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letsgolesbians's review against another edition
4.0
I love Goldie! I love the comics, and was excited when it was announced that Lilliam Rivera would be writing a Goldie book. There are two mini-comics in the book, which further the plot, and I loved that; it broke up the plot and quickened the pace a little during exciting parts of the story. I think Rivera did a great job with Goldie's character and wrote her true to the comics; she was very excitable and talkative, which reads differently when it's linnear words rather than within bubbles in a comic strip, something I thought was interesting.
I love Goldie, I love her crush on Diane, pick this up for a fun read.
I love Goldie, I love her crush on Diane, pick this up for a fun read.
caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review against another edition
3.0
A fun light middle grade mystery! It was my first introduction to Goldie Vance, but I imagine a lot of readers are familiar with the comics. I liked Goldie's personality; she was a perseverant, confident sleuth who didn't take no for an answer (but feels shy about asking her crush Diane out). Some other characters needed more fleshing out, though, and the actual mystery plot didn't start until literally halfway through which was disappointing. I was also a bit confused about what the book was doing with the setting--is it some idealized 1950/60s with no homophobia and racism? (The year isn't made clear anywhere which I guess I'd deliberate?). I would have liked it to lean into the setting more, with characters' dialogue in particular (they sound like contemporary teens). Overall though, very happy to see casual queer representation in middle grade mystery! I think I would like the comics better than this prose novel (although the finished copy--I read an ARC--is supposed to have two colour inserts with scenes as comics, so that will be really cool!).
nora_mcgowan's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
jennabenna's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
3.0
Because of all the tags (middle grades, mystery, lgptqai+) I was really hoping to love this book. But the main mystery (a stolen diamond swim cap) didn't happen until more than halfway through the book. Goldie and her friends were likeable, but she is a 16 year old acting like a 12 year old. The book is clearly aimed for middle grades, and her age is just a number to make it plausible that she can solve mysteries and drive. Overall, I just wasn't sure who the target audience was, and the pacing was so off that it took me FOREVER to get through.
argentrabe's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
tehpengpls's review against another edition
3.0
2.75*
Cute middle grade!
(Although I'm not sure why the main character is 16... it still reads like a middle grade though!)
Cute middle grade!
(Although I'm not sure why the main character is 16... it still reads like a middle grade though!)
kerasalwaysreading's review against another edition
4.0
Goldie is a sleuth, and a pretty darn good one! She works with a bunch of fun characters at the Crossed Palms Resort and lives there too, with her father Art. She spends as much time as she can next door at the place her mom, Sylvia works, The Mermaid Club. I loved her family. Her mom and dad divorced because they knew they were better as best friends (how sweet)... Her best friend Cheryl is the hotel concierge and the two of them are constantly running around the place.
Right now, though, the resort is overrun with people because a new creature feature is being filmed in town. That is why when Delphine, the stunning actress arrives security is amped up. At The Mermaid Club, Delphine is shooting a very important scene in which she is swimming with a gorgeous diamond encrusted swim cap. The lights go out and when they come back on and people are searching for the cap, they find it to be missing. And Sylvia is the lead suspect.
Now, Goldie has to do what she does best to save her mom from taking the blame. And it was so fun!! The characters were all so colorful and great. The story was fun and moved at such a great pace. I am not one to go for middle grade, but this was a treat!
Right now, though, the resort is overrun with people because a new creature feature is being filmed in town. That is why when Delphine, the stunning actress arrives security is amped up. At The Mermaid Club, Delphine is shooting a very important scene in which she is swimming with a gorgeous diamond encrusted swim cap. The lights go out and when they come back on and people are searching for the cap, they find it to be missing. And Sylvia is the lead suspect.
Now, Goldie has to do what she does best to save her mom from taking the blame. And it was so fun!! The characters were all so colorful and great. The story was fun and moved at such a great pace. I am not one to go for middle grade, but this was a treat!
wordnerd153's review against another edition
2.0
Not a very compelling mystery. The crime wasn’t committed until halfway into the book and by then I didn’t care enough to read the rest.
cobwebjr's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a HUGE fan of the Goldie Vance graphic novels, but this didn't capture their charm. The writing made Goldie seem like a very young child instead of the 16-year-old that she is and didn't match her voice in the graphic novels at all which was very distracting.