The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan BradleyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had a girlfriend who really loved this book series, which is why I picked it up. I like to read young adult fiction--usually they are a quick read, and sometimes better than the adult fiction that's out there.
Flavia is fascinated with chemistry, particularly the chemistry of creating poison. The youngest child in her household, Flavia is often picked on by her older siblings. With no mom, and a dad who is reserved and fascinated with his stamp collection she often retreats to her laboratory.
Flavia finds a dead body in the garden and the police arrest her father! Even though she's only 11, her curiosity and desire to clear her father sets her on a series of adventures.
I liked Flavia right away, but in the first half of the book I thought, well, this is good, but I don't know why Lara is so in love with these books. But. . . then I got hooked, staying up past my bedtime trying to finish it.
I just finished the second book in the series, "The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag" (which I will give 5 stars, for some reason just liked that one better) and am eager to begin the 3rd "A Red Herring Without Mustard" which I have on hold at our local library.
This would be a fun read-aloud with your kids or classroom. Visit the Flavia DeLuce website to learn more about this series.
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1 comment:
Oh, but now you do know why I have so much love for these...:) I don't know if I would read it aloud to kids, but that is just me. I think that mature middle schoolers could handle its pace and some of its content. I'd love to get their take on any of the books in the series.
If you could re-star, would you give this a 5...? :)
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