Customer Reviews

Minerva Clark Gets a Clue

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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.

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

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

Minerva Clark
Gets a Clue
By Karen Karbo
Minerva Clark is an awkward teenage girl with frizzy hair. She hasn't quite grown into her large feet. She is being raised by three older brothers, since her mom left with a Yoga Instructor, and her dad is traveling as a high profile Lawyer.

On the worst day of her life, Minerva has made a fool of herself at the video arcade, playing Dance Dance Revolution. She falls into the shape of a twisted pretzel in front of the most popular girls in her class. Minerva runs out of the arcade, with her ferret, Jupiter in the pocket of her sweatshirt.

Minerva hitches a ride with her Beauty Queen cousin, Jordan.
Before going home, Jordan is pulled over by a police officer, for a broken tail light. Instead of just giving her a warning, Jordan is handcuffed and taken to the police station, leaving Minerva in the car, waiting for a ride home. Jordan is later released, when they find it is a case of identity fraud.

When Minerva's oldest, older brother needs a volunteer for his science/art exhibit, Minerva says yes, without hearing the question. Her brother hooks her up to a machine that will "monitor the brain waves of a thirteen-year-old girl". Lightning strikes and goes down the wires of the machine, leaving Minerva unconscious. She is taken in for brain scans but the doctors can't find any irregularities.

Something strange is happening to Minerva. Instead of her usual self-coconscious self, she is now out going, outspoken, and likes herself just the way she is. She even starts liking boys.

Minerva finds herself asking questions and taking risks she never would have imagined, before she was electrocuted. When Minerva sees a dead body, everyone becomes a suspect. Will she get caught sneaking out of the house? Could a homeless man with a lame hand really commit a crime? Is her cousin Jordan really as innocent as she seems?

Minerva Clark Gets A Clue is a modern day teen mystery.

Jill Ammon Vanderwood
author:Through the Rug
Through The Rug: Follow That Dog (Through the Rug)

Crime lurks beneath the surface of this modern day teen-aged heroine's novel. A Nancy Drew of the new millennium, thirteen-year old Minerva Clark is a "self-conscious, self-loathing, freak show freak", forever under the supervision of whatever BIC (Brother-In-Charge) is left to watch the younger sister. Dressed in her favorite too big khaki pants and hooded Van's sweatshirt, the unsuspecting Minerva visits a local bookstore, Under the Covers, with her cousin, Jordan. On the way home, Jordan is arrested and Minerva has no idea what is going on. Not much later, lending herself as part of a science project, Minerva is all wired up, when, out of nowhere, lightening strikes and she is electrocuted. Strangely enough, this shock turns Minerva's life around, her shy self-awareness a thing of the past. Infused with confidence, the new Minerva is fearless, no longer a shadow of her three older brothers who serve as surrogates since their parents' divorce.

Minerva wastes no time sleuthing the cause of Jordan's arrest, diving into a mystery that involves identity theft, a complicated money scam and a death. This empowered seventh-grader throws aside the usual teen angst and chronic self-evaluation, tapping into her inner Superwoman. The worst day of her life becomes a catalyst for change that is more than surface, the quirky teen taking some hard knocks but coming back with a healthy attitude. Speaking in the easy jargon of today's young teens, laced with cyber-speak, Minerva is an innovative and interesting character, her usual wise-cracking apropos and reflective of the electronic age. Teen-aged girls can readily identify with this spunky teen as she steps up to be counted, peer pressure and self doubts a thing of the past. Move over, Nancy Drew. There's a new girl in town. Luan Gaines/ 2005.

When I read Minerva Clark Gets A Clue I just couldnt believe it, she was just like me before her accident!!!! I love a book I can relate to and this one is definitly a good book for girls! Minerva is witty and hilarious. She also likes alot of cool things like rebuses. She's just plain cool in general.

The stories in this book & Minerva Clark Goes to the Dogs are great! BUT, there is language that is inappropriate (in my opinion) in both. It's a real bummer to have a guy yell, "you BI*CH!" in the early chapters. At that point my dd and I stopped (she's in 6th gr.).

While I know that language exists I don't think it's appropriate for her age. I think it is more appropriate for HS students. It's too bad bc the story is entertaining. I just wish that it could've been written a little "cleaner".

We'll revisit Minerva and her adventures in a couple of years.

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