Win Hannah West On Millionaires Row Conceived By Linda Johns Paper Copy
extremely Exciting Mystery!. . It Blew My Mind Off!, . And Naturally I Loved It!, . :D I absolutely love this series because it always cures me of my homesickness for the city I love Seattle, This is the third book in this mystery series and it is probably my least favorite so far, Minor inconsistencies with the first two books, Each book takes place in a different neighborhood in Seattle where Hannah and her mom are housesitting, Not only are the cases Hannah solves quite interesting, but she is a hip, intelligent, kind tween! She is Chinese American her mom adopted her from China, she has red streaks through her black hair, she is an artist, has two fish named Vincent and Pollock, and she loves to take care of peoples pets.
She even has her own dog walking business, Great series for girls in grades, I've had this checked out for a while because of a children'sbook kick I've been on, It's not something I could read to my class as they are too young, but I was intrigued, I like mysteries, and I like Seattle, But I'm not going to read it, I started it, and the writing style is really, really bugging me, Writing for children is different than writing for adults, yes, But this writing style is not good for either: There is way too much overdescription, Example:
" I assumed they were on their way to a yoga class, The younger woman had a long thin tote the kind that people use to carry their yoga mats slung over her shoulder, The woman who waved was carrying a rolledup purple yoga mat and a purple tote bag with a yin/yang symbol on it.
"
Maybe it makes sense to mention that she assumes they're on their way to a yoga class if the women are only carrying bags that look like yoga mats inside, but when the second woman is actually carrying a yoga mat Then why did the description start out with making clear her assumption The author could've summed up the description in a much more succinct way without losing anything at all.
Children old enough to read this book are old enough to infer that women walking down the street with yoga mats are probably going to a yoga class.
The overdescription continues:
"The women stopped so that the younger one could take off her apricotcolored hooded sweatshirt and tie it around her waist.
Underneath, she had a lighter apricotcolored Tshirt that had a swirling design surrounding the word om, The yin/yang woman looked older than my mom who is thirtyeight, but like someone my mom would be friends with, The om womanwhose long, dark hair was in a thick braid that reached almost halfway down her backlooked like she was ten years younger.
"
So that's a paragraph of pure description about two women walking down the street i, e. , not the protagonist or much to do with what she's doing, I have no doubt that they will come into play later, but there is no need to shove all that description in the beginning.
You have to spread that stuff out, mix it up with action and dialogue, or better yet question its presence at all, There is rarely reason to describe the color of passersby's clothing and their ages and their hair, It completely takes away from potential engagement,
And I can't stand the voice,
"I like to think of myself the same way: I'm Chinese, and I'm sure I have deep Chinese symbolism pulsing through my veins, but my American mom adopted me, so now I'm also deeply immersed in American culture.
Ah, who am I kidding I just like the way the yin/yang symbol looks, "
So she says these corny/haughty things, and then there's a little hint that maybe it's supposed to be tongueincheek, maybe.
But if it is, then the voice is poorly done, And if it isn't, then the voice is annoying, Either way, it's still lifeless,
I only got a few pages in, Why waste time reading a book when the first several pages are written in such an offputting way And the premise They just always have a housesitting job Is that a real thing Great middle reader series and this volume doesn't disappoint.
I love that Hannah communicates with her mom, as opposed to the general "nagging adult/ silenced child" pattern of a lot of series.
Hannah is smart and is allowed to be so, while her mom is supportive and trusting, I also love Johns' attention to the pets in all the houses, Her love of animals is tangible on the page, This volume has bonus value for home interior enthusiasts, My one complaint is that the chapter breaks are
often clunky, I learned that every thing has a meaning to them you just have to search for it, I liked the new character rachel, She is funny and she's always happy,
This book is my favorite out of the four, READ THIS ONE FIRST!!! Hannah West is back in an allnew mysteryand this time shes living in the lap of luxury in a mansion on Millionaires Row in Seattles Capitol Hill neighborhood.
When someone starts breaking into homes and doing feng shui, Hannah is immediately intrigued, It all seems innocent at first, But when some small but valuable objects start to disappear from the neighbors houses, Hannah cant help wondering if theres a connection, Could it have anything to do with the Antiques Caravan thats in town to tape an episode of their television show
Librarian at the Seattle Public Librarys downtown library in the Fiction Department and a childrens book author.
Librarian at the Seattle Public Library's downtown library in the Fiction Department and a children's book author, sitelink.