Big Trouble: A Friday Barnes Mystery by R.A. Spratt

Rating: I like it BUT some families may not

Reading level: Middle School

More action packed mystery for the modern middle school girl, much like the previous Friday Barnes Mysteries: Girl Detective and Under Suspicion.

I still like that Friday is smart, honest, unassuming, and uses her brilliance to help people.

Things I’m not as excited about:

• Romance. The love saga with Ian becomes a bit more explicit; there is a picture of Ian with another girl (which turns out to be not a kiss, but it looks that way). There also (spoiler alert!) appears to be a love saga with Friday’s uncle and Ian’s mom. Melanie’s Brother’s big muscles and impressive physique are played up. For example, Friday comments that Binky’s neck muscles looked like tree roots.
• Incompetent Teachers. The incompetency/apathy of the teachers described in the previous book rises to a new level.
• Poor parenting. Friday’s parents—particularly her dad—are really bad parents, and it actually hurts Friday’s feelings at one point.

I still so much enjoy these clever, fast-paced books with likable characters. I’m not wild about the bullet points from above, but if my kids could handle being in the world but not of the world, then I’d definitely let them check it out from the library. I recognize that might not be the case for every family.

I have also reviewed the previous Friday Barnes Mysteries in the series: Girl Detective and Under Suspicion.