Take a photo of a barcode or cover
26 reviews for:
Getting the Girl: A Guide to Private Investigation, Surveillance, and Cookery
Susan Juby
3.34 AVERAGE
26 reviews for:
Getting the Girl: A Guide to Private Investigation, Surveillance, and Cookery
Susan Juby
3.34 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed Juby's [b: Truth Commission|22522076|The Truth Commission|Susan Juby|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405288158s/22522076.jpg|25375568], so I tried a few of her other books. This one, published in 2008, was certainly disappointing. I'm not sure if the male persona was clunky, or if the plot was just too draggy, or what, but the story didn't grab me and I ended up skimming just to see if everything turned out the way I expected it to (it did). Great title, but it certainly lacked zip and energy.
This book was just incredibly stupid. I seriously considered just giving up on it, even though it was a fast read. I didn't care for the characters, I thought the plot line was trite and shallow, and the ending was pretty rushed.
A cute, easy read that some of my students are sure to enjoy.
Funny, clever, and cute. Very fluffy read, and besides a bit of bad language and some drug use (not by the main character), a good book for younger teens.
Spoiler Alert in this review.
I have to admit, I figured out who the Defiler was when it was mentioned that one of the girls was in to drugs. It made perfect sense, especially since the defiler was in the bathroom a lot. Even if he wasn 19t the defiler, you would think he would know who it was since he 19s basically always in that one washroom. I liked the mystery in finding out who it was though and I have to admit, I thought it was the 18Trophy Wives 19 at one point because girls can get really jealous and mean. I do wish the uncovering of the defiler made me go 1CWow, I wouldn 19t have suspected him/her 1D but unfortunately it did not. Still, I like the process in which the main character tried to find out who it was, then, at the end, it was actually his friend, Vanessa who uncovered the main case. Yet when Sherman mysteriously (and some-what randomly) comes to the conclusion out that the other girl is involved kind of surprised me because the narration didn 19t mention him knowing that (that I recall, anyways). It mentioned him suspecting the Trophy Wives but it didn 19t really specify just one or anything that would point to her.. Overall, the defiler will get what he deserves but I think the school was a bigger part of it. If the rest of the school weren 19t bystanders and if they did not just go along with the crowd, the whole thing could have been over once it started. I think that showed a bigger message how if we do nothing to stop a situation, we are edging it on, not stopping it. At the end, when everything is assumed to be good, I couldn 19t help but thinking if someone else took it upon themselves to start Defiling again. Just like there were two culprits in the defiling, someone might continue it. A close friend of one of the Defilers perhaps?
The characters in this book were witty and interesting. The author, Susan Juby, puts most of the characters in to groups such as 1CTrophy Wives, Jocks, Goths, etc.. 1D which is really typical in a lot of books but that didn 19t make it too boring. She made these characters stand out more so. I never really got bored reading what each character had to say. It was fun to follow in the main character, Sherman 19s life as he tried to solve the case with his friends. One of his friends, was Vanessa. I felt that Vanessa didn 19t really have a lot of depth, especially being a close friend to Sherman. We did find out things about her but I wish we could have seen more of her in the book. Perhaps if the author writes another book, he will focus on her as well? As for Ashton and Bennett, I thought those two were quirky and added a touch to the story. Sherm 19s mother, a dancer, was at the least amusing. I could feel the embarrassment of Sherman with his mother sometimes and also his protectiveness of her. They have a relationship where they might not spend a lot of time with each other but they still share a family connection. The father wasn 19t an important part of the story so it was good that he wasn 19t mentioned too much. The Trophy Wives seemed a bit stereotypical at times (like at the party) but they added humour which also kept the story very interesting. So overall, the characters were interesting, quirky, witty and kept me amused throughout the book.
I would rate this book a 7.5/10.
I have to admit, I figured out who the Defiler was when it was mentioned that one of the girls was in to drugs. It made perfect sense, especially since the defiler was in the bathroom a lot. Even if he wasn 19t the defiler, you would think he would know who it was since he 19s basically always in that one washroom. I liked the mystery in finding out who it was though and I have to admit, I thought it was the 18Trophy Wives 19 at one point because girls can get really jealous and mean. I do wish the uncovering of the defiler made me go 1CWow, I wouldn 19t have suspected him/her 1D but unfortunately it did not. Still, I like the process in which the main character tried to find out who it was, then, at the end, it was actually his friend, Vanessa who uncovered the main case. Yet when Sherman mysteriously (and some-what randomly) comes to the conclusion out that the other girl is involved kind of surprised me because the narration didn 19t mention him knowing that (that I recall, anyways). It mentioned him suspecting the Trophy Wives but it didn 19t really specify just one or anything that would point to her.. Overall, the defiler will get what he deserves but I think the school was a bigger part of it. If the rest of the school weren 19t bystanders and if they did not just go along with the crowd, the whole thing could have been over once it started. I think that showed a bigger message how if we do nothing to stop a situation, we are edging it on, not stopping it. At the end, when everything is assumed to be good, I couldn 19t help but thinking if someone else took it upon themselves to start Defiling again. Just like there were two culprits in the defiling, someone might continue it. A close friend of one of the Defilers perhaps?
The characters in this book were witty and interesting. The author, Susan Juby, puts most of the characters in to groups such as 1CTrophy Wives, Jocks, Goths, etc.. 1D which is really typical in a lot of books but that didn 19t make it too boring. She made these characters stand out more so. I never really got bored reading what each character had to say. It was fun to follow in the main character, Sherman 19s life as he tried to solve the case with his friends. One of his friends, was Vanessa. I felt that Vanessa didn 19t really have a lot of depth, especially being a close friend to Sherman. We did find out things about her but I wish we could have seen more of her in the book. Perhaps if the author writes another book, he will focus on her as well? As for Ashton and Bennett, I thought those two were quirky and added a touch to the story. Sherm 19s mother, a dancer, was at the least amusing. I could feel the embarrassment of Sherman with his mother sometimes and also his protectiveness of her. They have a relationship where they might not spend a lot of time with each other but they still share a family connection. The father wasn 19t an important part of the story so it was good that he wasn 19t mentioned too much. The Trophy Wives seemed a bit stereotypical at times (like at the party) but they added humour which also kept the story very interesting. So overall, the characters were interesting, quirky, witty and kept me amused throughout the book.
I would rate this book a 7.5/10.
Haven't got much to say about this book except that it was ok. No where near the best book I've read recently but it wasn't terrible. I felt like the ending was really rushed and not exactly what I wanted but oh well, can't win them all!
i thought it a pretty unique plotline, different from my other recent ya reads at least. it was funny. i chuckled at the word-misusages in the protagonist's narration. clever part subtitles (part one: frying pan, part two: fire).
This is really not so much a story about about investigation or cooking. It is, however, an interesting look at high school social relations and popularity games. A bit over the top at times and everyone has really weird names (seriously: Vargo? Ashton? Lester?). A light, quick read that's not perfect, but quirky enough to be fun for those not overly concerned with literary quality.