Alice in the Know and Half Moon Investigations

Yesterday I read Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s Alice In The Know. It was the same as all of them. Fun. Interesting. Lots of difficult situations that teens find themselves in with ways to get out of them. I would say that Alice has experienced every “situation” that could possibly happen to a person, all in a few short years, but it’s okay because I think the information’s very useful and teens love the books so maybe they’re learning stuff without even realizing it. I mean, knowing what to do if someone’s driving too fast or if guys are following you down a dark street is a good thing to know. They read a little heavy handed to me as an adult, but judging from her website, kids love ’em and that’s what counts. That’s who she’s writing for, right?

And then I read Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer. He can do no wrong, really. I mean, I’m gonna love whatever he writes. The funny thing is, I almost missed out on him entirely. I started reading Artemis Fowl a few years ago and only got twenty or thirty pages in to it when I put it down as not for me. However, it is one of the few books I’ve set down but wouldn’t leave me alone. Once I picked it up again I was totally hooked. I liked this a lot and found the voice particularly funny if you’re an adult and have read any Raymond Chandler. It is a mystery – well, a detective story – and quite honestly, I actually figured it out. Now, no offense to Mr. Colfer, but I have trouble figuring out Encyclopedia Brown, so if I get it then it might be a little basic. I once received one of those picture books with a mystery in it and the last pages are sealed together with the answer to the mystery and I seriously never did figure it out. I had to open it to find out the answer. Of course, maybe I’m getting smarter. Parts of the Davinci Code seemed a little obvious to me too. Yeah, that’s it. I’m getting smarter!