Minerva Clark is a typical thirteen-year-old girl: she hates her hair, she hates her legs (which somehow manage to look both too fat and too skinny at the same time), and don't get her started on her gigantor bootie. On top of all this puberty, she's being raised by three older brothers, none of whom really get her. But when a fateful encounter with a lightning storm rewires her sense of self, Minerva Clark becomes anything but a typical teen. With a brazen new attitude and a nose for trouble, Minerva soon finds herself drawn inexplicably to the scene of a murder and determined to track down the killer. If only all the clues weren't pointing so close to someone she knows…
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8–Rebus-loving seventh grader Minerva Clark humorously describes the worst day of her life, which includes making a fool of herself in front of peers at an arcade, seeing her favorite cousin getting arrested, and suffering from electric shock. But events soon take a dangerously suspenseful twist when Minerva's personality changes as a result of the jolt of electricity. No longer suffering from self-conscious, self-deprecating adolescent woes, she becomes comfortable with herself and generally more confident. This confidence and ability to look beyond outside appearances enables her to help solve a mystery and deal with the popular girls, peer pressure, trendy clothes, and her kleptomaniacal pet ferret. References to pop culture abound, including allusions to instant messaging, cliques, camera cell phones, and movies like The Matrix. (A reference to choosing the Red Pill or the Blue Pill becomes symbolic of Minerva's adventures.) Despite these and a few words that some parents will frown upon, this tale is interesting and witty enough to recommend to reluctant readers. Interspersed with Minerva's amusing revelations is an entertaining mystery with engaging characters and a positive theme.–Jessi Platt, Auburn Public Library, AL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. Seventh-grader Minerva worries about her hair and weight, and wonders if her schoolmates will think she's weird because she likes staying home with her ferret and creating rebuses. Then she has the worst day ever, during which her favorite cousin, Jordan, is arrested and she gets an electric shock--with unusual results. Suddenly, she's no longer self-conscious. In fact, she's self-assured enough to turn her attention to a mystery in which a death, identity theft, and a money scam each play a part. This is Karbo's first novel for young people (all four of her adult books ended up as New York Times Notable Books), and it's both ambitious and, at times, convoluted. Though supporting characters aren't always consistently drawn, Minerva is wonderful--a likable, well-developed personality. Her droll, engaging narrative, which incorporates her wordplays and IM messages (and an occasional epithet or two), speaks to concerns about self-image and fitting in that will strike a chord with many readers. Shelle Rosenfeld
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
Karen Karbo is the author of three novels, all of which were named New York Times Notable Books; four nonfiction books-including How to Hepburn, which the Philadelphia Inquirer called 'an exuberant celebration of a great original,' and The Stuff of Life, a People Magazine's Critic's Choice-and three books for young adults. Her essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Outside, Elle, Vogue, More, and salon.com.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cinderella with Brains,
This review is from: Minerva Clark Gets a Clue (Hardcover)
I love the central and brilliant makeover conceit of Minerva Clark Gets a Clue: instead of the usual predictable exterior redo, Minerva is struck by a literal bolt from the blue which transforms her adolescent self-hatred to self-acceptance. It's Cinderella with brains, a refreshing and fun antidote to the whole Ophelia disaster that can entrap teenage girls. As both a therapist and the mother of a daughter, I recommend it highly on this count alone. It's also a good mystery that keeps you turning the pages, with enough truth and art to engage adults as well as kids. I was listening closely: Minerva doesn't talk in fakey/cutesy mock-adolescent talk but in a voice that is current but authentic and fresh. I also think young teenagers will enjoy the setup of Minerva living with her 3 older brothers and no on-site parents. I relished this book and so did two 13-year-old girls in my life. We're hungrily awaiting the next book in the series.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fun-filled novel that combines sibling relationships and teen self-consciousess with mystery and adventure,
By A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Minerva Clark Gets a Clue (Hardcover)
Minerva Clark, formerly a typical 13-year-old girl, has a jolting experience that changes her forever. She transforms from a highly self-conscious girl to one who is almost "unself-conscious."
We meet Minerva on the worst day of her life. First, her older brother Quills, a 22-year-old musician/Kinko's employee/college student, drags her to the mall arcade, Tilt, to hang out with his creepy friend and band mate, Toc. Even though Minerva would rather stay at home and play with her pet ferret, Jupiter, and write rebuses in her notebook, she is afraid of what would happen if people found out what she really thought. She thinks: "Anyway, if word got out that I secretly thought Tilt was stupid and boring, then people would say Double Freak Show Loser doesn't even begin to describe Minerva Clark, because how could I be bulimic and still have fat legs?" Minerva's friend Reggie joins them at Tilt and talks Minerva into playing Dance Dance Revolution. Bad idea. Minerva winds up embarrassing herself in front of the mean girls from school, Julia and the two Chelseas. She flees the mall and ends up getting a ride home with her favorite cousin, Jordan Parrish. Jordan is both a Rose Festival Princess and a soon-to-be recipient of the Hightower Scholarship that is awarded to "a Fine Young Woman who got straight A's and excelled in a sport." So Minerva knows something fishy is going on when Jordan gets pulled over by the cops, and then arrested. Minerva is forced to call her youngest brother Morgan --- a 20-year-old philosophy student, "Junk Food Vegetarian" and Buddhist --- for a ride home after her cousin is hauled off to the police station. Morgan takes Minerva home and we meet the third (and oldest) Clark brother, Mark, who is often the BIC (Brother in Charge). Minerva's father is away on business and her mother had moved to the other side of the country after the divorce. So when nerdy Mark Clark asks Minerva, who is already in trouble for running off at Tilt, to help him with a project, she has no choice but to say yes. Little does Minerva know that this project will change her forever. Mark Clark makes fractals --- computer-generated images created from brainwaves --- and that night, Minerva is his guinea pig. So on the worst day of Minerva Clark's life, she has an accident. She gets electrocuted. And this is just the beginning! Minerva takes it upon herself to solve two crimes: a murder involving the town bookstore clerk and the unjust arrest of her cousin Jordan. Minerva's electrocution zaps her with a new personality and a double dose of self-confidence that makes her an excellent detective. Although its premise is somewhat unbelievable, what make this book spark are its wonderful characters. The voice of Minerva is humorous, engaging and entertaining. The supporting characters of the Clark brothers, Jordan Parrish and Reggie are also lively, unique and truly colorful. MINERVA CLARK GETS A CLUE, Karen Karbo's first book for young readers, is a fun-filled novel that combines sibling relationships and teenage self-consciousness with mystery and adventure. --- Reviewed by Kristi Olson
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Self-Conscious Girl Turned Detective,
By
This review is from: Minerva Clark Gets a Clue (Hardcover)
Thirteen-year-old Minerva Clark is dissatisfied with everything about her life. Her hair is a huge frizzball, her legs are too fat and too skinny at the same exact time, and her [...] is huge. As if all that weren't bad enough, her two childhood friends - Hannah and Julia - have turned into the gruesome twosome overnight; and she's forced to live under the supervision of three deranged brothers, while her father, Charlie, gallivants all over the world as a high-profile lawyer. But Minerva's entire life gets flipped upside down the night she's electrocuted. Suddenly, Minerva thinks that she's perfect in every way, and is no longer self-conscious about...anything. Which is why she's now spending the time she used to waste evaluating her looks, solving a mystery. One that involves her favorite cousin, Jordan, the death of a bookstore worker, and an identity theft ring.
When I saw the cover of MINERVA CLARK GETS A CLUE, I knew that it was perfect for me seeing as how: a) I wear Converse hightops in various different colors ALL the time, and b) I love ferrets, and all other animals. As if that weren't cause for the purchase alone, I adore mysteries, and thought that this one was right up my alley. I was right. Karen Karbo has created a marvelous amateur-sleuth, who-done-it, starring a self-conscious-girl-turned-detective, and her shiny-object-loving ferret, Jupiter. Minerva could very well be the younger sister of Meg Cabot's Mia Thermopolis character (of THE PRINCESS DIARIES), what with the many criticisms of her body and hair - at least at the beginning of the story. The many fun characters readers meet throughout the story, will keep everyone turning the pages until they finally discover who the culprit is, and fans - myself included -will find themselves hungrily awaiting the next installment in Minerva's life. A must-read! Erika Sorocco Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper
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