Lost in the City: A Julie Mystery

American Girl Mysteries

by Kathleen O'Dell, Sergio Geovine (Illustrator)

Julie is excited to take care of Lucy, a talking parrot, while her friend Ivy is on vacation. But soon she realizes that she has taken on more than she can handle. Then Julie discovers that an old friend is hiding secrets from her. Could he be responsible for the strange things happening at Ivy's house? Or is someone--or something--else to blame?

An illustrated "Looking Back" section describes the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill, plus the increase in vegetarianism in the 1970s.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Fiction, Historical, Childrens, 20th Century

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2013

Reviews

[RaspberryRoses · Rating 3 out of 5]

the vibes are fun but the mystery ended so atrociously.... i'd recommend for any true #JulieFans, but nobody else

[Julia Kerrigan]

I love you Maia (Julie’s obviously queer coded aunt)

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The great AG marathon continues. Again, reading for the first time as an adult.

From the cover, my first guess was that Julie’s rabbit, Nutmeg – long established, but never plot-central – was lost, perhaps a la Missing Grace. Instead, it’s a parrot belonging to Ivy’s family that is missing, which turns out to be a lot more interesting.

Here are the key elements:

- Ivy’s uncle is getting married. He’s had this parrot for years, but his bride is not a fan, so he’s giving it to Ivy and her siblings. The wedding is out of town, so Julie agrees to pet sit.

- While the Lings are away, an older couple is staying in part of their home while the wife recovers from surgery.

- Julie’s aunt – her dad’s younger sister who has changed her name from Mary to Maia – comes to stay with Dad while she gets established in San Francisco.

- Julie reconnects with Gordon, a friend from her old school, who’s parents are also getting divorced.

O’Dell does a good job of providing plenty of suspects and motives, all of whom are new characters (thus dodging the Established Characters Are Never the Culprit rule, though you know it was never gonna be Julie’s beloved aunt either). And Mr. Shackley is so prickly, you know he would be too obvious. The final answer is both more simple and more clever than you’d probably expect, which is nice.

I did like how easily Julie talks to the adults around her, even when she suspects they might be the culprit. Several times, she admits fairly easily to a person’s face that they have a plausible motive, and her manner is so disarming that every time she gains an ally, not an enemy. This is the first time O’Dell has written Julie and you feel it occasionally in the dialogue, but she does capture the right overall vibe that Julie would be a fun, chill kid to hang out with.

But here’s my favorite detail: When Maia first cooks tofu for Julie and her dad, Julie doesn’t recognize it in a solid block. Maia starts to explain, but Julie is quick to connect the dots: She’s seen this at Ivy’s house, where her mom calls it bean curd. It’s completely unnecessary to the plot, but it reminds us beautifully of how well Julie and Ivy know each other’s families, and how integral that is to Julie’s characterization.

More Julie babble:

Meet Julie | Julie Tells Her Story | Happy New Year, Julie | Julie and the Eagles | Julie's Journey | Changes for Julie

Good Luck, Ivy

The Tangled Web | The Puzzle of the Paper Daughter | The Silver Guitar | Lost in the City | Message in a Bottle

A Brighter Tomorrow

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a pleasant surprise. I was never interested in it before, but since there are only a few remaining copies at my library, I decided to give it a try while I still had the chance. The story is well-paced and engaging, and even though I predicted one of the plot twists, there were enough red herrings that I was never sure where the mystery was headed.

The mystery revolves around about a missing and potentially stolen parrot, not about a child who is lost in the city, which is what I had assumed based on the title. I enjoyed the glimpse into pet care and animal rights issues from the 1970s, and thought that this was a unique and believable children's mystery.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Julie mysteries are my favorite. I remember San Francisco in the 1970s. The author does a good job of weaving very 70s things into the story, along with a good mystery.

[Gloom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this book has a good message for kids on how challenging it can be to look after a pet bird (a lesson some adults don't even know) as well as give a few resources to contact for missing pets. I also like how they handled the vegetarian subject without being preachy or forceful.

However, I feel like there's no payoff for the mystery in the end? I was completely invested in trying to peice together the mystery just to have everything, every clue and every suspect, explained away to a conclusion that no one saw coming but that was... boring.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story with all the characters that were within. The main character was a girl named Julie.

Julie is excited to take care of her friend's bird. It is a talking parrot. But soon, she realizes that taking care of the parrot is a lot of work and responsibility.

This book had action,adventure, and suspense throughout. There were a few giggles within. There was a bit of a mystery within. That was fun trying to solve.

I saw this book at my local library and decided to read it. This is my honest, unbiased opinion.

[Vannessa Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie went to the City to visit her dad. She visited her friend Ivy who lived nearby and met Ivy’s Uncle Lee’s gray parrot whose name was Lucy. Ivy’s entire family had to go out-of-town for a week and Julie was asked to pet sit. One day when she went to feed Lucy, the gray parrot, and the cats, she found Lucy gone. Julie had several problems to solve, how did Lucy get out of her cage? Where had Lucy gone? Where to look for Lucy? Lost in the City was a fun read.

[Danielle T · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this mystery, Julie learns about parrots, vegetarianism, and talking to other kids of divorce. Ivy is sort of present. Based on the title, I thought we were going to strand Julie somewhere for a while but nope, just Lucy the parrot. Short and simple.

[BOB Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it was a fun filled adventure for Julie. It may be hard finding Lucy but Julie does it.

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Everything was a coincidence" is not a good mystery wrap-up.

[Water Viper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great American Girl mystery

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. I wasn’t sure who took lucy, the twist was good. Overall enjoyed! Loved that Dancing Queen by ABBA was mentioned.

[Fionna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was goood the end wasn’t as good as the crystal ball or a growing suspicion

Ps this is a kid

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun and short but the ending was almost too cutesy.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is the 1070's. The central character of this short mystery novel is Julie Albright who takes a job of "parrot care" for a family friend. Julie finds the African Grey, named Lucy to be a fascinating, intelligent bird that speaks and sings. When Lucy is found missing, a mystery develops. How did she escape? Or was she stolen and sold for profit?

The Looking Back Section of this mystery: Historically, Lost in the City addresses the themes of animal welfare, personal and planet fitness and vegetarianism, topics which became popular in the 1970's.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Read it aloud with Sarah and it reminded me of all those Nancy Drew mysteries from my childhood - only better. This one follows San Francisco Julie who has a hippie aunt, divorced dad, multicultural neighborhood - tons of great characters and lots of false leads. Perfect summer read.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprise ending. Not too scary.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A missing parrot keeps Julie busy on her Spring Break. Suspects about, and Julie is up to the challenge!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abby: 5

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie's mysteries are always the most boring

[Yasmine Galian]

it is really good!