The North Star

January 1, 2019
Four kids solve a theft of jewelry in this series opener.When 12-year-old Sophia Boyd decides to auction off the North Star necklace, a family heirloom, to support a fundraiser for a sanctuary for endangered gibbons, the necklace is stolen at a party held to preview it. Twins Zach and Evie Mamuya, the biracial children of a deceased Tanzanian-immigrant cop dad and white crime-reporter mom, along with their South Asian friend Vishal Desai, wind up at the crime scene with the twins' mother, ready to investigate. After finding a magnet used to open safes, the young self-appointed detectives, along with Sophia, decide to take matters into their own hands and question the guests who attended the party. Following much trial and error (punctuated by the occasional lesson in American racism patiently delivered by the three kids of color to wide-eyed, white Sophia), their path of investigation leads them to the unlikely conclusion that the stolen necklace changed more than one pair of hands after it was taken. As a whodunit, the story underwhelms; readers are unlikely to be able to follow the clues and red herrings to the solution and so will be stumbling along with the characters. Character development takes second place to plotting, furthering dissatisfaction.A dry plot with little investment in character development makes for a weak detective story. (Mystery. 8-12)

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January 1, 2019
Grades 4-8 Twins Zach and Evie and their good friend Vishal are pulled into a mystery when the twins' reporter mom receives a report of a burglary over her police scanner. They arrive to their classmate Sophia's family estate, where a priceless family heirloom?the North Star necklace?was stolen just as it was about to be displayed in preparation for an auction that will help create a gibbon habitat at the zoo. As the four begin to consider the suspects and search for the necklace, the clues lead them to the discovery that, while many of the benefit guests have plenty of motives to steal the necklace, the true culprit is farther from their thoughts (but much closer to them) than they realize. Filled with a diverse cast of characters, the book also touches upon class and lifestyle differences. The short chapters make this a fast-paced mystery, and each end-of-chapter illustrations provide clues young readers will love looking for. Full of twists and turns and with the promise of a second installment, this is a fun read for mystery lovers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)