Middle Grade Review: Frankie Dupont and the Mystery of Enderby Manor

  

Title: Frankie Dupont and the Mystery of Enderby Manor

Author: Julie Anne Grasso.  2014, 135 pages

Source: Free review e-book

Summary:

When his favorite cousin Kat disappears from Enderby Manor, 10-year-old Frankie Dupont, sleuth-in-training, is on the case. He has to deal with dubious and devious characters at the Manor, not to mention the bumbling Inspector Cluesome, before the final dramatic race to save Kat in time.

Review:

This was a fast, fun read! Frankie is an engaging character, and the story is well plotted to keep the interest of even reluctant readers. There is just a touch of the absurd, with just-over-the-top characters, and a dash of fantasy.  I went into this expecting another realistic kids-and-school type book, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was something a little different. The book does require a certain amount of suspension of disbelief, but as the story develops and moves farther from the every-day, that becomes very easy.

The book is well edited, and illustrated with fun line drawings that depict key moments in the story. My main reservation is that Frankie has an awful lot of chutzpah, and I kept waiting for him to stumble. Things went just a little too smoothly for him, I think, but that is in part due to the short-and-simple nature of a book intended for younger middle-grade readers.

Recommendation:

Kids who enjoy mysteries (I was going to say Encyclopedia Brown and the Hardy Boys, but I might just be showing my age a bit) should enjoy this. Some might be a bit put off by the fantasy elements, but as many will probably be drawn in by them, given the popularity of fantasy just now.  I would class this as early-middle grade, for kids maybe 8-10 or 11, and probably very good for reluctant readers as it is written fairly simply and moves fast.

Full Disclosure: I was given a review copy of Frankie Dupont and the Mystery of Enderby Manor by the author, in exchange for my honest, not my favorable, review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Science Fiction: Second Star, by Dana Stabenow

 

Title: Second Star

Author: Dana Stabenow

Publisher: Ace, 1991.  208 pages.

Source: purchased ebook 

Summary:
Star Svensdotter is in command of the first self-sustaining (almost) space colony, and she is committed to keeping it safe and getting it ready for the first round of colonists. She's pretty good at fending off human threats, but that may not be the only kind out there.

Review:
Given the 1991 publication date, it's no wonder that this book has some interesting historical anomalies (a lot has happened in those 23 years), but the story is still good fun space opera. As the somewhat retro (even for 1991?) cover suggests, this has the feel of classic SF of the Asimov-Heinlein era, which just happens to be the stuff I grew up on and loved.

The story starts a bit slow in some ways--there is probably a bit too much explanation and exposition and character development--but it moved fast enough into action to keep me engaged, and then picked up speed until action was coming at me like a field of space debris. I detected echoes of other books (though I can't actually put my finger on which), but again, nothing that distracted from the story.

Recommendation:
I stumbled on this while looking for inexpensive ebooks to add to my Nook for our summer travels.  How could I pass up some 99-cent SF from a favorite mystery author?  Second Star isn't a piece of great lit, and it's dated as SF, but it's still a fun read, and there are characters I'll be happy to revisit in the 2nd and 3rd books of the trilogy. SF fans who want a good strong female lead will enjoy Star Svensdotter.

Full Disclosure: I purchased Second Star with my own money and of my own volition, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Cordillera Blanca, Part II

Ready for another round of photos? I've made some progress through the collection, and I'm ready to resume the narrative, begun here.

When last seen, we were camped at Huillca with the alpacas (alpaca poop made a nice change from cow plops). The next day (Day 5, I believe) saw us (as usual) getting up in the morning and climbing up over a pass, with views to match. The (young) guys switchbacked up out of sight quickly, keeping up with Juan, our amazing cook and high-speed guide. This was a two-pass day, with an easy climb of Mesapata Pass followed by a longer and harder climb to Caracara Pass.

Climbing toward Mesapata pass

 

Mealtimes were something we really looked forward to. This particular bit of fruit wasn't quite what we were expecting, however. It's some kind of relative of a passion fruit, but we aren't quite sure what.

Here, take a closer look:

The fish-egg texture and crunch of the seeds were off-putting for some of us, though the flavor was good.

A fair bit of lounging about seemed an appropriate response to mealtimes, summits, and any of a number of other excuses. In fact, on a trip like this, when not actually hiking, lounging about is the primary activity. Staring at the scenery of course is what we'd come for, so it mades sense.

My son, my foot, and my brother-in-law, atop yet another pass

The sixth day, and we were descending to our layover near Alpomayo. We can see the glacial lake (thus the lovely turquoise color) behind the moraine. Once again, we see too that we have to go down. A long way down.

Lago Jancarurish and Quitaraju towering above, seen from Caracara Pass

Clouds kept hiding the peaks, but they also made for great light at sunset. Since this moraine had failed catastrophically in the 1940s, flooding the valley and washing out a nearly-completed hydro-election dam down on the Santa River, I did think a bit about where we were camped!

Alpomayo Camp at sunset.

After two nights in our scenic camp, and a dayhike to get a closer look at the lake, we had to move on. But we had great views behind us at the mountain, as we descended the deep glacial Quebrada Alpomayo past Incan ruins.

The Spouse reluctantly leaves the Most Beautiful Mountain in Peru.

 This was a tough day. After descending the valley for several miles, we turned and began a relentless 2000' climb to the first pass of the day, Hatun Ventuna. This was the point where various people's minor illnesses and fatigue began to show--the gap between the Tres Muchachos and the last of the old folks was huge! But we all eventually made the summit, and we had traded Alpomayo for a new set of stunning mountains.

 Of course, having rested on our laurels, and eaten our lunch, we had to drop several hundred feet and climb a thousand to the second pass of the day, Ventana. In between, we passed a little cove full of these giant lupins, native only to the Andes.

Finally, after a day that went on far too long for me, and just in time for afternoon tea, I reached our next-to-last camp. Tucked into a small area next to a dam, we shared our space with several buildings and a pair of trekkers from Colorado, just starting out in the other direction.

Lago Cuillacocha camp

 What the campsite itself lacked in aesthetics, the lake and mountains more than made up for when sunset moved in.

Sunset on Santa Cruz mountain Lago Cuillacocha

 The last two days were a long, long way down, into the valley of the Santa River. Even though we didn't have to hike all the way to the bottom, it was a tough descent!

Down we go, into civilization!

I can't let this go without giving some credit to the guys who did the heavy lifting--our team of 11 burros and a packhorse, not to mention the wranglers. They got to walk home when we were done, too, but without all the gear and coolers. Well, the two wranglers who took the donkeys back rode, but still--no horse trailers for these guys. So it takes two days to get home? Vamos!

Descending toward Hualcayan, where we were picked up to return to Huaraz

 The Alpomayo Circuit was an incredible hike, and inspired all sorts of responses from our group. . .

These two posts don't even come close to doing the trip justice, and my husband's photos are better. Even better, for those who really like good photography, will be my brother-in-law's photos, once he has them up on his website, Photoseek.com (I just checked yesterday and they weren't there yet, which is no surprise given the size of the job!).

And, for those who want more: next week, I start the report on our second trek, the Huayhaush circuit.

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2014