an occasional epithet or two), speaks to concerns about self-image and fitting in that will strike a chord with many readers." |
TeenReads.com |
| "What make this book spark are its wonderful characters. The voice of Minerva is humorous, engaging and entertaining. The supporting characters of the Clark brothers, Jordan Parrish and Reggie are also lively, unique and truly colorful. MINERVA CLARK GETS A CLUE, Karen Karbo's first book for young readers, is a fun-filled novel that combines sibling relationships and teenage self-consciousness with mystery and adventure." |