Review by Booklist Review
Friday may be an excellent detective, but she never suspected that she'd be the criminal the police were looking for! She needs to clear her name fast, so that she can figure out the story behind the mysterious figure hiding on the school grounds, as well as continue helping her classmates with their problems, such as a missing calculator and a fraudulent quiche. Spratt's second Friday Barnes mystery picks up immediately after the end of the first book, and judging by the tease ending, book three will do the same. But even readers new to Friday will find a lot to like here. Spratt's droll humor, often expressed through Friday's spacey friend Melanie, is the perfect complement to the offbeat mysteries Friday encounters. The result is a series of frothy adventures with mild bullying (that Friday rarely notices), inept educators, and tween-age love-hate relationships. Give this to readers who like humor but also want more intelligent characters and jokes, as well as those who like quirky mysteries.--Wildsmith, Snow Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Eleven-year-old Friday Barnes is in serious trouble: she has just been arrested on suspicion of terrorism. Luckily, being an experienced detective, Friday is quickly able to prove not only her own innocence but that of a stranger being held at the police station for stealing. This is only the beginning of Friday's latest series of madcap adventures, which include uncovering a case of cheating in a cooking class, solving a kidnapping, and discovering why large holes keep popping up all over the school grounds. As with the first book in the series, this novel's key strengths are its offbeat situations and persistent humor. Spratt's tongue-in-cheek portrayals of the lazy teachers, spoiled students, and petty administrators at the elite Highcrest Academy are often hilarious, as are the obscure facts and observations Friday employs to solve each mystery. Fans of the first book will not be disappointed, and the cliffhanger at the end will leave them anxious for the next installment. VERDICT This second book in the "Friday Barnes" series is even funnier and quirkier than its predecessor.-Ashley Larsen, Pacifica Libraries, CA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Super sleuth Friday (Friday Barnes, Girl Detective), still a misfit at fancy Highcrest Academy, is framed for a crime and solves increasingly bizarre ones while balancing her love/hate relationship with frenemy Ian. Comical, angular sketches of the spoiled students and ridiculous headmaster continue to be a main strength of the eccentric series. An intriguing cliffhanger ending sets up the next installment. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
As in series opener Friday Barnes, Girl Detective (2016), instead of just one mystery, Friday confronts a series of strange happenings in her school, posh Highcrest Academy.First, Friday finds herself under arrest for terrorism charges. The white schoolgirl quickly uses her encyclopedic knowledge and Holmes-ian sleuthing skills to escape the clutches of the police, but who could have framed her? At school, a series of holes dug all over the campus threatens to injure passing pedestrians, while a new boy, Christopher, charms everyone, especially Friday. She knows that the headmaster would love to find an excuse to expel her, but Friday keeps solving mysteries until she finally discovers why those holes have been appearing and learns the secret identities of some people no one suspected. Spratt continues to hit just the right mix of dry humor and suspense. Her characterization of her protagonist shines: an 11-year-old prodigy with quirky taste in fashion who might just have some real emotional needs lurking under that confident exterior. Readers know that, like Sherlock Holmes, Friday will solve every mystery; the book's fun is in seeing how she does it. Beneath the fun, Spratt explores questions of class; working-class Friday feels out of sync with the entitled students who surround her.A cliffhanger ending will have readers drumming their fingers as they wait for the next episode. (Mystery. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
