The Book Case
ISBN13
9781910200544
Review published
17/07/2018
By Reviewer
Aidan
Star Rating
By Author / Illustrator
Dave Shelton
Age range(s)
9+
Review
Set in a boarding school for wayward girls and taking place sometime after World War 2 in the age of steam, this romp sees an unlikely band of hapless librarians hot on the case of a bank robber. Whilst it sounds like an Enid Blyton mash-up, it really isn't. Although there's plenty of the usual midnight feast-type high jinks, there's much more calamity than the Secret Seven usually generate. Despite a few signifiers of the period, The Book Case comes across as fairly modern - although it is a nod to books written in the 50s, it doesn't read as one. There are plenty of jokes and there's a certain irreverence towards the genres it appears to fall into - this is more of a parody than anything. Despite one or two laughs, there was very little that grabbed me and drew me into the story. One reason for this is probably that the characters are not that well developed - some characterisation relies heavily on cliche (the rich, posh 'jolly-ho' boarder and the snooty, nasty bully with power) and other characters left me feeling indifferent towards them. Although billed as 'An Emily Lime Mystery', the narrator appeared to focus more on Daphne who we meet at the very beginning. Emily Lime herself is rather unlikeable - unusual for a main character. The best-written character is George, the token boy who is, unexplained, the only male pupil at the school. Very little information is given about the backgrounds of any of the characters. The plot develops well enough with mostly predictable twists and turns; there is not the sense of mystery or suspense that you might expect of a book such as this. Crime must be a very difficult genre to write for children - the comedy injected into this book is understandable, but it doesn't do enough to make up for what the storyline lacks. In terms of use in the classroom it has some potential to be read aloud, but probably offers little in the way of deep and meaningful engagement to be had in discussion-based reading lessons. Some children may pick it up and enjoy reading it themselves but it won't be everyone's cup of tea. Ages 9+ / Reviewed by Aidan Severs, teacher.
