Gilda Joyce in geheimer Mission

Gilda Joyce #1

by Jennifer Allison

During the summer before ninth grade, intrepid Gilda Joyce invites herself to the San Francisco mansion of distant cousin Lester Splinter and his thirteen-year-old daughter, where she uses her purported psychic abilities and detective skills to solve the mystery of the mansion's boarded-up tower.

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Paranormal, Fiction, Childrens, Fantasy

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Jennifer Allison is the author of the Edgar-nominated GILDA JOYCE: PSYCHIC INVESTIGATOR mystery series for readers age nine and up (www.gildajoyce.com). The first book in her new series, IGGY LOOMIS: SUPERKID IN TRAINING (www.iggyloomis.com), focuses on the sometimes stormy relationship between two brothers -- Daniel and his younger brother Iggy, who mysteriously develops strange superpowers. IGGY lOOMIS is a smart, funny read-aloud that will engage both avid and reluctant readers.

Ms. Allison holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.F.A. from American University. Her various careers have included work as a news reporter and high school English teacher. She has also held numerous odd jobs — piano player in a shopping mall, assembly-line worker for General Motors, waitress, preschool teacher — that have helped her generate ideas for characters and stories. Jennifer Allison currently lives in Chicago with her husband and three children.

Reviews

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two weeks ago, I grabbed this from the thrift store, and despite having started a number of other books, I decided to add this to my currently reading pile. I limit myself to 50 pages of each book per day, in order to make certain that I read books that I am less enthused by, along with the books that keep me revved up. It keeps my TBR from growing too quickly and in some instances diminishes them.

In Gilda Joyce: Psychic Investigator, the author, Jennifer Allison, writes about a teen detective that is not psychic, but wishes to be. Part of her desire is due to the recent loss of her father, the desire to communicate with him, and the aspiration to make sleuthing a career. She finds a way to get her affluent relative in San Francisco to foot the bill to get her there and begins to investigate why her aunt committed suicide.

The story structure is highly derivative of other novels of the creepy mystery genre: like Scooby Doo, Goosebumps, Nancy Drew, and Encyclopedia Brown. Still, there was a sense of whimsical nostalgia pervading that felt fun. I would only recommend this to adults that are OK with reading younger perspective books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read Gilda Joyce EIGHT YEARS AGO. I remember picking it out from the library because the girl on the cover looked like me! haha! I had no idea what 'psychic' meant, and it was probably my first encounter with the word 'suicide.' I remember being really creeped out by all the seances and ghost stories, but I have to say on re-reading as an adult I'm a little disappointed. The story moves really slowly, and considering everyone in the beginning says that the woman who jumped from the tower killed herself, I was generally confused at what Gilda had to investigate? It seemed like the story wasn't really moving forward, and I was hoping to be gripped way more than I actually was. Still, Gilda's definitely a character with her extended vocabulary and perchance for making up stories. I have the second one to move on to, which I'm hoping will be more exciting because it's set in a boarding school!

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a cute book about a young girl who spends her summer trying to be a (wait for it...) psychic detective. It's a nice piece of YA, with a few particularly compelling parts. One is Gilda herself who is a fabulous character - up for anything, willing to be weird, more obsessed with her future career that with boys, etc. The other is the way that Allison handles Gilda's father's death. She doesn't shy away from the pain and loss Gilda feels, but it isn't one of those emotionally manipulative tearjerker books either. Gilda's father has died, she needs to deal with that. It's nicely done, and I think that a young teenager who had experienced similar loss would appreciate the meaningful, yet matter of fact way this was addressed. As for the book itself, the central mystery (and subsequent emotional growth upon solving it) was simple but sweet. I'm not going to run out and purchase the sequel, but when I have young adults to push books on, I would suggest that they get to know Gilda. She is worth knowing.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book in the memorial section of my library, I work in a K-5 building, so I picked it up for some middle reader fun, and fun it was. Glida reminds me of me in Junior High, I spent all my time writing scary stories and thought I'd end up solving mysteries when I grew up, instead I just ended up reading about mysteries as a Librarian, haha. Some of my parents might have issues with some of the language in this book (hell twice, bitchy) as I work with 5th graders as my highest grade....AR level is a 6.5, so it is more of a middle schooler book. I throughly enjoyed this one, the sad parts made me sniffle, the scary parts were scary, Glida was orginal and funny. The only issue I might have, besides the language, was the ending left me wondering if this had been a ghost story or not, I'd like to think it was one, but most of the evidence could make it go either way. I really enjoyed this though, and I know I have some really orginal kids that might see themselves a bit in Gilda as well

[leynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awww. I really liked this as a kid. This was one of the first books which made me want to become a writer. Gilda has this super cool old typewriter and since then, I wanted one for myself... (spoiler: I never got one). ;))

[Lisbeth Avery {Domus Libri} · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gilda Joyce is a good easy, weekend read. Fast paced and entertaining, it may not be very though provoking but it's good all the same.

[Je Taews · Rating 4 out of 5]

เอาไป 4 ก่อน อ่านมาครึ่งเล่มแล้วหยุดอ่านชักงง ขอกลับไปอ่านใหม่อีกรอบ...

[Isabela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tl;dr: If you find this book at a used books sale for 5$, and is wondering if it's worth it, put the book down and go buy something better, like ice cream or what have you. This book sucks immensely.

Imagine: the year is 2005 and you have bought this cute-looking book for your kid. The premise is simple and innocent enough: young girl wants to be a ghost hunter. Fine. At the end of the evening, your kid comes up to you with a question. "Mommy/Daddy," they say, "what does 'smoking crack' mean?"
This is what I imagine a couple of parents must've gone through when this abomination came out.

CONTENT WARNING: mentions of fatphobia, eating disorders, p*dophilia, slut-shaming, drugs, ableism, and suicide.
[Yes, this is still a review of the kid novel Gilda Joyce, bear with me]

There are no redeemable qualities about this dumpster fire of a book, it is bad all the way round.
Starting with Gilda, who is insufferable and a terrible influence on anyone and anything. Besides having no disregard for personal limits, she is a compulsive liar, and it never comes back to bite her in the ass; if anything, her lying behavior is rewarded constantly! Starting when she gets an all-payed-for trip to San Francisco, because she couldn't bear to not be as interesting as her classmates so she lies about her summer plans and invites herself to stay over at some relative's house.
That is the tiniest tip of the massive shit-iceberg ahead of us.

This book is so disgustingly tasteless and crass I don't even know where to begin.
Not even 3 chapters in, we already have a 13 year old girl plan her suicide IN DETAIL, including what she'd wear, the despair of her mother, and how pretty she'd look de@d. I wish I was joking.
Idk if I have to explain all the levels of messed-up this is, specially on a novel directed at kids, but to the author: you've fucked up BAD.

Beside the suicidal ideation by a pre-teen, wonderful Gilda Joyce: Psychic Investigator still treats us to:
1) Gilda lying that her brother, who she's jealous of, is mentally challenged, and has to wear diapers;
2) Older man coming on to Gilda at a convenience store;
3) Kids calling Gilda's cousin "Miss Anorexia", because of her thin physique;
4) Gilda saying her brother watches porn;
5) A few moments of the girls thinking about dieting;
6) Racial insensitivity - besides the stereotyped way Asian characters are written, Juliet's Mexican maid is superstitious and spends most of her time cooking enchiladas and talking about ghosts;
7) Gilda saying that "being poor and unhappy is hereditary";
8) Gilda encouraging her cousin to lie about having AN AFFAIR WITH A TEACHER, then proceeding to lie about having done the same;
9) Gilda straight up slut-shaming her best friend via letter for having had her first kiss with her first boyfriend, by saying she's "humiliating her parents by shoving her tongue in the mouth of every fat boy she met." Followed by:
10) Insinuating her friend will leave her to become a "teen mom"
And more!

I'm not done yet, but I'll have to pause now and continue this review later. What a nasty flaming mess of a book.

Edit: I never did, and I forgot most of what I wanted to say, thank God. But just the fact I (SOMEHOW) still had more to add speaks volumes.

[Andrea Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the writing of this book, and I enjoyed the two main characters.
BUT the mystery was never solved. And Gilda is not psychic!

I thought a lot of the subject matter was inappropriate for children. "Porno websites," "Playboy," ouija boards and seances (which are expected with the book title), some questionable language (hell, bitchy) and a loving mother who smokes in the car with her 13 year old daughter.

Most importantly was the way the book dealt with suicide and mental illness.

The secondary character is clearly depressed from her introduction. She is the niece of someone who has committed suicide, a "suicide gene" is mentioned, and her parents make mention of the their concern the girl doesn't end up like her aunt. She even toys with the idea of suicide. In the end, nothing is done for this girl concerning her mental state besides being put on drugs at 13 and who knows how much younger. She is never sent to therapy, in fact the situation is never discussed with her family. Really rather sad.

The mystery, what was the mystery? SPOILER: If it was what are the sounds coming from the tower, then that was solved. In fact it needed no psychic investigation to do so. If it was how or why the aunt died, that was established early on and did not need investigation as there was no mystery. If it was who the ghost is and what it wanted, well that is never addressed!

[Alena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gilda mě uchvátila a vsadím se, že kdybych tuhle knížku četla před nějakými patnácti, osmnácti lety, byla by mou hrdinkou a vzorem (a taky bych se možná stala parapsychologickou vyšetřovatelkou).

Příběh beru takový, jaký je, tedy napsaný pro dívky školou povinné, a z tohoto pohledu jsem ochotná odpustit i drobné nepřesnosti, jako například v chování rodičů, které je spíše přizpůsobeno plynulosti příběhu než reálnému životu.

Gildě je třináct, ale je zatraceně chytrá (tyhle holky mám ráda, třeba Elsu z Babičky). Chce vyšetřovat záhady, ráda se převléká a sleduje lidi (kteří ji za to nemají rádi). Když skončí škola a její kamarádka odjede, Gilda neví, co s načatými prázdninami, a tak se pozve na návštěvu do San Franciska do domu matčina bratrance.

Tento dům je shodou okolnosti plný duchů, a také v něm žije Julie, Gildina vzdálená sestřenice, která je náhodou ve stejném věku. Dům halí tajemství Juliiny tety Melanie, která spáchala sebevraždu, když byla Julie malá, ale její otec o tom vůbec nechce mluvit. A tak může začít vyšetřování.

Sledovat Gildu, jak se snaží skamarádit s Julií, je zábavné, stejně jako z dospělého pohledu pitomosti, které páchá při svém vyšetřování. Příběh je ale končí dobře. Duch tety Melanie může odejít a Gilda s Julií se stanou kamarádkami.

Příjemné a zábavné víkendové čtení.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky 14 year-old Gilda Joyce has been obsessed with the paranormal ever since her father passed away from cancer when she was twelve. In his will, he left her his cherished typewriter, and she believes that her father’s spirit will carry on whenever she uses her typewriter. Shortly after her father died, she found a book about being a psychic in a yard sale, and believing that she could reach her father somehow, decided to launch her own business as a psychic investigator.

Her first case comes when she goes from Michigan to visit her long-lost relatives in San Francisco. There, she uncovers the mysteries of the old, Victorian-styled mansion where Lester Splinter and his daughter 13 year-old Juliet lives - one which involves the tragic death of Lester’s sister under weird circumstances.

Verdict: Definitely read, read, READ this book series! Actually, just read the first book (not really) because the first book will get you hooked! Gilda is such a lovable character and although this book series is marketed under the “children’s” section, this book has so much depth and creepiness/aka scary unexpected moments that balances well with Gilda’s easygoing and happy/funny personality.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't be misled by the childish cover. I think that a disservice was done to this book by choosing that image to represent it.
This was a cute book. The characters were great. The mystery and suspense was thrilling and fun. The idea that she saw herself as a psychic investigator added a lot of humor to the mix. I love books about old houses, creepy deceased family members, and family secrets. This was definitely a fun, easy read!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was delighted by this middle grade novel. It's neither one thing nor another, which might bother some people. It's not really a full-out mystery, or a full-out ghost story; it's more like a contemporary novel with elements of both. I liked that it was funny, scary, silly and substantive. It's right on the border between middle grade and YA -- with the warmth and security of middle grade, but also dealing with heavy themes (suicide, mental illness, and death, to name three). It's ambitious, yet never takes itself very seriously.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my absolute favorite in middle school and my reread did not disappoint. Gilda Joyce is the reason I want to be a nosy writer lol

[Quinn B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good even for a kids book

[Betsy Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gilda Joyce is similarly sociopathic to that of Greg Heffley. She is winning the IDGAF war!

i have taken up the project of listening to this series’ audiobooks to fall asleep every night. thank you Jennifer Allison for writing such an unempathetic preteen girl. and thank you Jessica Almasy for your character voices and crispy S’s.

[Kristýna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gilda is an extravagant young Girl! I love her!

[Aila N · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a small summary about the book, Gilda Joyce Psychic Investigator. Gilda Joyce is determined to solve a mystery, ever since her father died in cancer. But the opportunity doesn't come right to her. But one day during school, she lied to everyone that she was going to San Francisco during summer. She eventually found out that her mother's long lost cousin lived in San Francisco with his daughter, and so she made a letter to Mr. Splinter inviting herself to San Francisco, but the letter was read by Mr. Splinter’s helper and a misunderstanding happened, but eventually Gilda was invited and able to go to San Francisco. She met a girl called Juliet. (Mr Splinter’s daughter) Juliet was a very strong independent girl and never came out of her room. But because of a mystery that was going on in the Splinter’s mansion, they became close friends. The mystery was about Juliet’s aunt that had died, by jumping off of the tower connected to the Splinter’s mansion. There were unknown sounds of footsteps at night in the tower. Mr. Splinter never letting anyone in the tower, Juliet and Gilda was able to solve the mystery about the unknown foot steps, and what was in the tower and all about Juliet’s aunt Melanie.

When reading this book, I was able to make many visualizations. I used the visualisation strategy in a lot of parts. For example, there were many explanations during the events, and because of the detailed explanations, I was able to visualize easily. Because of visualizing a lot, the book was like a movie in my head and it was very interesting and made me want to read the rest of the book like a motivation. Visualizing made me understand the book more, because of the pictures in my head helping me go through the things that I didn’t understand or catch in the book. I understood a bit more about visualizing while reading this book.

When reading this book, I was able to make many predictions, even though most of my predictions were wrong because there were so many catches in the book. The book was not predictable, but made me predict what was wrong, and did not tell me what was right at the start. I used the predicting strategy, mostly in the middle and in the end of the book, because there were more dramatic events happening and more clues to see if the predictions were right. The girl Gilda who was one of the girls who searched for the answer to the mystery, predicted a lot about what she thought the answer was. Because of her predictions, it made me predict the same or in a more creative way. Prediction made me understand the book more, because of the dramatic events and by predicting, the book became more interesting and made me want to read more. Because of making me want to read more, I was able to understand and visualize a lot which made it easier for me to understand what was going on. I understood about prediction a bit more while reading this book.

I think the author wants to make us visualize the scene of what's happening in the house and the tower and how the places look like, because of the detailed description he adds on some of the pages. For example, on page 256 chapter 22 Inside the Tower it says, “An eerie collage of faces and emotions peered at Gilda and Juliet from the walls. Each face had hair and skin of unnatural colors--blue, green, red, purple--but they all stared with the same intense eyes.” at this part of the story, the two girls were able to find a way inside the tower and the description above is about what it looks like inside the tower. This shows that the author wanted to make us visualize and feel how and what it looks like inside the tower by using a descriptive description.

I think the author was making Gilda look very stupid when the author described how Gilda looked when she was dressed up to find out a secret. Because of how many clothings she added when the author wrote what she wore. For example, on page 173 chapter 16 Going Undercover it says, “Along with the wig, Gilda wore a bright shade of magenta lipstick, beige foundation makeup, a cheap set of metallic gold fingernails, a strand of fake pearls, her leopard-print jacket, an oversized purse, and a pair of stilettopumps with pointy toes” This explanation explains that the author clearly wanted to make Gilda look stupid by adding so many clothings on to her disguise. I think that this book is very interesting to read and makes the readers more interested because of the mystery that the two girls has to solve.

[Dodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

AYA novel about a teenager girl having an adventurous summer being a psychic detective. There are other books in this series but I’ll leave it for the teenagers.

[Mariah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings: suicide is a major plot point, fatphobia, ableism, racism

Gilda Joyce is a modern day Harriet the Spy. Too bad for me, I hate Harriet the Spy. I read this as a kid and enjoyed it immensely. I even read 2 of the 3 sequels though I have no substantial memories of them. Re-reading it as an adult, I am amazed at how little discernment I had as a child. Kids really have no barometer for quality.

Unlike Harriet who deserves some grace due to her neglectful parents and age, Gilda is several years older than Harriet as well as from a healthy home. Her obnoxious attitude is not nearly as justifiable. Even taking into account the effects from the death of her father she was raised on a degree of love that Harriet would not have been able to handle. The boundary stomping she does is much more grating as a result which is saying something considering how awful Harriet is.

Gilda is a wannabe psychic investigator. She is trying her best to stop lying so she pursues a vacation with her mothers’ distant cousin Lester across the country so as not to have lied to her teacher about her summer plans. Said distant relative has a sister he never speaks of that committed suicide years ago and a sullen daughter about her age who has suddenly been hearing unexplained noises at night. In Gilda’s mind she has hit the jackpot.

I’d say the major problem with this book is that the mystery is poorly done. It’s supposed to be a mystery predicated on the idea that ghosts may exist. Instead, it’s all too obvious ghosts don’t exist leaving Gilda’s pursuit of the ‘truth’ rather boring. Gilda digging relentlessly into a highly traumatic event due to a delusional belief in the supernatural makes her exceedingly unpleasant. It’d be one thing if there was actually a shady underbelly to the story as then it could be argued her actions, though disquieting, would have been for the greater good. The fact that there isn’t makes Gilda’s behavior so completely out of line it’s unforgivable.

Gilda believes that Lester’s sister is attempting to contact them from beyond the grave to inform them of something important. For a majority of the book she believes that the great message is that Lester murdered his sister. Despite having no proof, despite Lester’s daughter Juliet’s pain at the suggestion, despite the evidence mounting against this theory Gilda continues to terrorize this man about his sisters’ suicide implying directly and indirectly several times she believes he had a hand in it. This man made some mistakes, but it is clear he loved his sister dearly and has insurmountable guilt in regards to her taking her own life. It is sickening how Gilda insists on accusing him on no basis other than her inability to come up with any other leads.

When Juliet rightfully brings up how awful Gilda would feel if Juliet were to try to pin a murder on her late father, Gilda concedes the point only to privately dig her heels in further. Her lack of empathy was astounding. Don’t even get me started on the casual racism, fatphobia and ableism.

Gilda Joyce is definitely of its time in all the worst ways. I can see why this would have been considered a strong read for girls when it was published. I am so thankful we are now more cognizant of how antiquated the idea of disregarding the feelings of others equaling girl power is.

Outside of the glaring issue of Gilda herself, it’s still simply not all that good a book. It’s slow paced which exposes the lack of intrigue. Juliet makes for a poor companion as she barely participates in the small plot there is. The two go nowhere so the change in locale from Gilda’s hometown to San Francisco is meaningless. Suicide is not given any of the care it deserves especially in a middle grade book where the demographic is not going to be old enough to understand the nuances to the situation.

Seriously, skip this one. You will not regret it.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the plot moved slowly, but I liked Gilda's eccentric character. I really enjoyed the plot twists and the conflicts the author developed. While I appreciated the exposure to mental health, I feel like there was a lot of description, but I enjoyed the minimal words per page. This book operated well as a light read.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this story for the most part (a 13 year old goes to visit relatives who live in an old rambling Victorian house in San Francisco hears mysterious sounds and detects ghostly images), the main character, Gilda, eventually got on my nerves. The parts that were good were the descriptions of the old house, the disguises she uses, the personalities of the other characters. What was not good was the personal nature of the case and how Gilda went about solving it.

She is a very precocious, nosy and rude little girl. The 'case' Gilda is psychically trying to solve is whether or not her cousin's aunt was pushed out of a tower window, or if she jumped. So that in itself is pretty heartless to go and ask her uncle (whom she invited herself to visit) about his sister's death over an over again and basically accused him of murder. Not only that, she repeatedly was snooping, ignoring rules and generally making a pest of herself 'investigating' this 'case'. And, all in all, I can't see how she 'solved' anything at all as there was no murder case to solve.

And, when she finally goes home to discover that her widowed mother went out on a date, I just couldn't believe the things that were coming out of her little 13 year old mouth.

I think I probably would have enjoyed this book better if the case had been different and not one of a personal nature for the family she was staying with. I will probably give this series one more shot, but if Gilda persists in doing things her way, no matter what, and inventing 'cases', I'm done.

[Acnegoddess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gilda, my girl…… Gilda, the BLUEPRINT of my childhood.

This was my favorite book when I was in the 3rd grade. To this day, when I feel an itch in my ear, I think about Gilda Joyce and her psychic impulses. It was pure luck I found this amongst piles of books in a used bookstore.

This was pretty mature, all things considered! I wonder if 8 year old Sam realized the themes of mental illness and suicide and death and grief. It also strikes me how all my favorite books from childhood are painted with undertones of racism… Of course the girl with the last name Choy has to practice her instrument for five hours a day, of course the maid is Mexican and speaks in broken English.

Crazy to think this book is 20 years old.

[Mira · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an old childhood favorite of mine. I remember these books being so much fun, and I think this one definitely still holds up. Gilda is hilariously quirky but also not so over-the-top that she feels unbelievable, and the story is, at times, genuinely creepy.

The story did feel kind of anticlimactic, and to be honest, I feel like a few things in this book aren't quite politically correct anymore (for instance, Gilda lies about her brother being so severely mentally disabled that he has to be hand-fed, and summarily refers to him as an idiot. . . and while the topic of suicide isn't offensive, I also wouldn't describe it as sensitive). But I still really enjoyed it and plan on reading the next books, which I remember being much better.

[Ilsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

It's a cute little mystery about a girl named Gilda Joyce who is striving to be a psychic investigator. Why wouldn't I like it? Doesn't that sound cute?

I think Gilda is a brave and blunt character. She definitely has some savage moments for a Thirteen year old XD. I also liked Juliet who I could relate to not belonging.

The pacing is good but it is very short. I definitely want to read more Gilda Joyce in the future!

[Richard Due · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I can't remember reading anything else quite like it. When it comes time for the mystery to finally unwind, Allison cranks it into overdrive, revealing the bigger story (and how it relates to the characters)--like the blooming of a beautiful flower. I can't wait the read the next book in the series.
Gilda Joyce is a treat.

Now I understand why my daughter loves this series so much.

[Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read for a teen (13-15) girl looking for a female role, supernatural story lines, and very little romance. Not to mention it's a great way to get someone interested in journalism/blogging.

[Rells]

I read this in 5th grade maybe, and oh boy, this book scared the hell out of me!!!

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read tweens to adults

[Alyssa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Insensitive treatment of suicide and suicidal ideation.