Sophie Cleverly

This is the first novel in the new "Violet Veil Mysteries" by Sophie Cleverly. I am a big fan of this author and thoroughly enjoyed her "Scarlet and Ivy" series which is very popular in our school library, so I was keen to try this one.

Violet was a great character and I loved her greyhound, Bones, who was brave and had a knack for solving mysteries and finding clues. Together with Oliver, Vilet and Bones found themselves trying to solve a number of murders that her father had been accused of.

I also liked that the novel was set in Victorian times as it will give younger readers an idea of the limitations that were placed on girls at that time without being too heavy.

Sophie Cleverly is a clever author who is able to write quick, engaging and suspenseful novels for middle-grade readers, The sense of mystery and danger was apparent without being overly scary and I think students will enjoy following Violet (and Bones) throughout the series as she continues to solve mysteries using her detective skills. An enjoyable read.… (meer)

This is a book that I can read time and time again, its got such an interesting premise and the portrayal of a 1930s creepy boarding school is done excellently. The way the boarding girls were portrayed reminded me of Enid Blyton's St Clare series.

It starts off with a meek quiet girl called Ivy Grey, who must take her sister's place at Rookwood School. When I say take her place, I mean it quite literally. She discovers a fragment of her lost sister and continues hunting around the school. She meets nice people (Ariadne and Miss Finch) and mean people (Penny, Miss Fox) The book is riddled with mysteries.

Ivy was such an enjoyable character, the character development is steady and slow and by the end, she has grown considerably into a much stronger version of herself. I loved watching her change her attitude. Her new friend Ariadne is possibly the best character in the series, she's kind, talkative, smart and unique. She's also a bookworm like me.

I can tell you that I knew there would be book two because of how the book ended and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.… (meer)