Agatha Oddly (Book 2): Murder at the Museum by Lena Jones

Rating: Not for me

Reading Level: Late Elementary, Middle School

An aspiring detective gets caught up in a murder mystery in an abandoned subway tunnel.

Possible Concerns:

• Lying to parent. This is actually my biggest concern. Lying to her father is the norm. Studies say an indicator of passing in your faith to your children is if they feel they can talk to you about anything. (Spackman, Carl. Parents Passing on the Faith. 1988). This book doesn’t set a great example how to relate to your parents.
• Sneaking out at night to do investigative work, often alone.
• Disregard for rules and authority. Agatha disobeys rules, sneaks into murder scenes, crosses into closed buildings under disguises, tells secrets that are forbidden by authority, breaks and enters. Police tape is just a suggestion. She tends to justify this behavior with “I had to” type language. Her drive to solve crimes is positioned as a viable excuse.
• Bad attitudes about learning. Agatha is negative about math, geography, dancing, and school in general. She lies about being sick so as to skip school.
• Conversation with the dead? Agatha talks to her dead mother picture. Another time she envisions her mom with her and guiding her.

Although it was exciting and I liked the puzzles, I don’t want my readers picking up on Agatha’s disregard for authority or her ability to lie to her father. However, if you do let your kid read it, I’d recommend starting with Book 1 in the series, because a few characters appeared to be less developed because that work was done in Book 1.