MMGM: Notorious

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Gordon Korman. When I saw he had a new book out that was a dog mystery, I was over the moon excited. My son loves dogs and raved about this book. I was hooked from page one. First, there's the intriguing setting: an island that is split between Canada and the U.S. Supposedly this island was also once a hang out of the gangsters of the 1930s. 

Then you have amazing characters: Keenan, a kid who’s lived all over the world, but who’s moved to Centerlight (or Centrelight if you’re Canadian) to recover from TB. Then there’s ZeeBee, who’s pining for her dead (murdered?) dog and tells stories too farfetched to believe. Throw in a lot of interesting secondary characters, many of whom have their own character arcs, and you’ve got one delightful novel.

This is probably my favorite Korman to date.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Keenan has lived all over the world but nowhere quite as strange as Centerlight Island, which is split between the United States and Canada. The only thing weirder than Centerlight itself is his neighbor Zarabeth, aka ZeeBee.

ZeeBee is obsessed with the island’s history as a Prohibition-era smuggling route. She’s also convinced that her beloved dog, Barney, was murdered—something Keenan finds pretty hard to believe.

Just about everyone on Centerlight is a suspect, because everyone hated Barney, a huge dog—part mastiff, part rottweiler—notorious for terrorizing the community. Accompanied by a mild-mannered new dog who is practically Barney’s opposite, ZeeBee enlists Keenan’s help to solve the mystery.

As Keenan and ZeeBee start to unravel the clues, they uncover a shocking conspiracy that dates back to Centerlight’s gangster past. The good news is that Keenan may have found the best friend he’s ever had. The bad news is that the stakes are sky-high.

And now someone is after them. . . .

What I liked:

1.ZeeBee! I have a soft spot for difficult kids. It never fails that my favorite students are the ones that all the other teachers gripe about. ZeeBee is that difficult-to-love kid. She’s got a huge chip on her shoulder and never says she’s sorry. She complains a lot, and it’s hard to tell when she’s telling the truth. I loved her!

2. Keenan: While I didn’t find him quite as interesting as Zee Bee, I had fun learning what it was like to live all over the world. I really enjoyed his growth as a character, especially in his friendship with ZeeBee.

3. Bullies who grow up. I was worried at first that Korman was going for the jocks as bullies cliche again (see my review of Restart), but I was totally wrong. There was an amazing character arc in this novel for the middle school goof offs. It’s always nice when bullies have depth too.

4. The dog! Barney Two, who is a pretty tame dog compared to his predecessor, stole the scene a number of times. If you or a child in your life love dogs, I highly recommend this read.

5. An interesting mystery. This is the first Korman mystery I’ve read. There were lots of red herrings and puzzle pieces, but the character development wasn’t overshadowed by the plot. I didn’t guess who did it, but I was very close. (My son unfortunately spoiled the surprise, which is always a danger when you share the same taste in books as your kids.)

Minor Quibbles: None!

What mysteries have you loved lately?

To read more middle grade reviews or join in on the MMGM fun, please go to Greg Pattridge's blog Always in the Middle.