Customer Reviews

GOSICK Volume 1

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For as long as many of us can remember, mystery novels have been given the shaft by the YA market. Passed over in favor of stories featuring sparkling vampires, spies and science fiction, the mystery genre has been viewed by many as a niche. As each year passes, it wavers dangerously close to fading into the background along with other recently forgotten YA genres such as Westerns.

Though a number of recent paranormal YA have attempted to add mystery-like elements into their stories, they have usually fallen short of creating the iconic trademark that has defined the genre for so long. When asked why there isn't any focus on mystery in the current Young Adult market, a number of book bloggers have proclaimed that the genre is just too difficult for the YA market to produce.

When I randomly stumbled across a new YA offering from Japan while browsing the aisles of Barnes and Noble, I grew curious. Would a Japanese author be able to breathe new life into the genre? I was soon about to find out.

Set in a small European country beside the Alps during 1924, the story follows Kujo Kazuya, a Japanese teenager sent abroad by his family to study at the prestigious Saint Marguerite Academy, and his adventures with the doll faced and inquisitive Victorique. When the young girl's investigative nature leads her to a cruise ship that matches the description of one of the school's local ghost stories, the two find themselves caught up in a life and death race against time that promises to pit their intellect against an unknown killer. Trapped at sea, the two discover a terrifying clue. This isn't the first time this has happened.

If there was any worry that the mystery genre was too hard for the YA market, lay it aside now.

GOSICK, in a word, is stunning. More than that, it's terrifyingly gripping.

Never failing to miss a mark, the story flows from one page to the next without pause or hesitation. Excellently written prose, unbearably suspenseful pacing and three dimensional characters that feel real enough to touch fill the pages of this beautifully illustrated novel.

If Sherlock Holmes had a literary daughter, it would be the doll faced Victorique without any doubt. Capturing the mood and essence of the mystery classic, GOSICK gives new life to the old archetype stories that have still continued to entertain many today while managing to weave in its own special and unique touch.

The decision of the author to base the story in the 1920's after World War I was genius. Not only does it enhance the setting of the story and prove more interesting, it dramatically changes the mood of the locations and the way in which children are treated.

As with any mystery, the ending is perhaps the most important aspect of the book besides the story itself and I'm happy to report that not only does GOSICK have near perfect pacing, it also has a near flawless twist of an ending. Readers hoping to be surprised will not leave disappointed.

In conclusion, there is almost nothing I can say negative about this book other than the fact that it ends. GOSICK succeeds in doing what a number of YA authors seem incapable of doing: believing that its readers are intelligent. This belief, coupled with its flowing narrative, culminates in what is likely to become a new classic for the Mystery genre.

- Matt Reeves

I love the format of the book and each character in each chapters. The girl surely reminds me of Sherlock Holmes but has more humor and delicateness. I recommend this book for kids all ages. The art in each chapter is wonderful and creatively done. The story line is great and the characters catch your attention VERY quickly, especially the main girl Victorique. I truly recommend this book! Grab it at your nearest book store!

I've been enjoying the anime, so I figured I'd try the book. In the end, I have mixed feelings.

- The good:
The characters are endearing, the plot is dark and intriguing, and the physical book itself is absolutely GORGEOUS. Lovely artwork.

- The not so good:
The writing itself is unfortunately a bit lackluster. I don't know if the problem lies with the author, the translator, or both, but the writing in general simply feels amateurish and unpolished. I realize that most readers don't get hung up on stylistic issues like I do, but poor writing can really ruin an otherwise great story for me. There are a number of "Japanese-isms" that seem clumsily translated, and a lot of the "clues" to the mystery are more or less shoved unsubtly in your face. There are also a shocking number of typos and misused words.

- Overall:
I'd give 3 and a half stars, but since I can't, I'll say 4 out of 5. The story and characters are entertaining enough to keep me reading despite the unimpressive writing -- and to honest, reading a translation with my hyper-critical English-major eye is probably a little unfair!

The front cover suggests Sherlock Holmes, with a young golden-haired girl filling Holmes' role. The book delivers.

First, read all of the product reviews. My review of the reviews shows that each misses one or two things about the book. All-together they cover the book well. Also see [...]
'Gosick 1' is definitely a Young Adults fiction. Quite a bit of it is cartoonish, such as the adult police detective Grevil de Blois, and his two assistants. The situations strain probability, eventually coming across more "wow." than "what?"

Victorique seems to live in the library of Saint Marguerite Academy (typo in the novel; it should be Sainte) Kazuya is a foreign student at the academy who has come to know Victorique. His righteous indignation at a slight done to Victorique gets both of them a holiday at the coast, and Victorique's curiosity then gets both of them deep into a mystery, with danger that they won't survive the night.

Having finished it, would I read another? I can think of a half-dozen books by other authors that I would want to read first. When I get around to wanting to read another book of this set I think I am more interested in 'Gosicks 1', a short story collection set before 'Gosick 1', before wanting to read 'Gosick 2', the next logical novel in the series.

It s a wonderful book, i started reading it in the morning, when I opened my eyes it was night and the book was finished...

The story takes place in 1924 at an elite boarding school, Saint Marguerite Academy, in the small fictional European country of Sauville. Kujo, a young Asian student attending the school, is having trouble fitting in. Other students make fun of him for being too serious and tease him. Scary stories are popular at the school, and his friend Avril likes to scare him. However, Kujo is not the only misfit at the school. Victorique, another student, is a mysterious girl who never attends class and spends all her time on the top floor of the library, reading books that should be far too difficult for any girl of her age and solving the mysteries that the snooty detective Gervil de Blois brings to her (after which he takes all the credit for himself).

When Kujo attempts to make the detective acknowledge the help he's received from Victorique, the two children end up on a strange outing that takes them directly into one of Avril's ghost stories, which turns out to be frightenly real. A mysterious ship that sank years ago suddenly reappears, seemingly determined to destroy all the people on board. Where did the ship come from? What is the connection between all the people on board and to the old ghost story? Also, what does any of it have to do with the murder of a local fortune teller? The strange and intelligent Victorique is the only one who can solve all the "chaos," but she will need Kujo's help if they are to survive the night, forming a strong bond between the two.

There were a few gruesome places in the story, but overall, I liked it. Victorique and Kujo are almost like child versions of Holmes and Watson, but I noticed some other resemblances to classic mysteries stories, like those of Agatha Christie. It's almost an anime-ish twist on old familiar stories and characters that I've already loved for years. If the next book in the series is anything like this one, I want to read it, too!

I was suggested this book because I like Conan Doyle's Holmes books, and I was a bit disappointed. The story immediately makes Victorique, the female protagonist, seem a genius instead of making her ability apparent through results, however we soon get a small glimpse of her wit through her banter with the story's male counterpart, Kujo. At first, her character comes off as annoying - not at all like the classic gentleman Sherlock. Kujo also possess a somewhat annoying character for the opposite reason - he needs to get a bit of a backbone.

A seperate story is mixed in for the latter part of the book which helps pull the story along, but is also gruesome - a story reminicent of Lord of the Flies.

All in all, it's a decent mystery, not explicitly stating details that you can guess on your own and giving you a chance to try to solve the entire story yourself.