Minerva Clark Goes to the Dogs

Minerva Clark #2

by Karen Karbo

Minerva Clark has never liked popular, bratty Chelsea de Guzman. But when Chelsea pleads with Minerva to help her locate a missing diamond, the prospect of a new mystery is just too irresistible to pass up, especially after Minerva learns that it's a red diamond and potentially worth millions. Before long Minerva is doing what she does getting into trouble while getting to the bottom of things. And whether that includes digging through a day's worth of trash, tangling with some crooked animal shelter workers, dodging three mischievous corgis, or tracking a carrier pigeon with intestinal problems, Minerva is determined to get her man--or his best friend€¦

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Middle Grade, Teen, Humor, Family, Young Adult

244 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2006

About the author

Karen Karbo's first novel, Trespassers Welcome Here, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and a Village Voice Top Ten Book of the Year. Her other two adult novels, The Diamond Lane and Motherhood Made a Man Out of Me, were also named New York Times Notable Books. The Stuff of Life, about the last year she spent with her father before his death, was an NYT Notable Book, a People Magazine Critics' Choice, a Books for a Better Life Award finalist, and a winner of the Oregon Book Award for Creative Non-fiction.

Karbo is most well known for her international best-selling Kick Ass Women series, which examines the lives of a quartet of iconic 20th century women. Julia Child Rules (2013), How Georgia Became O'Keeffe (2011), The Gospel According to Coco Chanel (2009), and How to Hepburn (2007)

Her short stories, essays, articles and reviews have appeared in Elle, Vogue, Esquire, Outside, O, More, The New Republic, The New York Times, salon.com and other magazines. She is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, was a winner of the General Electric Younger Writer Award, and was one of 24 writers chosen for the inaugural Amtrak Writers residency.

In addition, Karbo penned three books in the Minerva Clark mystery series for children: Minerva Clark Gets A Clue, Minerva Clark Goes to the Dogs, and Minerva Clark Gives Up the Ghost.

She is the co-author, with Gabrielle Reece, of Big Girl in the Middle, and the New York Times bestselling, My Foot is Too Big for the Glass Slipper: A Guide to the Less than Perfect Life.

Karbo also contributed to the anthologies, The Bitch is Back and What My Mother Gave Me: Thirty-one Women on the Gifts That Mattered Most.

Karen grew up in Los Angeles, California and lives in Portland, Oregon where she continues to kick ass.

Reviews

[Juleah]

this is the best book in the world! i loved it! i read it when i was in 3rd grade. im rereading it im in 5th grade. its a fantastic book. if anyone has read it write to me and say what you think about it. it has action,excitement,bravery,jealously,and a corgi dog named ned. it caught my attention because i have a 4 or 5 year old corgi dog named gracie. and i read the 1st sentence and it gripped my attention!!!!! i love my dog gracie,my mom and i used to have a rottweiler named lexie when i was in 1st grade,she was the best dog ever! i know y'all are thinking ''rottweilers are so viscous.'' but this one wasn't! i got gracie from a friend of my moms,she was found on the streets! now you are yet another human beeing who knows my story!!!!! write back as soon as you read this!!!!!!! thankyou!

[Beth Throlson]

I love the Menerva Clark books because they are electrifingly funny. This book will make you laugh your head off (ha ha ha plop) and fall back in your recliner.

[Chastity]

I love the mysteries.

[Olaa.792]

3.25

[Lindsay]

I love this book. It's a mystery, but has all the quirks of everyday life. It's the perfect thing to read if you want mystery and tween life all in one. I didn't read the first book when I read this book. I needed a little catching up in the begining, but after that I was able to understand it.

[Jessica]

Highly addictive! Minerva Clark, a girl detective whose teenage sense of self-loathing was removed by accidental electrocution, is at it again!

[Ariel]

A nice installment to the series. It was funny again! Would recommend :)

[Rebecca]

Sort of weird. In a good way though. Gives normal life an interesting twist. I overall liked this book

[Maya]

i didnt think that this book was that great.it just had a lame plot and stuff.

[6†REM†6]

mon 5 chapter
tes 5 chapter
wen 5 chapter
thur 5 chapter
fri 5 chapter
to be done with the book on fri
to do 5 or 6 book report

[Hannah Jo Parker]

Good little mystery with a 13-year-old female sleuth. Lily and I read this together and thoroughly enjoyed it. Good for tweens who have already read and loved the Hannah West books.

[Pamela]

My Pembroke Corgi--Mac--is on the cover of this book! :-) My students get "extra credit" for reading and reporting to me on this book!

[Micayla]

I loved reading this book im exided to read the other ones to!!!Its a great book about a girl who is a very good detective,and a very risking brave girl.

[Stephanie]

I got this book was I was little from Scholastic book magazine. I had no idea this was the second book. I have to read the first book. This book was so good.

[Marilyn]

Great for mystery readers and anyone who likes dogs.

[Nicole]

So far its really good I can't wait to find out what happens.

[Jan Hecht]

What a delightful story. I decided to read something lite and found this book for my Little Free Library. I was drawn to the cover with a picture of a corgi dog on it and after reading 2 pages was interested in where this story would go. About a 5th grade reading level and probably more for a young girl to read involving mystery, friendships, Jr. High crushes and self esteem. Fun to read - I may search for more like this !!

[Karolina]

przyjemny reread

[Conan Tigard]

First of all, I picked up this book at the Scholastic Book Fair at the middle school I work for because there is a Welsh Corgi Pembroke on the cover. I had one of these dogs growing up and have one now while my sister has two and my father has one. Like in the except above, we all know how funny, smart and lovable these dogs are.

As for the story, I quite enjoyed Minerva Clark and her ability to track down the bad guys. The book is well-written and the pace is perfect. Kids of all ages will enjoy this book and find themselves wishing they could solve mysteries like Minerva. I love her confidence as she does things that I never would have dreamed of doing at her age. The only thing I could have wished for more of was a little more corgi interaction. I love those little dogs.

Overall, I found Minerva Clark Goes to the Dogs to be a wonderful story and look forward to someday reading more Minerva Clark Mystery books. Kids will highly enjoy this story.

I rated this book an 8½ out of 10.

[Chris Herdt]

I bought this for my niece but decided I should read it before I mail it to her. Published in 2006, some elements already feel dated: the kids are likely texting each other rather than calling. Also, at one point Minerva uses a payphone. It's set in Portland, Oregon--perhaps they still have working payphones there? But it has a bold, if foolhardy, protagonist and a fun story.

Why was Dumpster capitalized throughout? Merriam-Webster lists it as a trademarked name (it comes from the Dempster Dumpster). Even though dumpster feels like a generic term now, the trademark holder renewed it as recently as 2003. The OED lists example usage lowercased from Tom Wolfe, but his publisher likely has better lawyers.

[Noah Gray]

Okay. So I'm 28 going on 29 and I still love me some YA books. Favorite authors don't change just because you grow up. Now While I did not grow up with Karen Karbo, I do sometimes need a little bit of a light read. Not light as in mind numbing (cause I wouldn't read that), but as in funny, charming and something that makes you cheer on the main character.
I love Minerva. I'm going to read all these books, cause after the annoying teenager was singed out of her, she became someone I'd like to hang out with...for fun even (not to ruin my hermit status or anything).

[Nadia Trigoso]

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a good mystery. This book is about a little girl, Minerva, who loves solving mysteries and never wants to disappoint. She confronts a new mystery that happened to one of friends that has a lot of money, and she loses a very valuable piece of jewelry to someone. If you don't enjoy reading about any type of mystery, you would not want to pick this book.

[Margaret]

I love this book!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Alize]

I loved it it was full of mistery!

[Tressa (Wishful Endings)]

I thought this was a great youth/teen book.

[Brianna]

This is my fav book!!!!!!!!!!

[Haley Thomasson]

it was a good book but the ending was evil

[Mary Richmond]

Cute book, loved the main character and the mystery was fast enough paced. Would recommend to my young reading friends. A little outdated in terms of tech--IMs? Nope....

[Trisha]

i was sick and read this book and loved it.

[Sydney]

it is a very good book