Notorious

Gordon Korman has been my child's favorite author since 1st grade and he's now in the 6th grade. He has read so many of his books and has never complained of boredom or terrible writing. Gordon Korman is actually his favorite author!

Keenan finds himself stuck on Centerlight, Michigan/Ontario as he recovers from tuberculosis. A city that he is usually on in a couple days a year when he visits his father on holidays. During his recovery he meets a Canadian native who named Zarabeth (ZeeBee) and her dog Barney Two. Together they explore the island of Centerlight and its gangster past. investigating the murder of ZeeBee's first dog, Barney, and the missing gold of Tommy Gun Ferguson.I read this book with my children (9,10). They really loved the hint of mystery and they clues that lead up to the solving of Barneys murderer. I loved that although there where plenty of people who hated her dog the ones that you least suspect turn out to be the killers.This book was very well thought out with all the hints and clues falling together when one clue tips the scales in its favor. Perfect building up and releasing of all the cards. All the characters are very well developed and have their own personalities making it super easy to read and understand who is being spoken about or to. I really enjoyed this read with my children.

I've been a fan of Gordon Korman since high school, and I think it says a lot about him that he can still manage to engage someone who's over double the age of his main characters. I will say I think some of the characters could have been fleshed out a little more, but overall it was a solid story and definitely a fun "mystery" book. Barney Two and Barney One cracked me up all the time, even though we never got to meet Barney One. I was kind of expecting the Canadian/American island to play a little bit more of a pivotal role, but it seemed it was mostly used to show why ZeeBee was so isolated. I will definitely read this book again, and I highly recommend it for middle schoolers, teenagers, adults, grandparents, dogs, cats, ghosts, everyone!

A kid who’s lived around the world gets tuberculosis and ends up recuperating in an island that straddles the U.S. - Canada border. He thought it would be boring. Then he meets an eccentric girl, learns about the island’s gangster history, and discovers the truth behind a murdered dog. Oh, and there is gold. A whole bunch of gold. A mystery/adventure/coming of age story, all in one book.

The premise and setting of this book were good. I liked the Canadian-American border town, and was encouraged by the genuine mystery plot line. Korman also writes some very cute dog scenes. However, when it comes to the mystery, most of the suspects don't receive enough proper attention and the guilty parties were too obvious for my taste. The two narrators were a little less compelling than I would have liked and their classmates could have been developed better.This is a good book, but not worth the present kindle price.

I loved the characters and the story line. I was constantly trying to figure out who was the "bad guy".

Gordon Koran books are the best! My son loves this book.

Thank you to the publisher, the author and @kidlitexchange for the review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.This MG book (grades 4-7) is set in a peculiar place named Centerlight Island. Half of the island is in the U.S. and half is in Canada. A squiggly line runs right through the downtown and across the island which means next door neighbors may actually be citizens of a different country! It also means the U.S. kids get to go to the island school and the Canadian kids have to ride a smelly ferry to their school everyday. This makes it so hard to be friends and ZeeBee really needs a friend. She so badly needs someone to believe her when she says her beloved monster of a dog, Barney, which was notorious for rampaging through the island and destroying anything in his path, was murdered. And no one believes her until Keenan moves to the island.This book will have you laughing out loud as Zeebee and Keenan use every problem solving skill imaginable to figure out the answer to the mystery. And it’s a mystery that may have begun a hundred years ago when gangsters called Centerlight home. You will love the adventures the kids encounter along the way and you’ll cheer to see their growing friendship.This is a great choice for those students looking for either an adventure or a mystery. There are plenty of chilling moments to satisfy those hungry for adventure and so many twists and turns to make a mystery lover reluctant to put it down.

Ordered wrong author--returned book