The Book Case

May 27, 2019
In this post-WWII-era British romp, Daphne earns a scholarship to the boarding school “St. Rita’s School for Spirited Girls, Est. 1873.” Upon arrival, Daphne meets George, the only boy in school, and signs on as the “assistant assistant librarian” to enigmatic student assistant librarian Emily Lime, to work in the school’s stunning beautiful library, which contains only a few books after a recent fire. Amid the “rum crowd” of rough girls, these three form an unlikely detective trio and set off to solve a series of mysterious break-ins, thefts, and the whereabouts of a missing student. Shelton (A Boy and a Bear in a Boat) crafts an energetic setting in this ramshackle school, with driveway craters caused by a chemistry experiment gone awry and windows shattered by a motorcycling Latin teacher. Lean character development and an ultimately flat mystery may limit readership, but fans of broad humor (nostalgic black-and-white illustrations underscore the slapstick comedy) and classic mysteries peopled with quirky characters may well be pleased. Ages 8–12.

May 1, 2019

Gr 4-6-There are strange and ridiculous goings-on at an extremely odd and wacky 1950s British girls' boarding school. Daphne discovers this even before her arrival when she's asked to return a lurid hard-boiled detective novel to the school by a train conductor. While there is indeed a mystery at the heart of this tale, the author muddies the plot development in favor of world-building, done through entertaining scenes featuring goofy but clichéd characters. For example, the titular Emily Lime turns out to be an unlikable, holier-than-thou library helper, replete with "wonky" glasses and a beret, who gets outraged at the thought of people mishandling books. All characters are white and British. Chapters cover one or two simple scenes with a good balance of dialogue, description, and action, and are liberally illustrated with cartoonish ink drawings of the characters, usually in poses suggesting the extreme emotions vividly conveyed the text. VERDICT This over-the-top story may tickle the funny bone of fans of Andy Griffiths's "Treehouse" series.-Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2019
At her new school full of horsenappers, bootleggers, and jam thieves, Daphne becomes a detective.When English schoolgirl Daphne arrives at the imposing gates bearing the legend "St. Rita's School for Spirited Girls, est. 1873," all she knows is that she's been offered a scholarship and a job as an assistant librarian. There's a crater in the driveway from an accident with stolen chemistry supplies and a massive hole in the dormitory floor made by a falling cannonball. The students (all apparently white) pick locks and forge Monets. As the deputy head explains, "you'd need to be bonkers in the noodle to want to be here. It's a dreadful place!" Even Daphne's job as assistant librarian is a mess: The gorgeous library is nearly empty after a fire that destroyed the old library, the head librarian who hired Daphne is on indefinite sick leave, and her replacement is a small girl who doesn't seem inclined to trust Daphne. But somebody needs to solve all the skulduggery and shenanigans: break-ins, thefts, and even a missing student. The school is so odd that the mid-20th-century time period is easy to miss, and both the third-person narration that shifts between limited and omniscient and the narrative voice's adult tone are similarly unmooring. Cartoonish illustrations by the author are comical but as slightly off as St. Rita's itself.Fans of David Walliams will enjoy the formulaic nonsense, but there's no shortage of higher-quality slapstick mysteries for eager readers. (Mystery. 8-11)

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April 1, 2019
Grades 3-6 As Daphne waits to depart St. Rita's School for Spirited Girls, she is asked to return a mystery book to the school library, where she meets Emily Lime, the assistant librarian, though a head librarian is seemingly nowhere to be found. As Daphne becomes the assistant assistant librarian and befriends Emily and George, the only boy in the school, she finds that St. Rita's is not quite what she expected. Classrooms are numbered in an incoherent manner, and the school's attendance policy is unconventional, for starters. After the school library is broken into, another book is almost stolen, and a classmate goes missing, Daphne, Emily, and George must work together to solve the mystery. Brief chapters, expressive illustrations, and an increasingly complex mystery will allow readers to be quickly enveloped in the world of St. Rita's. Readers will see dynamic friendships develop from uncertain first meetings to the ultimate suspenseful events. Perfect for fans of unique characters, loyal friendships, and boarding-school mysteries.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)