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karen_the_baroness's review against another edition
4.0
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richie Narvaez is about two genius kids trying to outwit each other and solve a case.
Holly Hernandez and Xander Herrera are our two main characters and sleuths. She is the daughter of a police detective and the daughter of a scientist. Holly is a smart kid but sometimes not so smart on blurting things that make no sense. This is how this rivalry started between these two. I like about Holly because she is starting at a new school for high school, where she is trying to make friends even if that is hard. There is a lot to like about her and not really a lot to dislike about her.
Xander Herrera is only in this mess because of Holly falsely accusing him. He is a strange kid who doesn't talk but grunts and doesn't participate in class. Xander has had a hard life, and sometimes to make up for it, he pulls pranks, but that doesn't mean killer. I like this character a bit because he is intelligent and trying to do a lot better than his own mother did for him. He is also trying to show people that he isn't like the stereotype that they place him under.
Holly is the studious one that likes to participate in classes and is preppy. Xander is studious, but he doesn't really want to participate in classes since he was made fun of it in his last school. These two characters are so different from each other but also the same in some ways.
Their social studies teacher was killed during the day and by someone that he knew. That leaves a lot of suspects for these two teenage sleuths but the cops as well. Xander and Holly have two very different reasons for solving this mystery while also having one in common. To find justice for their teacher despite the reasonings for why they are trying to solve a mystery, they have no real reason for solving. It just goes deeper the more that they are investigating and turning up clues. I was honestly stumped until the sleuths were solving it each on their own, then it clicked.
Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richie Narvaez are worthy of four stars and a recommendation. I enjoyed this book a lot, and I loved almost everything about it. The one thing that drove me a bit insane and took me out was when Daniel Calara would talk in song lyrics that I had no clue where song lyrics, created by the author himself, until the end of the book. It took me out of the book as I tried to figure out what the context was between what he said and what I just read. Other than that, I loved the story and how everything fits in with the title of the book.
Prize: (1) Signed Copy - Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richie Narvaez (U.S. Only)
Who will solve the case first? Holly or Xander?
Holly Hernandez and Xander Herrera
Holly Hernandez and Xander Herrera are our two main characters and sleuths. She is the daughter of a police detective and the daughter of a scientist. Holly is a smart kid but sometimes not so smart on blurting things that make no sense. This is how this rivalry started between these two. I like about Holly because she is starting at a new school for high school, where she is trying to make friends even if that is hard. There is a lot to like about her and not really a lot to dislike about her.
Xander Herrera is only in this mess because of Holly falsely accusing him. He is a strange kid who doesn't talk but grunts and doesn't participate in class. Xander has had a hard life, and sometimes to make up for it, he pulls pranks, but that doesn't mean killer. I like this character a bit because he is intelligent and trying to do a lot better than his own mother did for him. He is also trying to show people that he isn't like the stereotype that they place him under.
Holly is the studious one that likes to participate in classes and is preppy. Xander is studious, but he doesn't really want to participate in classes since he was made fun of it in his last school. These two characters are so different from each other but also the same in some ways.
The Mystery
Their social studies teacher was killed during the day and by someone that he knew. That leaves a lot of suspects for these two teenage sleuths but the cops as well. Xander and Holly have two very different reasons for solving this mystery while also having one in common. To find justice for their teacher despite the reasonings for why they are trying to solve a mystery, they have no real reason for solving. It just goes deeper the more that they are investigating and turning up clues. I was honestly stumped until the sleuths were solving it each on their own, then it clicked.
4 Stars
Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richie Narvaez are worthy of four stars and a recommendation. I enjoyed this book a lot, and I loved almost everything about it. The one thing that drove me a bit insane and took me out was when Daniel Calara would talk in song lyrics that I had no clue where song lyrics, created by the author himself, until the end of the book. It took me out of the book as I tried to figure out what the context was between what he said and what I just read. Other than that, I loved the story and how everything fits in with the title of the book.
Tour Giveaway
Prize: (1) Signed Copy - Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richie Narvaez (U.S. Only)
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Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richie Narvaez. Don't forget to enter the giveaway!
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
yarydoll's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
It's easy to see why this won the Youth Agatha Christie award. And even though the mystery was excellent and kept me on my toes, it was the characters that I loved the most. Xander is awesome and even though it's not explicitly stated I believe his bestie Daniel might be autistic. I hope that there are more in this series so we can see more development of Holly's character since I feel like she has more growing up to do. The only reason this didn't get a full five stars is because there were some problems with the proofreading.
kaykayh's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jckenney's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
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