Book-It 'o14! Book #46
Oct. 18th, 2014 05:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alivemagdoleneThe Fifty Books Challenge, year five! (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013) This was a library request.
Title: The Haunted Opera (A Marie-Grace Mystery) by Sarah Masters Buckey
Details: Copyright 2013, American Girl
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover):
"Marie-Grace is excited that a well-known English opera company will perform in New Orleans--at the same theater where she takes singing lessons from Aunt Océane. Even better, her aunt has gotten a role in the opera! As Marie-Grace and her friend, Cécile, help out during rehearsals, they're thrilled to meet real opera stars and get a peek into theater life. But thrills turn to chills as the girls make disturbing discoveries behind the scenes! "
Why I Wanted to Read It: Remember my remembrances of the American Girl franchise? And my reviews of the character Kit's six-book series? And my reviews of the character Rebecca's six-book series? And my reviews of the characters Cécile and Marie-Grace's six-book series? Okay, then.
How I Liked It: So the American Girl series (or series of series) has come up with many new entities in the years since my childhood, and the mystery series is one of them.
It's a neat idea, really: the mystery is a genre kids of the age demographic like, and it's a way to expand the respective characters' verses and produce without messing with the six book format.
The cover, which boasts art far better than could be found in any of the Cécile and Marie-Grace six book series, is clearly evocative of Nancy Drew to the point it's almost a clear homage.
This is the first of any of the mysteries I've read, and although it wasn't with one of characters I liked the best or by one of the authors that impressed me, I figured that Cécile was displayed prominently enough on the cover to override the title (meaning the story would be about the both of them, not just Marie-Grace; at the time of this writing, Marie-Grace has been given two mysteries, this one and another, and Cécile only has one, the review of which is coming). I hadn't been thrilled with this author's work in the series, but maybe this would change my mind? A different format and all?
Not really. I can't speak for all the mystery series, having only read this one, but the clunkiness of the whodunnit tends to hamper rather than thrill (and the somewhat improbable conclusion seems like even someone in the target reading age for this would be skeptical) and the historical details/setting, which are are living part of the six-book series, even the bad ones, actually come across as pedantic (let's take time from the MYSTERY for some HISTORICAL FOOTNOTES, okay carry on).
The "Looking Back" section details the role of the opera house, particularly in New Orleans, and a once thriving industry that competed with the most prominent cities in Europe.
Title: The Haunted Opera (A Marie-Grace Mystery) by Sarah Masters Buckey
Details: Copyright 2013, American Girl
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover):
"Marie-Grace is excited that a well-known English opera company will perform in New Orleans--at the same theater where she takes singing lessons from Aunt Océane. Even better, her aunt has gotten a role in the opera! As Marie-Grace and her friend, Cécile, help out during rehearsals, they're thrilled to meet real opera stars and get a peek into theater life. But thrills turn to chills as the girls make disturbing discoveries behind the scenes! "
Why I Wanted to Read It: Remember my remembrances of the American Girl franchise? And my reviews of the character Kit's six-book series? And my reviews of the character Rebecca's six-book series? And my reviews of the characters Cécile and Marie-Grace's six-book series? Okay, then.
How I Liked It: So the American Girl series (or series of series) has come up with many new entities in the years since my childhood, and the mystery series is one of them.
It's a neat idea, really: the mystery is a genre kids of the age demographic like, and it's a way to expand the respective characters' verses and produce without messing with the six book format.
The cover, which boasts art far better than could be found in any of the Cécile and Marie-Grace six book series, is clearly evocative of Nancy Drew to the point it's almost a clear homage.
This is the first of any of the mysteries I've read, and although it wasn't with one of characters I liked the best or by one of the authors that impressed me, I figured that Cécile was displayed prominently enough on the cover to override the title (meaning the story would be about the both of them, not just Marie-Grace; at the time of this writing, Marie-Grace has been given two mysteries, this one and another, and Cécile only has one, the review of which is coming). I hadn't been thrilled with this author's work in the series, but maybe this would change my mind? A different format and all?
Not really. I can't speak for all the mystery series, having only read this one, but the clunkiness of the whodunnit tends to hamper rather than thrill (and the somewhat improbable conclusion seems like even someone in the target reading age for this would be skeptical) and the historical details/setting, which are are living part of the six-book series, even the bad ones, actually come across as pedantic (let's take time from the MYSTERY for some HISTORICAL FOOTNOTES, okay carry on).
The "Looking Back" section details the role of the opera house, particularly in New Orleans, and a once thriving industry that competed with the most prominent cities in Europe.
