Description
Imagine if Sherlock Holmes was an eleven-year-old girl!
When girl detective Friday Barnes solves a bank rob-bery she uses the reward money to send herself to the most exclusive boarding school in the country, High-crest Academy.
On arrival, Friday is shocked to discover the respectable school is actually a hotbed of crime.
She's soon investigating everything from disappearing homework to the Yeti running around the school swamp. That's when she's not dealing with her own problem - Ian Wainscott, the handsomest boy in school, who inexplicably hates Friday and loves nasty pranks.
Can Friday solve Highcrest Academy's many strange mysteries, including the biggest mystery of all - what's the point of high school?
Review
Friday Barnes is a very intelligent girl from a very unusual family. Her parents are serious scientists who had carefully planned to have and raise four children. Until Friday came along…
Friday’s parents are not prepared for a fifth child. They haven’t even thought of a name. In fact, they name her after the day of the week that they think it is when she is born, and don’t even notice that it is actually a Thursday.
So throughout her childhood, provided that Friday can keep her parents from noticing her too often, she is mostly left to her own devices. And keeping them from noticing her isn’t too difficult!
By the age of eight Friday has read every book in her house, and has taught herself more than her poor primary school teachers ever could, so she instead spends her school days reading detective novels.
The only cloud in Friday’s future is that the government keeps insisting that she go to high school. Being thoroughly bored with school, Friday decides to try university. But, despite passing the exam, the university aren’t too keen on an 11 year old student. So Friday has a problem.
But when Friday’s brilliant mind solves a real bank robbery, she solves her problem by using the reward money to enrol herself in an exclusive boarding school, Highcrest Academy. The school is full of rich kids who are willing to pay Friday to use her crime solving skills to solve their problems, from a stolen clock to missing homework.
Along with her observant but vague new friend Melanie, can Friday solve the school’s biggest mystery – the strange Yeti that keeps appearing around the swamp?
A great detective novel, with a hint of Sherlock Holmes, this is an action packed story that your students will love. Friday does use some difficult vocabulary (to demonstrate her brilliance of course) so this should be a challenge even for good upper primary readers, but the story can also be followed without understanding every word she says!
Highly recommended for upper primary girls.
Reviewed by Kate
