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A review by lisaortiz1221
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk
4.0
if you are looking for a really fun and quirky YA mystery with dorks abound, least of all a deaf narrator, then this is the book for you. i had a lot of good laughs over this one and it was a great, quick weekend read.
Will Halpin is definitely not your normal boy. first of all, he’s deaf, but he’s also very intelligent, can read lips with great accuracy and is stubborn enough to want to leave his specialized deaf school to go to the local public high school. this forces him into the unusual position of being an outcast from both communities and he takes it all in stride with his great sense of humor and quick wit. when the local high school celebrity jock is mysteriously killed during a school field trip, Will and his unlikely group of friends, his deaf ex-girlfriend Ebony and Devon, another social outcast who has a “dumb ponytail” and “smells faintly of cheese”, do everything they can to find out whodunnit.
The Smileywagon pulls up to Ebony’s house. She is standing out front waiting for us, basically bouncing on her toes with excitement. Devon looks at her and then me and then her. He mouths, “She’s black.” I palm my cheek and act schocked… Devon still seems a little flustered by her blackitude. (Wasn’t the fact that her name is Ebony some sort of clue, Frank?) He obviously panics as he tries to remember the signs he had learned for the occasion. Then he signs, “Good morning! I am very happy to have us with you.” Nice try, Dev.
the best part of this book for me, hands down, was the ability to witness high school life from the perspective of Will. with his snarky sense of humor and witty tongue, the reader can watch the drama, suspense and hilarity from the sidelines. from the “soud-discriminatory-bell” to the social order of the high school was constantly under Will and Devon’s scrutiny and their cynicism and sarcasm made for some hilarious narrative. through Will’s notebook doodling and text chat conversations, as well as some really great internal monologues, the pages turned one after another with ease.
the writing was simple, suitable for age 12 and up (or so), but the plot and story were deep enough to keep me entertained as an adult. it wasn’t the richest YA novel i’ve ever read, but it was definitely highly entertaining and worth the read. the mystery was a tad predictable, but everything else in between was refreshingly different and made up for it.
if you liked Nancy Drew and/or The Hardy Boys when you were a kid and are looking for something similar, but current, or you just like a light YA read from time to time, i’d definitely recommend The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin.
Will Halpin is definitely not your normal boy. first of all, he’s deaf, but he’s also very intelligent, can read lips with great accuracy and is stubborn enough to want to leave his specialized deaf school to go to the local public high school. this forces him into the unusual position of being an outcast from both communities and he takes it all in stride with his great sense of humor and quick wit. when the local high school celebrity jock is mysteriously killed during a school field trip, Will and his unlikely group of friends, his deaf ex-girlfriend Ebony and Devon, another social outcast who has a “dumb ponytail” and “smells faintly of cheese”, do everything they can to find out whodunnit.
The Smileywagon pulls up to Ebony’s house. She is standing out front waiting for us, basically bouncing on her toes with excitement. Devon looks at her and then me and then her. He mouths, “She’s black.” I palm my cheek and act schocked… Devon still seems a little flustered by her blackitude. (Wasn’t the fact that her name is Ebony some sort of clue, Frank?) He obviously panics as he tries to remember the signs he had learned for the occasion. Then he signs, “Good morning! I am very happy to have us with you.” Nice try, Dev.
the best part of this book for me, hands down, was the ability to witness high school life from the perspective of Will. with his snarky sense of humor and witty tongue, the reader can watch the drama, suspense and hilarity from the sidelines. from the “soud-discriminatory-bell” to the social order of the high school was constantly under Will and Devon’s scrutiny and their cynicism and sarcasm made for some hilarious narrative. through Will’s notebook doodling and text chat conversations, as well as some really great internal monologues, the pages turned one after another with ease.
the writing was simple, suitable for age 12 and up (or so), but the plot and story were deep enough to keep me entertained as an adult. it wasn’t the richest YA novel i’ve ever read, but it was definitely highly entertaining and worth the read. the mystery was a tad predictable, but everything else in between was refreshingly different and made up for it.
if you liked Nancy Drew and/or The Hardy Boys when you were a kid and are looking for something similar, but current, or you just like a light YA read from time to time, i’d definitely recommend The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin.