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A review by mariahistryingtoread
Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator by Jennifer Allison
1.0
Trigger Warnings: suicide is a major plot point, fatphobia, ableism, racism
Gilda Joyce is a modern day Harriet the Spy. Too bad for me, I hate Harriet the Spy. I read this as a kid and enjoyed it immensely. I even read 2 of the 3 sequels though I have no substantial memories of them. Re-reading it as an adult, I am amazed at how little discernment I had as a child. Kids really have no barometer for quality.
Unlike Harriet who deserves some grace due to her neglectful parents and age, Gilda is several years older than Harriet as well as from a healthy home. Her obnoxious attitude is not nearly as justifiable. Even taking into account the effects from the death of her father she was raised on a degree of love that Harriet would not have been able to handle. The boundary stomping she does is much more grating as a result which is saying something considering how awful Harriet is.
Gilda is a wannabe psychic investigator. She is trying her best to stop lying so she pursues a vacation with her mothers’ distant cousin Lester across the country so as not to have lied to her teacher about her summer plans. Said distant relative has a sister he never speaks of that committed suicide years ago and a sullen daughter about her age who has suddenly been hearing unexplained noises at night. In Gilda’s mind she has hit the jackpot.
I’d say the major problem with this book is that the mystery is poorly done. It’s supposed to be a mystery predicated on the idea that ghosts may exist. Instead, it’s all too obvious ghosts don’t exist leaving Gilda’s pursuit of the ‘truth’ rather boring. Gilda digging relentlessly into a highly traumatic event due to a delusional belief in the supernatural makes her exceedingly unpleasant. It’d be one thing if there was actually a shady underbelly to the story as then it could be argued her actions, though disquieting, would have been for the greater good. The fact that there isn’t makes Gilda’s behavior so completely out of line it’s unforgivable.
Gilda believes that Lester’s sister is attempting to contact them from beyond the grave to inform them of something important. For a majority of the book she believes that the great message is that Lester murdered his sister. Despite having no proof, despite Lester’s daughter Juliet’s pain at the suggestion, despite the evidence mounting against this theory Gilda continues to terrorize this man about his sisters’ suicide implying directly and indirectly several times she believes he had a hand in it. This man made some mistakes, but it is clear he loved his sister dearly and has insurmountable guilt in regards to her taking her own life. It is sickening how Gilda insists on accusing him on no basis other than her inability to come up with any other leads.
When Juliet rightfully brings up how awful Gilda would feel if Juliet were to try to pin a murder on her late father, Gilda concedes the point only to privately dig her heels in further. Her lack of empathy was astounding. Don’t even get me started on the casual racism, fatphobia and ableism.
Gilda Joyce is definitely of its time in all the worst ways. I can see why this would have been considered a strong read for girls when it was published. I am so thankful we are now more cognizant of how antiquated the idea of disregarding the feelings of others equaling girl power is.
Outside of the glaring issue of Gilda herself, it’s still simply not all that good a book. It’s slow paced which exposes the lack of intrigue. Juliet makes for a poor companion as she barely participates in the small plot there is. The two go nowhere so the change in locale from Gilda’s hometown to San Francisco is meaningless. Suicide is not given any of the care it deserves especially in a middle grade book where the demographic is not going to be old enough to understand the nuances to the situation.
Seriously, skip this one. You will not regret it.
Gilda Joyce is a modern day Harriet the Spy. Too bad for me, I hate Harriet the Spy. I read this as a kid and enjoyed it immensely. I even read 2 of the 3 sequels though I have no substantial memories of them. Re-reading it as an adult, I am amazed at how little discernment I had as a child. Kids really have no barometer for quality.
Unlike Harriet who deserves some grace due to her neglectful parents and age, Gilda is several years older than Harriet as well as from a healthy home. Her obnoxious attitude is not nearly as justifiable. Even taking into account the effects from the death of her father she was raised on a degree of love that Harriet would not have been able to handle. The boundary stomping she does is much more grating as a result which is saying something considering how awful Harriet is.
Gilda is a wannabe psychic investigator. She is trying her best to stop lying so she pursues a vacation with her mothers’ distant cousin Lester across the country so as not to have lied to her teacher about her summer plans. Said distant relative has a sister he never speaks of that committed suicide years ago and a sullen daughter about her age who has suddenly been hearing unexplained noises at night. In Gilda’s mind she has hit the jackpot.
I’d say the major problem with this book is that the mystery is poorly done. It’s supposed to be a mystery predicated on the idea that ghosts may exist. Instead, it’s all too obvious ghosts don’t exist leaving Gilda’s pursuit of the ‘truth’ rather boring. Gilda digging relentlessly into a highly traumatic event due to a delusional belief in the supernatural makes her exceedingly unpleasant. It’d be one thing if there was actually a shady underbelly to the story as then it could be argued her actions, though disquieting, would have been for the greater good. The fact that there isn’t makes Gilda’s behavior so completely out of line it’s unforgivable.
Gilda believes that Lester’s sister is attempting to contact them from beyond the grave to inform them of something important. For a majority of the book she believes that the great message is that Lester murdered his sister. Despite having no proof, despite Lester’s daughter Juliet’s pain at the suggestion, despite the evidence mounting against this theory Gilda continues to terrorize this man about his sisters’ suicide implying directly and indirectly several times she believes he had a hand in it. This man made some mistakes, but it is clear he loved his sister dearly and has insurmountable guilt in regards to her taking her own life. It is sickening how Gilda insists on accusing him on no basis other than her inability to come up with any other leads.
When Juliet rightfully brings up how awful Gilda would feel if Juliet were to try to pin a murder on her late father, Gilda concedes the point only to privately dig her heels in further. Her lack of empathy was astounding. Don’t even get me started on the casual racism, fatphobia and ableism.
Gilda Joyce is definitely of its time in all the worst ways. I can see why this would have been considered a strong read for girls when it was published. I am so thankful we are now more cognizant of how antiquated the idea of disregarding the feelings of others equaling girl power is.
Outside of the glaring issue of Gilda herself, it’s still simply not all that good a book. It’s slow paced which exposes the lack of intrigue. Juliet makes for a poor companion as she barely participates in the small plot there is. The two go nowhere so the change in locale from Gilda’s hometown to San Francisco is meaningless. Suicide is not given any of the care it deserves especially in a middle grade book where the demographic is not going to be old enough to understand the nuances to the situation.
Seriously, skip this one. You will not regret it.