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A review by beth_diiorio
The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno
4.0
Protagonist, Billy Argo is a boy detective throughout his childhood, brought about by an inherent talent for noticing details, connecting the dots, and being the recipient of the gift of a "True-Life Junior Detective Kit." Billy has two assistants; his sister Caroline (sweet girl, fantastic note taker, and a whiz with collecting fingerprints) and his neighborhood friend Fenton (short, chubby, compliant Mama's boy with an unwavering belief in good triumphing over evil). "Beneath the shadow of the abandoned refinery, the children would play their own made-up games: Wild West Accountants! in which they would calculate the loss of a shipment of gold stolen from an imaginary stage coach, or Recently Divorced Scientists! in which they would build a super-collider out of garbage to try and win back their recently lost loves. Together, forever, they would explore the near-dark world of wonder and mystery." (Awwww...so endearing and creative...reminds me of my own childhood when we played outside all the time and made up our own adventures).
Billy saves clippings of newspaper headlines verifying his success: BOY DETECTIVE HOOKS SEA MONSTER CROOKS, BOY DETECTIVE SOLVES PRICELESS CROSSWORD PUZZLE, BOY DETECTIVE DASHES FIREWORK SMUGGLING RING, BOY DETECTIVE PULLS THE PLUG ON THE PHANTOM LIGHTHOUSE. Equally as important to the story are the characters of Effie and Gus Mumford; socially inappropriate and off-putting siblings (their initial encounter with the adult Billy Argo happens as they approach him and ask, "Do you see my bunny's head over there?") AND Billy's lifelong nemesis Professor Von Golum, a tall villain with a narrow face who schemes to rid the world of the Boy Detective.
Billy is forced to face a monumental loss in his life, a hole so big and difficult to deal with that he lands in St. Vitus' Hospital for the Mentally Ill. As an adult searching for the answer to the most significant mystery of his lifetime, he follows "a path laden with hidden clues and codes that dare to be deciphered...the boy detective may learn the greatest secret of all: the necessity of the unknown."
If you enjoy reading books full of unconventional quirkiness, clever humor, and unpredictability (remember Geek Love published back in 1989...another unique and quirky book...one of my favorites) you will probably enjoy The Boy Detective Fails. As an added bonus, there is an ongoing secret story written in code at the bottom of the pages beginning on page 27. Just assemble and use the decoder ring on the flap of the back cover to solve it.
Favorite Quotes:
"Perhaps Effie Mumford was only trying to prove something she already knew: that, like all animals, she was at the whim of the general disorder and unimaginative meanness of the world surrounding her."
"The boy detective is terrified of cigarettes: The smoke, like the malignant, vaporous claw of near-death, is enough to send poor Billy into a fit. He inches away from the woman but it is no use--like a sentient cloud of gray infirmity, it nears Billy's face as he begins to tremble and cough."
"Why is a mystery so terrifying to us as adults? Is it because our worlds have become worlds of routine and safety and order the older we've grown? Is it because we have learned the answer to everything and that answer is that there is never a secret passageway, a hidden treasure, or a note written in code to save us from our darkest moments? Why are we struggling so hard against believing there is a world we don't know? Is it more frightening to accept our lives as they are than it is to entertain a fantasy of hope?"
"We allowed ourselves, for one brief moment, to believe in something we could not see."
Billy saves clippings of newspaper headlines verifying his success: BOY DETECTIVE HOOKS SEA MONSTER CROOKS, BOY DETECTIVE SOLVES PRICELESS CROSSWORD PUZZLE, BOY DETECTIVE DASHES FIREWORK SMUGGLING RING, BOY DETECTIVE PULLS THE PLUG ON THE PHANTOM LIGHTHOUSE. Equally as important to the story are the characters of Effie and Gus Mumford; socially inappropriate and off-putting siblings (their initial encounter with the adult Billy Argo happens as they approach him and ask, "Do you see my bunny's head over there?") AND Billy's lifelong nemesis Professor Von Golum, a tall villain with a narrow face who schemes to rid the world of the Boy Detective.
Billy is forced to face a monumental loss in his life, a hole so big and difficult to deal with that he lands in St. Vitus' Hospital for the Mentally Ill. As an adult searching for the answer to the most significant mystery of his lifetime, he follows "a path laden with hidden clues and codes that dare to be deciphered...the boy detective may learn the greatest secret of all: the necessity of the unknown."
If you enjoy reading books full of unconventional quirkiness, clever humor, and unpredictability (remember Geek Love published back in 1989...another unique and quirky book...one of my favorites) you will probably enjoy The Boy Detective Fails. As an added bonus, there is an ongoing secret story written in code at the bottom of the pages beginning on page 27. Just assemble and use the decoder ring on the flap of the back cover to solve it.
Favorite Quotes:
"Perhaps Effie Mumford was only trying to prove something she already knew: that, like all animals, she was at the whim of the general disorder and unimaginative meanness of the world surrounding her."
"The boy detective is terrified of cigarettes: The smoke, like the malignant, vaporous claw of near-death, is enough to send poor Billy into a fit. He inches away from the woman but it is no use--like a sentient cloud of gray infirmity, it nears Billy's face as he begins to tremble and cough."
"Why is a mystery so terrifying to us as adults? Is it because our worlds have become worlds of routine and safety and order the older we've grown? Is it because we have learned the answer to everything and that answer is that there is never a secret passageway, a hidden treasure, or a note written in code to save us from our darkest moments? Why are we struggling so hard against believing there is a world we don't know? Is it more frightening to accept our lives as they are than it is to entertain a fantasy of hope?"
"We allowed ourselves, for one brief moment, to believe in something we could not see."