Meet Gilda Joyce, created by Jennifer Allison.
Gilda is a character with a flair for drama. In this first book, as Gilda is looking for a summer adventure, she decides to "seize the day" and invites herself to visit relatives of her mother's whom she has never met and who live in San Francisco. Determined to become a psychic investigator, Gilda packs all the necessary items she might need to solve any impending mysteries while she is gone, taking great care to include: a pink wig, an evening gown for seances, a ouiji board, her psychic handbook, and the typewriter her father used to write novels before his death. The items she packs come in handy, and she does solve her first mystery, just not in the way she expects. The mystery to solve requires bridging the distance between her relatives, Lester Splinter and his daughter Juliet, and discovering what has kept them at odds.
While at times Gilda can be a bit over-the-top and somewhat blind to the needs of others, she is a character that infuses energy and excitement into the ordinary hum-drum of life. The storyline of this book is one that is filled with many plot lines, all neatly wrapped together, yet each carrying its own importance and weight, a literary skill masterfully woven by the author.
The epitome of good characterization is having multiple feelings and reactions to a character, which was my own experience while reading this book for I found myself reacting in many ways to Gilda: I was irritated with her, I laughed at her, I felt sympathy for her, I liked her. And now I have additional titles to add to my Need-to-Read list since there are two additional Gilda Joyce books available.
In recommending this book, I would suggest it for 6th grade and up due to some of the more mature themes that occur within the story.
Keywords: family, death of a parent, individuality
Check out Gilda Joyce online at: http://www.gildajoyce.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment