Shirley Link The Safe Case edition by Ben Zackheim Robin Hoffman Children eBooks
Download As PDF : Shirley Link The Safe Case edition by Ben Zackheim Robin Hoffman Children eBooks 
Emily Neuburger, Parents.com
"Shirley Link is a new girl detective series that my daughter is crazy about. This is an amazing series, my friends! Your kids will be hooked and you'll feel really good about it."
Shirley Link is a 14-year old detective, but she doesn't want anyone to know. Whenever she uses her powers of observation she gets into trouble.
An example?
She wrote a school paper about a tough case she'd solved over summer vacation.
“It’s not a creative writing assignment, Shirley," the teacher scolded. "You were supposed to write about what actually happened.”
“I did,” she said, louder than she meant to. But he gave her a D anyway.
So when the school principal needs Shirley's help to catch a thief she tries to do it quietly. Can she track down a criminal who's clever enough to steal $35,000 and the one-ton safe it was kept in? Can she do it without the whole world finding out about her detective skills?
Hint the answer to one of those questions is, no.
A great read for kids (and their adults).
Shirley Link The Safe Case edition by Ben Zackheim Robin Hoffman Children eBooks
Books that I read (especially Kindle self-published books) can be divided into two broad categories: books that I was able to finish and books that I had to discard somewhere in the first few chapters. While this book fell into the former category, it was a close call.The main issue was that Shirley just wasn't likable. She was vain, preening and had no redeeming qualities to balance those things out. Her two "assistants. I mean, friends," were little more than her personal studio audience, marveling at her crime-solving abilities and applauding like sycophantic puppets at every little thing she did. In addition, the other characters acted unrealistically, enlisting a kid to help them solve a potentially dangerous crime, especially one that needed to be kept secret and that the police were already working on. Of course, Shirley already knew about the secret stash of money, and why not; she knew everything else there was to know.
The plot was also flimsy. There was no mention of checking security cameras, and the internet was used as a font of endless information, telling Shirley not only that her principal was having financial problems (seriously? she gets emailed whenever someone files for bankruptcy?), that the librarian's house was in foreclosure and that the assistant principal was independently wealthy. Sorry, but it doesn't work like that. There were no clues, no following the clues and none of those magic moments when the main character figures something out and the reader goes back and reads the last few scenes trying to do the same. The Three Investigators mystery series was a master of this.
However, there is no denying that Mr. Zackheim has talent and hopefully, I will try another mystery series by him in the near future that satisfies me like a good middle-grade mystery should.
Product details
|
Tags : Shirley Link & The Safe Case - Kindle edition by Ben Zackheim, Robin Hoffman. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Shirley Link & The Safe Case.,ebook,Ben Zackheim, Robin Hoffman,Shirley Link & The Safe Case,Juvenile Fiction Action & Adventure General,Juvenile Fiction Mysteries & Detective Stories
People also read other books :
- Power and Majesty Creature Court Book 1 eBook Tansy Rayner Roberts
- The Story of Cole Younger by Himself eBook Cole Younger
- Hardball A Sports Romance edition by Alexa Reiss Literature Fiction eBooks
- Eating Heaven Spirituality at the Table edition by Simon Carey Holt Religion Spirituality eBooks
- The Nassau Secret Gregg Loomis 9780986438912 Books
Shirley Link The Safe Case edition by Ben Zackheim Robin Hoffman Children eBooks Reviews
There are early middle grade mysteries out there, but most of them have sketchy characters, and a lot of them plod along fairly predictable arcs. This series has an engaging heroine, a lot of attitude, and a much snappier overall feel.
The mystery here is somewhere between the Encyclopedia Brown books and, say, Wendelin Van Draanen's Sammy Keyes books. I've always found Brown to be a very flat and uninteresting character, with no interesting secondary characters to speak of at all. Sammy Keyes is entertaining, but they might be for an older crowd, since they usually feature some personal drama or problem along with the mystery. So, we have a very comfortable niche for Shirley Link in that big overlooked middle
And this book does give us an interesting and engaging heroine. Sometimes she's taken right up to the edge of too full of herself, but she always manages to reel herself in before becoming too obnoxious. Plus, I think that's the risk you take when your character is full of snappy patter and snarky insight, and I think most middle graders would rather have a character who's a little too much rather than one who's a bit too little. It helps that the book is seasoned with two associate/friends who get some good lines of their own, even if they do have to stay second bananas. It's also particularly appealing that both of Shirley Link's parents are sharp cookies in their own right. I'm getting tired of parents who are cyphers or dopes or even worse, and its refreshing to have parents here who ask the right questions and give good advice and guidance.
And, some of the middle-grade-hard-boiled dialogue really is very funny, and very well aimed at the middle grade sensibility. It reminds me of the Chet Gecko school mysteries by Bruce Hale, (which are broader and punnier considering that all of the middle school students in those books are animals and that Chet Gecko actually is a gecko, with a mockingbird assistant).
So, you have an engaging personality in your hero, a decent mystery, solid writing craftsmanship, better than average dialogue, and a bit of attitude. Not bad at all.
Honestly, I didn't know what to think about this book. I download it on a whim and just decided to read it. I'm not sure what it was about the book that made it work for me, but it did. It was cute and even though I only read a chapter or so a night, I found myself looking forward to what was going to happen. I do wish the author had put a little bit more action in it and made the mystery a bit harder to solve, but overall I enjoyed it.
Shirley Link is a really good book. Simple as that. It's written with such a good sense of humour and Shirley herself is absolutely likable, clever, and friendly. She seems to be making quite a name for herself in her hometown as mystery solver, a future Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher, perhaps. Cue the start of a series.
Along with her endearing personality, Shirley has an incredible eye for detail that is her strongest weapon. After all, it's the detail that always catches the crooks. Reading Shirley was easy. I felt the style flowed and the mystery was revealed at a good pace.
In a Nutshell | Shirley Link is a Miss Marple of the future, but perhaps not so old and stodgy. Although she has such great skills, I like that she remains grounded and kind.
Ben Zackheim's middle grade novel, “Shirley Link & the Safe Case,” is a quick read that holds your interest. Shirley Link is an 8th grader who has definite crime solving skills. She isn’t shy about claiming her detective talents and uses her skills for good. In this story, a huge safe is stolen from the principal’s office with $30,000 saved for a new library. How the thief took the whole safe, when it wouldn’t even fit through the doorway is what Shirley has to figure out. The principal asks Shirley to clear his name and find out who took the money and how. And she does just that with the help of her friend, Wylie.
Mr. Zackheim introduces all of the characters in believable fashion and this detective story in a school setting moves along at a good pace. There’s humor and tongue in cheek. Kids will recognize their teachers, friends, and principals in the story. There are several more Shirley Link detective cases for kids to enjoy.
Recommended for kids ages 8 to 11.
Books that I read (especially self-published books) can be divided into two broad categories books that I was able to finish and books that I had to discard somewhere in the first few chapters. While this book fell into the former category, it was a close call.
The main issue was that Shirley just wasn't likable. She was vain, preening and had no redeeming qualities to balance those things out. Her two "assistants. I mean, friends," were little more than her personal studio audience, marveling at her crime-solving abilities and applauding like sycophantic puppets at every little thing she did. In addition, the other characters acted unrealistically, enlisting a kid to help them solve a potentially dangerous crime, especially one that needed to be kept secret and that the police were already working on. Of course, Shirley already knew about the secret stash of money, and why not; she knew everything else there was to know.
The plot was also flimsy. There was no mention of checking security cameras, and the internet was used as a font of endless information, telling Shirley not only that her principal was having financial problems (seriously? she gets emailed whenever someone files for bankruptcy?), that the librarian's house was in foreclosure and that the assistant principal was independently wealthy. Sorry, but it doesn't work like that. There were no clues, no following the clues and none of those magic moments when the main character figures something out and the reader goes back and reads the last few scenes trying to do the same. The Three Investigators mystery series was a master of this.
However, there is no denying that Mr. Zackheim has talent and hopefully, I will try another mystery series by him in the near future that satisfies me like a good middle-grade mystery should.
0 Response to "⇒ Read Shirley Link The Safe Case edition by Ben Zackheim Robin Hoffman Children eBooks"
Post a Comment