I So Don't Do Mysteries [Paperback]

Barrie Summy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2009 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: I So Don't Do...

Laughs, ghosts, and a lip-gloss-loving teen sleuth!

Sherry (short for Sherlock) Holmes Baldwin is spending spring break in California with her best friend, Junie. She can’t wait to hang out in the sun, hit the mall, and spend time with cutie-pie Josh.

Then . . . a freaky change of plans. Sherry’s mom, a cop killed in the line of duty, contacts her. Not only is she a ghost, she’s a ghost in danger of flunking out of the Academy of Spirits, and she needs Sherry’s help. Unless she solves an important mystery in San Diego, she’ll be banished to an afterlife for ghost failures!

If Sherry wants to be a normal seventh grader (as in, one who doesn’t communicate with ghosts), she can’t tell anybody about her mom—or what she has to do. Not her brother, not Junie, and especially not Josh. It’s up to Sherry alone to save the day. Except . . . she so doesn’t do mysteries.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

About to be shipped off to San Diego while her widower dad goes on his honeymoon, seventh-grader Sherry (short for Sherlock) Holmes Baldwin prepares to put up a fight when she is contacted by her mother's ghost. Killed in the line of duty, her cop mother is flunking out of an afterlife law-enforcement academy, and she needs Sherry's help to crack a case at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. So what if Sherry, a self-proclaimed screwup, is nothing like Nancy Drew? ("Do I look like a strawberry-blond-haired teenage detective?" wisecracking Sherry demands.) Summy keeps the fizz in her effervescent premise for most of this debut novel, using a punchy first-person narration; story lines involving romances, movie stars, rhinos and egotistical chefs; and various eccentricities, including a late grandfather who assumes the form of a wren. Although the plot becomes too convoluted even for screwball comedy, Sherry remains entertaining, and readers will hope for a second caper. Ages 10-up.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–8—With the help of her mother and her grandfather, both of whom happen to be deceased, Sherry Holmes Baldwin is out to stop an evil rhino killer. The seventh grader thought her trip to San Diego to stay with her great-aunt, along with her friend Junie and Junie's cousin, would be filled will sunbathing and shopping. That was until her mother's ghost appeared to her and informed Sherry that she needed help with an important Academy of Spirits assignment. If she fails to stop whoever is plotting to kill rhinos at the Wild Animal Park, she will be banished to an afterlife reserved for Academy failures. Unfortunately, the story is dull. There are characters who are completely irrelevant and who seemingly serve no purpose other than to make this book painfully long. Sherry may have solved the mystery in the end, but Nancy Drew she is not.—Robyn Zaneski, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (November 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385736037
• ISBN-13: 978-0385736039
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #617,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

From the book flap:

"Barrie lives in California with her husband and their four children. She's currently hard at work on her next book. Please visit her at www.barriesummy.com"

There are obviously lots and lots of gaps in this bio. Which is probably the way it should be. I mean, come on, you don't want to scroll through pages of boring facts about me. Oh, what was that? You'd like to hear a few odd ones? Did someone tell you I was odd? Perhaps one of my children?! You realize they have a very skewed perspective.

How's about this:

I cannot have licorice in the house. Or white cheddar cheez-it crackers. I will eat these items until I am sick.

I do not like going to the post office. So, if you're waiting for something from me, well, you're in good company.

One of my most successful New Year's resolutions: Drive through the car wash twice a month.

And....I loved, loved, loved university. To the point that I wouldn't stop going until my parents pulled the plug. I have a degree in French, a degree in Canadian Literature, and a degree in Speech Pathology. The latter has resulted in very chatty children.

Email me ([e-mail]) if you need more detail. :)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and fabulous for tweens and teens!, January 24, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: I So Don't Do Mysteries (Hardcover)

Title: I SO Don't Do Mysteries
Author: Barrie Summy
Pages: 264
Delacorte Press
Date of Publication: December 9, 2008
Genre: Mystery
Recommended to: Tween girls, 10-13
Rating: A

Sherlock ("Sherry") Holmes Baldwin is not the mystery-solving type, despite her name. In fact, she's the polar opposite of Nancy Drew: she'd rather spend her time gorging on Oreos, shopping at the mall, hanging with her nerdy-but-sweet best friend Junie, trying to avoid her new stepmother, and fantasizing about her major crush, Josh Morton. But then Sherry's former cop of a mom suddenly contacts her from the ghost world and requests her assistance: she's flunking out of the Academy of Spirits, and needs Sherry's help to solve a mystery that will secure her a spot in a successful afterlife. Unfortunately, Sherry so doesn't do mysteries, but before she knows it, she's being whisked to San Diego, California, with Junie and her bratty teenage cousin to solve a conflict that includes a poacher, a bunch of innocent rhinos, a chef looking for revenge, and a group of crazy old people! Can Sherry save her mom's afterlife, save the rhinos, and get Josh to like her back? It's going to be one crazy spring break...
First off: I gotta say that I love Sherry: she's positively hilarious. She's realistic and always comes up with the craziest lies and smartest plans. Ms. Summy's dialogue is straight-to-the-point and realistic, with teenager lingo and great details. The plot flowed smoothly and was easy to get into: from the exciting climax on, it was extremely difficult to put the funny, cute book down. I loved all the crazy characters and their actions, which sometimes had me cracking up (Old people plotting serious revenge? Crazy chefs? What isn't there to love?).
Perhaps my most favorite aspect of the story was how unique I SO Don't Do Mysteries was. The plot was totally different from any other YA book I've ever read: Ms. Summy incorporated romance into the storyline without it being trashy; the mystery that needed to be solved was fresh and serious but at the same time funny; and the way the strong, funny characters handled things was absolutely refreshing. I also enjoyed how you could clearly hear Sherry's voice in the narration: it was positively fresh and real. All in all, I give Barrie Summy's upcoming mystery two big thumbs up and can't wait to check out the sequel (coming out in mid-2009, or so I heard), I So Don't Do Spooky. Hopefully it will be as good as the first!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book Ever!!, July 20, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: I So Don't Do Mysteries (Hardcover)

This book is great!!! Sherry is so realistic! Even though this book is definetly fiction, I can totally realate to the problems Sherry faces with school and friends. I have a best freind just like Junie (Sherry's best friend and a super smart girl) so I can understand the way she can be somewhat annoying sometimes. I love ghost stories and mysteries so this a perfect book for me. I just couldn't put down this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Review: [...], May 13, 2010

By 

Darcy Wishard "libraryloungelizard.com" (Kelso, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I So Don't Do Mysteries (Paperback)

As a librarian I will sometimes ask students to review books, the following is an eighth grade student review!

In the first installment of the series, i son don't do mysteries, Sherry's mom has died three years ago in the line of duty on a drug bust. After her death her mom decides to go to the Academy of Spirits (an organization that trains ghosts to protect the living) where she finds out that working there is a lot harder than she bargained for! Unless she manages to solve a major case she is going to get banished. At first she and Sherry get help from her Academy friends but in the end it its up to them to solve the case.

This series is a hilarious mystery that keeps you guessing. Sherry (Sherlock Holmes Baldwin) manages to juggle boys, friends, makeup, fashion, a brand new step-mom and on top of all that, her coffee obsessed ghost-of-a-mom who is failing out of the academy for spirits. With help from her one time grandpa (now a cactus) Sherry and her mother solve mysteries that include rhinos, makeup and even a robotics competition. I look forward to the fourth installment in this riveting series!