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literary_lioness's review
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
Madeline Isabella Lydia Natalie Cecilia Petrozza, also known as Maddie, moved to Asbury in the second grade. When the town bully makes himself known by picking on a classmate, she stands up to him and quickly creates a bond with Carly, Pilot, and Cornelious.
Seven years later and the dynamic quartet is still an unbreakable crew. Looking forward to their freshman year at Asbury High, homework and who is dating who seems like the most drama they will encounter. Yet, when a string of break-ins occurs in their little town, high school rapidly becomes the least of their worries.
The first of the Asbury High Series, Kelly Brady Channick’s Asbury High and the Thief’s Gamble keeps one guessing. Within the pages, readers find a plotline complete with numerous unknowns along with quirky characters one is bound to connect with. Add in a lack of sexual and religious content as well as only one instance of profanity and the pages keep turning.
Although the characters keep the storyline moving, there are several moments that seem unnecessary and drag the pace down a bit. Include various spelling and grammatical errors and a 4 out of 5 stars is given.
Kelly Brady Channick’s Asbury High and the Thief’s Gamble is a pronounced introduction to the town of Asbury and its residents.
Please read with caution if any of the following may be difficult for you: bullying, broken bones, physical altercations, thievery, hacking, deceit, cheating, gangs, break-ins, alcohol consumption, expulsion, exploitation, divorce, repossession, manipulation, arrested, incarceration.
Thank you to #AsburyHighAndTheThiefsGamble, #AsburyHighSeries, #KellyBradyChannick and #PurpleMilkPublishing for the opportunity to read this book and give my honest review.
Original Post found at: https://www.literarylioness.net/post/asbury-high-and-the-thief-s-gamble-review
karen_the_baroness's review
5.0
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.Asbury High and the Thief's Gamble by Kelly Brady Channick is a modern-day Scooby-Doo gang in high school solving crimes.
The teenage sleuths are Maddie, Cornelious, Pilot, and Carly. Each one is very different but they work well together. I dubbed them in my head the new Scooby gang despite the fact that they don't have a talking dog and that they don't resemble one of the gang members individually. Maddie and Pilot are from the west side of Asbury which puts them on the poor side while Cornelious and Carly are from the east side of Asbury which puts them in the rich part of town. Cornelious is very rich though. Despite these outward differences the four friends don't care and they work great together. The four of them have grown from the beginning to the end on how they act not just with each other but with the people around them. Whether that be their peers or sometimes their parents.
The mystery happens to be one person going around the rich people's house's in East Asbury and stealing from them. I had no clue who the person could be, but I had an inkling, and that inkling turned out to be true. Our new Scooby gang has been dealing with trying to figure this out a lot because they want justice to be done correctly. I am honestly impressed with how they were trying to solve the case while doing their sports and doing their homework for school.
Asbury High and the Thief's Gamble by Kelly Brady Channick is an excellent book. I was hooked from the beginning of it and could only think of when I first found out that it's like a younger version of the Scooby gang. I have to say that this group is fascinating and completely different than the Scooby gang. Certain things that they did in the book made me think of them in that way. I am giving this book five stars, and recommending it to anyone that loves a good cozy mystery.
Prize: (2) $10 Amazon Gift Cards
Can Maddie, Cornelious, Pilot, and Carly figure out who the culprit is before the police arrest the wrong person?
The teenage sleuths
The teenage sleuths are Maddie, Cornelious, Pilot, and Carly. Each one is very different but they work well together. I dubbed them in my head the new Scooby gang despite the fact that they don't have a talking dog and that they don't resemble one of the gang members individually. Maddie and Pilot are from the west side of Asbury which puts them on the poor side while Cornelious and Carly are from the east side of Asbury which puts them in the rich part of town. Cornelious is very rich though. Despite these outward differences the four friends don't care and they work great together. The four of them have grown from the beginning to the end on how they act not just with each other but with the people around them. Whether that be their peers or sometimes their parents.
The Mystery
The mystery happens to be one person going around the rich people's house's in East Asbury and stealing from them. I had no clue who the person could be, but I had an inkling, and that inkling turned out to be true. Our new Scooby gang has been dealing with trying to figure this out a lot because they want justice to be done correctly. I am honestly impressed with how they were trying to solve the case while doing their sports and doing their homework for school.
Five Stars
Asbury High and the Thief's Gamble by Kelly Brady Channick is an excellent book. I was hooked from the beginning of it and could only think of when I first found out that it's like a younger version of the Scooby gang. I have to say that this group is fascinating and completely different than the Scooby gang. Certain things that they did in the book made me think of them in that way. I am giving this book five stars, and recommending it to anyone that loves a good cozy mystery.
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This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
chantie's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
I have read a couple of books later in the series and loved them so I decided to start at the beginning. I loved this book and how the 4 main characters work together. It is an amazing Young Adult book. So much fun to read.
stephen_delavue's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
2.75
Okay so, there's a lot to cover here so I'm going to have to break this into sections.
Characters
The vast majority of the characters are very well done. I like that Pilot exists as a subversion of the typical geek character. He isn't meek or cowardly. He stands up for his friends as well as himself, and he nuts up to ask Carly out realativly early. Speaking of Carly is the typical girly girl of the group, which is fine although I feel like she's the blandest of the four, because she really doesn't get to do that much. Like, Cornelius has the conflict with his father, Maddie solves the mystery to clear her mother's name, and Pilot ad pointed out earlier goes against character type. Carly really could've benefited from her own arc; I don't even think that we get to know her parents all that well in comparison to the others. It definitely doesn't break the book, and it can be resolved pretty easily by expanding upon her in sequels.
Side Characters
For the most part they stand out as distinct individuals, but a few of them, such as Jason, get kind of lost in the weeds in terms of standing out. Alexis is fine, but she plays things a bit too close to the trope of being the typical "mean girl". I think that it would help if she had more of a reason for being mean. I understand that she doesn't like Maddie, but I'm not sure why. I think that it would add a lot to her character if that was expanded upon.
Worldbuilding
This is in my opinion the best part of the book. Asbury feels like a real place. I remember thinking very early on that the taco pancake restaurant was a fantastic touch at adding character to the town. I also love the class divide and how that makes its way into their local culture. I have no complaints here.
The Mystery
This by contrast is the worst part of the book, and I understand that it's kind of just their for the characters to have a goal to work towards in what is essentially a slice of life. My main problem with it is that it could have used a bit more page time in order to be properly developed. The kids never actually have any suspects that they're looking into outside of J.D. whose innocence is proven pretty early after the accusation is made. We don't really get to know Rodney at all, and a lot of the explanation with him felt as if it were added to the end of the book as a retcon. I can't even remember if he shows up before Prom night.
I don't want to end off on a negative note, because I did enjoy the book, so let's talk about the comedy. The book is very funny, and part of this is due to the fact that it has a very strong foundation within its characters. There were several times where I did laugh out loud.
Asbury High gets 2.75 Stars and is the highest of the indie books so far.
Characters
The vast majority of the characters are very well done. I like that Pilot exists as a subversion of the typical geek character. He isn't meek or cowardly. He stands up for his friends as well as himself, and he nuts up to ask Carly out realativly early. Speaking of Carly is the typical girly girl of the group, which is fine although I feel like she's the blandest of the four, because she really doesn't get to do that much. Like, Cornelius has the conflict with his father, Maddie solves the mystery to clear her mother's name, and Pilot ad pointed out earlier goes against character type. Carly really could've benefited from her own arc; I don't even think that we get to know her parents all that well in comparison to the others. It definitely doesn't break the book, and it can be resolved pretty easily by expanding upon her in sequels.
Side Characters
For the most part they stand out as distinct individuals, but a few of them, such as Jason, get kind of lost in the weeds in terms of standing out. Alexis is fine, but she plays things a bit too close to the trope of being the typical "mean girl". I think that it would help if she had more of a reason for being mean. I understand that she doesn't like Maddie, but I'm not sure why. I think that it would add a lot to her character if that was expanded upon.
Worldbuilding
This is in my opinion the best part of the book. Asbury feels like a real place. I remember thinking very early on that the taco pancake restaurant was a fantastic touch at adding character to the town. I also love the class divide and how that makes its way into their local culture. I have no complaints here.
The Mystery
This by contrast is the worst part of the book, and I understand that it's kind of just their for the characters to have a goal to work towards in what is essentially a slice of life. My main problem with it is that it could have used a bit more page time in order to be properly developed. The kids never actually have any suspects that they're looking into outside of J.D. whose innocence is proven pretty early after the accusation is made. We don't really get to know Rodney at all, and a lot of the explanation with him felt as if it were added to the end of the book as a retcon. I can't even remember if he shows up before Prom night.
I don't want to end off on a negative note, because I did enjoy the book, so let's talk about the comedy. The book is very funny, and part of this is due to the fact that it has a very strong foundation within its characters. There were several times where I did laugh out loud.
Asbury High gets 2.75 Stars and is the highest of the indie books so far.
thereadingbel's review
4.0
Asbury High and The Thief's Gamble by Kelly Brady Channick
This book was about 4 freshmen high school teenagers who are best friends in a small coastal town. In the town it is split between east and west Asbury which side you live on depends on the wealth of your family. The 4 friends decide to take it upon themselves when some burglary's begin to occur. The 4 try to solve the crime will they solve it?
This is a debut book by Mrs. Channick and she brings this town, high school and kids to life. It was very entertaining and a quick read. What I liked the most is that I did not figure out who was committing the burglaries it left me guessing until it was revealed. Who I thought was committing the crime was not the red herring. This was a fun read that keeps you on your toes there was a lot of themes in the book with some of the wealthy parents in town seem to be a bit much.
I loved the teens abilities some athletic which added to the story, a smart tech kid and a cheerleader who stories made it more than just a mystery. I felt this was a story within a story mixed with a mystery to add to its entertaining value.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery it is YA type mystery but just as good. I rate this 4.5 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and Kelly Brady Channick for a free copy of the book for an honest review.
This book was about 4 freshmen high school teenagers who are best friends in a small coastal town. In the town it is split between east and west Asbury which side you live on depends on the wealth of your family. The 4 friends decide to take it upon themselves when some burglary's begin to occur. The 4 try to solve the crime will they solve it?
This is a debut book by Mrs. Channick and she brings this town, high school and kids to life. It was very entertaining and a quick read. What I liked the most is that I did not figure out who was committing the burglaries it left me guessing until it was revealed. Who I thought was committing the crime was not the red herring. This was a fun read that keeps you on your toes there was a lot of themes in the book with some of the wealthy parents in town seem to be a bit much.
I loved the teens abilities some athletic which added to the story, a smart tech kid and a cheerleader who stories made it more than just a mystery. I felt this was a story within a story mixed with a mystery to add to its entertaining value.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery it is YA type mystery but just as good. I rate this 4.5 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and Kelly Brady Channick for a free copy of the book for an honest review.
xxjenadanxx's review
3.0
The Thief's Gamble is the first book in the YA mystery series Asbury High. Set in the seaside town of Asbury the book follows a foursome of BFF's as they maneuver their first year of high school, eat pancake tacos and solve the crimes the local police department can't seem to be bothered to.
.
.
The group is vaguely reminiscent of the Scooby gang; Cornelius, the super rich but down to Earth leader, Maddie the beautiful best friend who is oblivious to the chemistry between them, Carly the rich but sweet, out of your league type who loves to shop who's ideas are never taken seriously during the investigation and Pilot, the loveable goofball who is a master of all things electronic and an all around genius. While there is no loveable dog to round out the group Cornelius does have a cousin named Dane, which I like to think is a nod to Scooby's breed, the Great Dane. Or maybe I'm just reading more into than I should, who knows?!
.
.
While this book is technically YA, it reads younger and personally I would class it as a mid-grade series instead. The book felt a little chaotic and immature. I would recommend this for 10-12 year olds.
Thank you very much to the author, Kelly Brady Channick, for providing me with copies of the books to review! All opinions are my own.
.
.
The group is vaguely reminiscent of the Scooby gang; Cornelius, the super rich but down to Earth leader, Maddie the beautiful best friend who is oblivious to the chemistry between them, Carly the rich but sweet, out of your league type who loves to shop who's ideas are never taken seriously during the investigation and Pilot, the loveable goofball who is a master of all things electronic and an all around genius. While there is no loveable dog to round out the group Cornelius does have a cousin named Dane, which I like to think is a nod to Scooby's breed, the Great Dane. Or maybe I'm just reading more into than I should, who knows?!
.
.
While this book is technically YA, it reads younger and personally I would class it as a mid-grade series instead. The book felt a little chaotic and immature. I would recommend this for 10-12 year olds.
Thank you very much to the author, Kelly Brady Channick, for providing me with copies of the books to review! All opinions are my own.
acitygirlsthoughts's review against another edition
4.0
I would like to thank Kelly Brady Channick for reaching out and providing me with a free e-copy in exchange for my honest review!
I like how Channick wrote about 14 year olds starting HS, which isn't the norm for YA authors. She captured Maddie, Cornelious, Carly, and Pilot's friendship with all the ups and downs, highs and lows, and teen drama that's common during that time period teenagers face when they're transitioning from middle to high school! I loved their friendship and how they fought over the obstacles thrown at them from society and Governor Gibbz, Cornelious' dad. There are certain parts Channick could've cut down on, such as the part where she describes their day-to-day actvities inside and outside of school, but other than that I enjoyed her story! I look forward to reading her sequel Asbury High and the Parcels of Poison!
I like how Channick wrote about 14 year olds starting HS, which isn't the norm for YA authors. She captured Maddie, Cornelious, Carly, and Pilot's friendship with all the ups and downs, highs and lows, and teen drama that's common during that time period teenagers face when they're transitioning from middle to high school! I loved their friendship and how they fought over the obstacles thrown at them from society and Governor Gibbz, Cornelious' dad. There are certain parts Channick could've cut down on, such as the part where she describes their day-to-day actvities inside and outside of school, but other than that I enjoyed her story! I look forward to reading her sequel Asbury High and the Parcels of Poison!
sammydw25's review against another edition
5.0
Such a cute mystery book written by an amazing author. I loved the references to OCNJ and Mainland because that is part of my hometown!! Super quick read because it’s so captivating and engaging!
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