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A review by ocean_cactus
The Dark Lady by Chris Turner, Pierdomenico Baccalario, Iacopo Bruno, Alessandro Gatti
3.0
I'm new to the world of YA reading (as an adult, that is), so I may not be the best person to review this book. Based on the library where I found it, I'm guessing the target age is around grade 4.
The book begins with the narrator introducing herself as Shelock's girlfriend. Really? REALLY? I'm all for a fun, young female take on Sherlock, but does she have to be his girlfriend? How about just a friend, his long-lost cousin, another sister, a local girl, etc.? The girlfriend thing really sat poorly with me. We learn that at the time the story takes place, the narrator is twelve and Sherlock is "a few years older" (I'm guessing about 14, based on the age difference between Sherlock and Mycroft). Now, to be fair, there's only a slight whiff of romantic action in the story itself (blushing, hands brushing, long looks, etc.) - it's all very tame and appropriate. I guess we are to surmise that the girlfriend bit comes later. Rather, I dislike the framing device as it sets up the text with this idea that access to the story happens because of romance. Meh.
The story itself is decent - a good mystery, not too scary, but just suspenseful enough for young readers. The pacing seemed a bit off - I always feel this way with mysteries - there's so much story development and then such a quick unspooling of events.
The characters were likeable and sympathetic on the whole. I do think the narrator is a compelling character, chafing against her family's rules, at loose end over the summer, discovering her own backstory. Sherlock is well-written as a younger version of the acerbic Sherlock we know from other sources. Lupin is the least well-developed character. While he brings local knowledge, disguises, and acrobatics to the story, his real role seems to serve both as chaperone and foil for the intimated nascent relationship between Sherlock and the narrator.
Would I let my kid read this? Probably. I dislike the farming device, but in terms of how women are portrayed in the larger world, it's hardly the worst. It's a decent take on bigger read, perhaps building interest for those books later.
The book begins with the narrator introducing herself as Shelock's girlfriend. Really? REALLY? I'm all for a fun, young female take on Sherlock, but does she have to be his girlfriend? How about just a friend, his long-lost cousin, another sister, a local girl, etc.? The girlfriend thing really sat poorly with me. We learn that at the time the story takes place, the narrator is twelve and Sherlock is "a few years older" (I'm guessing about 14, based on the age difference between Sherlock and Mycroft). Now, to be fair, there's only a slight whiff of romantic action in the story itself (blushing, hands brushing, long looks, etc.) - it's all very tame and appropriate. I guess we are to surmise that the girlfriend bit comes later. Rather, I dislike the framing device as it sets up the text with this idea that access to the story happens because of romance. Meh.
The story itself is decent - a good mystery, not too scary, but just suspenseful enough for young readers. The pacing seemed a bit off - I always feel this way with mysteries - there's so much story development and then such a quick unspooling of events.
The characters were likeable and sympathetic on the whole. I do think the narrator is a compelling character, chafing against her family's rules, at loose end over the summer, discovering her own backstory. Sherlock is well-written as a younger version of the acerbic Sherlock we know from other sources. Lupin is the least well-developed character. While he brings local knowledge, disguises, and acrobatics to the story, his real role seems to serve both as chaperone and foil for the intimated nascent relationship between Sherlock and the narrator.
Would I let my kid read this? Probably. I dislike the farming device, but in terms of how women are portrayed in the larger world, it's hardly the worst. It's a decent take on bigger read, perhaps building interest for those books later.