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Love's Detective
Asked by her parents to investigate her older sister Saundra's erratic behavior, Lily discovers that Saundra's in love with a guy named Barnaby--and so is Saundra's nemesis Meredith Meridith
176 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1984
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April 11, 2022
Even as glad as I was to find the previous book about these two sisters again after I first read it as a kid, I'm glad I didn't find out about this sequel back then.
It has its funny moments, and the realization the family comes to at the end is a good one. A relief actually, as I started to feel a little weirded out by the nature of snooping and meddling. But aside from having some similar problems as the first book (like its dragged-out moments and some unnecessary swear words), the topic of sex in this story started to feel creepy.
Not that I think sex should never be mentioned in any children's books written to an audience old enough to know what it is. (Yes, a lot of children do think about this stuff while they're growing up, though they don't always have safe places to process and talk about what's going on in their minds and bodies.) But it started to feel like the story was preoccupied with it. Preoccupied with sex and nudity.
It almost seemed like the author wanted to write a YA book about teenaged Saundra but instead wrote another middle grade book about prepubescent Lily's involvement in Saundra's life. (To a greater degree than in the first book.)
And then the actual "open door" sex scene? In a novel for kids? Just unnecessary, even with the participant characters being teenagers.
So, yeah, no. This second book was a miss for me, though I'm still glad I found and got to reread the book before it after so many years.
It has its funny moments, and the realization the family comes to at the end is a good one. A relief actually, as I started to feel a little weirded out by the nature of snooping and meddling. But aside from having some similar problems as the first book (like its dragged-out moments and some unnecessary swear words), the topic of sex in this story started to feel creepy.
Not that I think sex should never be mentioned in any children's books written to an audience old enough to know what it is. (Yes, a lot of children do think about this stuff while they're growing up, though they don't always have safe places to process and talk about what's going on in their minds and bodies.) But it started to feel like the story was preoccupied with it. Preoccupied with sex and nudity.
It almost seemed like the author wanted to write a YA book about teenaged Saundra but instead wrote another middle grade book about prepubescent Lily's involvement in Saundra's life. (To a greater degree than in the first book.)
And then the actual "open door" sex scene? In a novel for kids? Just unnecessary, even with the participant characters being teenagers.
So, yeah, no. This second book was a miss for me, though I'm still glad I found and got to reread the book before it after so many years.
Displaying 1 of 1 review