Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator [Hardcover]

Jennifer Allison (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Gilda Joyce

Ever since her father died, kooky Gilda Joyce has been working hard to sharpen her psychic skills. She's determined to communicate with spirits from the Other Side and become a crack investigator of spooky, twisted mysteries. After wrangling an invitation to visit San Francisco relatives, Gilda discovers just how much her dreary, tight-lipped uncle and his strange, delicate daughter need her help to uncover the terrible family secret that has a tortured ghost stalking their home.

From poignant to hair-raising and hilarious, this is a behind-the-scenes, tell-all account of the very first case in the illustrious career of Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 5-9 -Zany, likable Gilda Joyce deserves a place right next to her inspiration, Harriet the Spy. Ever since her father died two years ago, Gilda has been working on sharpening her psychic skills, both in an attempt to communicate with him and to solve spooky mysteries. The summer before ninth grade, she invites herself to San Francisco to visit relatives she's never met who live in a brooding Victorian mansion, complete with a ghost in the tower. Lester Splinter, her distant cousin, seems to be hiding something about his sister's suicide years ago, and Gilda is determined to find out what it is, with the help of his lonely, hostile daughter who is her age. Gilda's bravery, bluntness, and willingness to try anything help bring Juliet out of herself. Her asides to her father, written on his old typewriter, are not only humorous; they also show her grief, longing, and love for him. The wacky wigs and costumes she dons will make readers giggle out loud, as will the inserted progress reports she writes of how well her investigations are going. Readers will feel the hair on the back of their necks rise over the predicaments she manages to get into and out of. Returning home at summer's end, Gilda is surprised that her mother has begun to date and her older brother, Stephen, is friendlier. They have all begun to heal from their loss. Let's hope Gilda also returns in another psychic mystery that needs her gutsy, brash attention.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 5-7. Gilda Joyce, 13, lives in Michigan with her widowed mother. With her best friend at camp, Gilda decides she wants an adventure, so she writes to a distant relative, Mr. Splinter, and asks to spend the summer in San Francisco. Unknown to Gilda, Mr. Splinter has a daughter, Juliet, about Gilda's age. After arriving in town, Gilda learns that Juliet has been seeing the ghost of her aunt, who committed suicide. Gilda finds this especially exciting as she considers herself a psychic investigator. Allison pulls off something special here. She not only offers a credible mystery (What really happened to Aunt Meredith?) but also, by allowing readers inside the heads of both girls, provides particularly strong characterizations--much more substantial than the ubiquitous first-person narrative would have offered. Moreover, the recent death of Gilda's father and Juliet's psychological problems give the story a heft that elevates it above the typical middle-grade mystery or ghost story. Stylistically, the writing is occasionally over the top, but give this book high marks for substance. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (July 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525473750
• ISBN-13: 978-0525473756
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #474,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent fun for teens and adults, December 19, 2005

By 

Michele Iglesia - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator (Hardcover)

As a mother and former youth librarian, I recommend this book for both adults and teens. It's fun, quirky, and is full of mystery and adventure. The writing is engaging and enthusiastic - you can almost imagine Gilda Joyce bounding into your living room and impressing you with her energy and imagination, not to mention her very stylish clothes! As a librarian, I especially recommend this book for dealing with some very difficult issues - suicide, the death of a parent, divorce and depression - that often perplex young adults. Gilda's enthusiasm for life (and psychic sleuthing!) may help teen readers to put these and other difficult situations into perspective, making them less overwhelming. Above all, Gilda's adventures are great fun and offer young and old readers alike a chance to escape their everyday lives!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Move over, Harry Potter!, September 5, 2005

By 

Norma W. Goldman "university professor" (Detroit, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator (Hardcover)

Move over, Harry Potter! Jennifer Allison's new teen-age sleuth Gilda Joyce has real-life adventures as Psychic Investigator that rival those of Harry. Courageous, daring, presumptuous, outrageous, undaunted, she enters a locked tower, entices ghosts, outwits unsmpathetic adults, and reforms the mal-adjusted. With wig disguises and ouija board, she flirts with the occult. Though this novel by Jennifer Allison is a "can't put it down" mystery story for teen agers, adults will enjoy it as well (I am 83). Norma W. Goldman, Professor, Wayne State University

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book, August 28, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator (Hardcover)

Sure I am only 12 but I loved this book. There were some parts that were too scary for me so I had to read on even though my Dad said it was time for bed. I think that the author over-used some bad words. I just skipped over them and tried to forget but I still give this book a 5.