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A Pocket Full of Murder R J Anderson 9781481437714 Books

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A Pocket Full of Murder R J Anderson 9781481437714 Books

Me when I started reading the book: Hey the cover of this book is pretty. Story's pretty interesting.

Me about halfway through the book: HELP I CAN'T PUT THIS BOOK DOWN.

Me at the end of the book: *gasp* I LOVE IIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTT.

'Nuff said.


Tags : A Pocket Full of Murder [R. J. Anderson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A determined young girl joins forces with an adventure-loving street boy to save her father’s life in this “thoroughly entertaining” ( Kirkus Reviews</i>) magical murder mystery.<BR><BR>In the spell-powered city of Tarreton,R. J. Anderson,A Pocket Full of Murder,Atheneum Books for Young Readers,1481437712,Mysteries & Detective Stories,Detective and mystery fiction,Fantasy,Fantasy fiction,Magic,Magic;Fiction.,Murder,Murder;Fiction.,Mystery and detective stories,Social classes,Social classes;Fiction.,1st in a series, mystery, adventure, action, murder, magic, steampunk, fantasy, detectives, middle-grade fiction, girl power, girl stories, boy stories, friendship, family stories, sisters, 1930s, historical fantasy, London, Toronto, Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham,1st in a series; mystery; adventure; action; murder; magic; steampunk; fantasy; detectives; middle-grade fiction; girl power; girl stories; boy stories; friendship; family stories; sisters; 1930s; historical fantasy; London; Toronto; Dorothy Sayers; Margery Allingham,CHILDREN'S FICTION ACTION ADVENTURE,CHILDREN'S FICTION FANTASY,CHILDREN'S FICTION MYSTERIES & DETECTIVE,Children's BooksAges 9-12 Fiction,Children: Grades 4-6,Fantasy & Magic,Fiction-Mystery & Detective,JUVENILE,JUVENILE FICTION Fantasy & Magic,JUVENILE FICTION Mysteries & Detective Stories,JUVENILE FICTION Social Themes Friendship,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile FictionFamily - Parents,Juvenile FictionMysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories,Juvenile FictionSocial Themes - Friendship,Juvenile Grades 4-6 Ages 9-11,Juvenile Mysteries,Magic,Magic;Fiction.,Murder,Murder;Fiction.,Mysteries & Detective Stories,Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories,Mystery and detective stories,Science fiction (Children's Teenage),Social Themes - Friendship,Social classes,Social classes;Fiction.,United States,Fantasy & Magic,JUVENILE FICTION Fantasy & Magic,JUVENILE FICTION Mysteries & Detective Stories,JUVENILE FICTION Social Themes Friendship,Juvenile FictionFamily - Parents,Juvenile FictionMysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories,Juvenile FictionSocial Themes - Friendship,Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories,Social Themes - Friendship,Children's BooksAges 9-12 Fiction,Juvenile Mysteries,Juvenile Fiction,Children: Grades 4-6,Science fiction (Children's Teenage)

A Pocket Full of Murder R J Anderson 9781481437714 Books Reviews

Plucky Isaveth teams up with mysterious street urchin Quiz in order to determine who framed Isaveth's father for murder. We end up with the murder mystery, some action, some sleuthing, a touch of romance, a lot of background and atmosphere, and we get to follow the adventures of these two very appealing characters. The book is perfectly well written, but whether the whole affair ends up in your favorites pile will probably turn on the extent to which you expect a favorite book to break out some way from the pack. While I admired the two main characters and the way they worked together I never entirely bought into the Dickensian feel or the style of the book as a whole, (but that could just be me).

This book is a veritable survey course in what's available and interesting in current middle grade fiction. We have a plucky twelve year old heroine and a mysterious resourceful street urchin hero. The setting is vaguely Victorian, only the names of lots of familiar things, (days of the week, household items, food staples, and so on), have been changed to create a slightly alternate sort of world. (Think "spork" and smoking "baccy".) The politics and economic justice arguments are also Dickensian, with mostly noble poor held down by a mostly repulsive but sometimes good-hearted upper class. There's magic, but it's mild and common, and figures in the book mostly just for color and atmosphere. In a surprising side story, Isaveth is a Moshite, (i.e., Jew), and faces some discrimination as a result. Adding that element to a middle grade fantasy adventure was an interesting choice by the author. Less surprising was the required pointless bully, Isaveth's family's isolation after her father's arrest, the Isaveth as orphan angle, and many of the other standard issue old reliables.

That said, the mystery is decent and twisty and the alternate world atmosphere certainly doesn't detract from the story. Isaveth is smart, stubborn, independent and resourceful, which is a strength never to be discounted. She has a remarkably strong and tender relationship with her three sisters, and the scenes involving those three other girls were among the strongest in the book. Quiz is a laconic and confident charmer, and he and Isaveth work well together. The book is briskly paced and nothing is ladled on too heavily. The writing is professional, if mostly uninspired, and well suited to the nature of the material and to the target reader. The mystery is solved in a predictable fashion, with a lot of monologuing toward the end, but is still well above the usual for this age range.

A substantial part of the book's appeal, to me, arose from the care and insight the author applied to the creation of not only the main characters, but also many of the supporting characters. Again, this contributed to the Dickens-lite feel, since many of his books remain in the memory as much for the incidental characters as for the main players. As noted, Isaveth's family was particularly well drawn, which helped give the book a bit more heft than would have been the case for just a magical-mystery project.

(As an aside, I think this book reads older than the cover might suggest. Isabeth is twelve, but her speech, behavior and level of sophistication seem a few years older. In the same vein, the writing is a bit richer and more advanced than the cover might suggest.) So, all in all a likeable and entertaining middle grade mystery/fantasy/magical adventure with a lot of character appeal. Well written, well plotted, and nicely shaded.

Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
I read book two, A Little Taste of Poison, in this series a year ago. It took me a while to get back to book one. I loved both books and think they are a great series. Having read book two first I had some ideas about this book. But that did not detract from the reading. I was introduced to R.J. Anderson and her works at a local book launch. I am very thankful for that. I have loved both books in this series, and hope there will be more. I am also looking forward to trying some of Anderson’s other writings.

In some ways this book is a bleaker story than book two. For in this book after her father is accused of murder it seems like Isaveth and her sisters are on their own to fend against a world that dislikes them because they are poor, and because they are Moshite, a religious minority. But Isaveth is full of surprises. She is finding a strength inside herself that was not evident previously. She has strange encounter with Quiz, who appears to be a street kid who takes an interest in her, her family and her father’s plight. Soon the two of them are trapesing all over Tarreton to find out who really killed head master at the sage academy.

This is a mystery story written in a world of magic. But there are two classes of citizens and two classes of magic. There is common magic and also sagery. It is a story with political intrigue, double dealing, and a bit of a family feud. It is very well written. Once I started reading this book I did not want to put it down. I loved reading about the brave Isaveth, her growing friendship with Quiz as she learns to trust, he maturity in trying to look after her sisters. And most of all her determination to get to the truth. I love reading books with strong female characters and look forward to reading them again with my daughters. This one has added to my reading list with my oldest for this year and in a few years with my youngest.

In this series we have a world powered by magic, but there are two types of magic, common magic that is baked and can be used by almost anyone and sagery which works with charms and often only works for those who make it. This magic is used for heat, light, transportation and more.

I loved this book and hope there will be more in the series. And the highest prase I can give to a children’s book, is my desire to read it with my children. This book scores top marks in that category. I look forward to reading other stories by Anderson, and I can highly recommend this book.
Great book!
steampunk and fairy tales - and well done.
This book is a charming read that uses its well written, entirly human, and bright characters to take a look at current issues like religious discrimination and poverty, while providing at the same time entering, fun, and easy to read mystery fantasy adventure.
Me when I started reading the book Hey the cover of this book is pretty. Story's pretty interesting.

Me about halfway through the book HELP I CAN'T PUT THIS BOOK DOWN.

Me at the end of the book *gasp* I LOVE IIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTT.

'Nuff said.