Customer Reviews

The Murder Of Bindy Mackenzie

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have never read a teen novel with SUCH great characterization! I'm used to blah characters that somehow get into serious situations, like in a Sarah Dessen book. (Which I enjoy, but it gets boring.)
I can't exactly relate to Bindy, but it's always interesting to get into the head of an outcast.
Bindy is at the top of her class, as urged by her father, and is working herself to death(!), just trying to stay on top.
But because of her academic excellence and 'better-than-thou' persona, people don't understand her in the least... She's just so strange!
Her actions are ridiculous sometimes, but you can't help, well, not wanting her dead!
This book is so much different from anything out there, I definitely recommend it!

I was extremely excited for Moriarty's new book after reading The Year of Secret Assignments so I practically dove into this one. It has a great plot, but it just takes a while to get to it. I literally couldn't put it down when I did get to it, though.

The character of Bindy Mackenzie is an outsider to her own age group. She provides unique insight as to how teenagers today. I saw reflections of myself in some of her character descriptions.

Bindy is very hard to relate to, but she can be understood after you get to know her. I think this is why the plot takes so long to unfold-there's no way that it would hold the same meaning if you didn't get where Bindy was coming from.

My advice is this: Don't give up on it because of its slow beginning. The plot has you on the edge of your seat when it comes your way... Trust me!

Bindy Mackenzie--student extraordinaire and perfectionist--is the heroine in this follow up novel to Moriarty's Feeling Sorry for Celia and The Year of Secret Assignments. Bindy is thrown when she is placed in FAD--Friendship and Development class. It doesn't make any sense! Who would rip away her study period so thoughtlessly? And what could she possibly learn from the other students in her class? But could Bindy actually be so perfect that someone wants to kill her? And if so, the only people who can figure out who the perp is in time are the classmates that Bindy underestimated and alienated.

Laugh-out loud funny, Moriarty doesn't disappoint. Full of her trademark intricate plot twists, quick wit, and told entirely in transcripts, journal entries, and letters, this novel gives a perfectly honest portrayal of teen life life that is appropriate for even younger readers. Bindy Mackenzie will keep you guessing.

Jaclyn Moriarty is a very clever author. I love her use of writing notes, emails, diary entries, etc. to convey the story. This book was a bit hard for me to get into, but once I began to feel for Bindy I found it hard to put down. In my opinion, it fell a bit short of Moriarty's book Feeling Sorry For Celia, but was still quite enjoyable.

It might be good to note that I'm in my mid 20's but enjoy reading young adult lit for the creativity that can be found in the coming of age stories. I think adults can enjoy this book quite a bit and it would of course be a good read for someone who actually is a young adult.

Moriarty is one of the few writers out there who are GENUINELY writing for teens, not for precocious twelve year olds. The kids drink and cut school and so forth. But not BINDY MACKENZIE, who is (she thinks) perfect. Top marks etc., odd hair, debate captain, maths queen, prig, prude, and pain. Just as you're beginning to wish that someone really WOULD murder her, her incredibly annoying perfection cracks and you desperately want her to survive, thrive, and be happy. Wow.

Told largely from Bindy's perspective, and featuring kids from other Moriarty books. The conclusion is slightly hasty (Moriarty's weakness: you can almost see her fingers flying, Bindy-like, as she breathlessly keys the final pages) but extremely satisfying. I hope that she includes Bindy in a book about Year 12.

a friend recomended Becoming Bindy Mackenzie (Yes, that is the real title, The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie is the american title, not the original)since we both share the same reading taste. At first, it was rather boring and confusing. It took me about three days to go through that part (and that's a long time for me) But about halfway, i got so hooked, that I crawled into bed and finished it in a couple of hours. Anyway, I reccomend this book, just stick with it untill it gets interesting, okay? You'll love it.

I totally did not see the ending coming, but now, I'm re-reading it [took me 45 minutes to read 120 pages during Language Arts class !!:)] there are signs of verrrryyy very slight foreshadowing. The one thing that was dissapointed with, is it does not have much romance in it, and I would have liked to see some between *ahem* and *cough, cough*

anyway, this is a great book, i would say maybe 12 and up? (I'm thirteen, but I'm kind of an advanced reader, so please excuse me if I'm off)

enjoy!!

The Crime- The Falling apart {both mentally and physically} , mental unstableness, halluciations, and severe poisonings of 11th grader

Victim- The notorious Bindy Mackenzie, known for her extensive vocabulary, abnormal hairstyle, and advanced perspective on academics.

Suspects- Airheaded Emily Thompson, absentminded Elizabeth Clarry, mouthy Toby Mazzerati, malicious Astrid Bexonville, silent Briony Atkins, narcissistic Segio Saba, handsome, enigmatic Finnegan Blonde. Also known as the classmates in the Friends and Developement (FAD) class.

Truth- This book was laced with vivid and colorful dialogue, and a satisfyingly unpredictable ending. I myself loved the book and I hold to it a high recomendation, but yet, there are a few irritating flaws.
This book, which starts off very well, but doesnt state the major plot untill it is 3/4ths through the book. This isnt such a bad thing, but after the "murder" is actually acknowledged (which is towards the end) the rest of the story goes by pretty quickly. Otherwise, i greatly enjoyed this book and hope you do so too. =]

Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker.

Number one in all her classes for years, Bindy Mackenzie believes herself to be above all the drama and silliness of teenage years, saying more than once that she is not a teenager and never has been. When thrown into the Friendship and Development class with seven other people she does not know or care for, Bindy is unsurprisingly unhappy. After a few months and occasions where she upset pretty much everyone, strange things start to happen to Bindy. She feels unwell and her grades are quickly diving. Could someone be trying to kill Bindy? The evidence doesn't look good.

There is rarely anything more uncomfortable for me than reading a character that is almost exactly like me. Because I am... unique, as many people have called me in both the good and bad ways, this almost never happens, but Bindy reminds me so much of me that I wanted to throw the book and scream at it. (I didn't, if you're curious; I don't do that to books I get on loan.) Bindy did many things I know I do, like scoff at teens and think of how I'm above all that stuff, and I hated it. The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie showed me through its main character all the things I hate about myself and the way I behave. Her inability to connect to others mirrored my own, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to learn how the way she did in the course of this novel.

Sorry about that little tangent. Back to the book. Bindy is a layered character that despite her unlikability, is easily sympathetic, especially when her dad enters the picture. Treating your daughter more than a little bit like an employee? Not cool. It's kind of strange and more than a little sad to be in this girl's head because even though it's so obvious that she's really judgmental and disconnected from others, she honestly believes she's helping other students and being nice to them. Supporting characters like bubbly Emily (who is apparently a main character in another novel, as is Elizabeth) won me over too.

Epistolary novels don't come my way often and it leaves me wondering why the heck not. The mixture of memos, letters, emails, transcripts, and reports, all written by Bindy (except for some bits near the end, but forget about those) come together to form a more entertaining story than I thought there would be. Bindy's unorthodox (for a teenager) narration style made me smile at more than a few points. In my head, I could hear Bindy's dramatic shouts of formal language. Other, more urgent books were laying around, but Bindy and her story wouldn't let me go.

And then out of almost nowhere in the end comes a big mystery! I saw one review call it preposterous, but I thought that it worked quite well. When going back and looking through everything related to the mystery, it all ties together and makes a surprising amount of sense. This does provide a nice case of reader whiplash, though--it's a sometimes-funny, sometimes-painful story of a brainiac realizing her flaws one minutes and a tense mystery the next where everyone's scrambling to find out what's wrong with Bindy and whose fault it is.

It's a good thing my library has Moriarty's other books too! Despite being the third book in a series that (thank goodness, or else I would have messed up) doesn't need to be read in order, The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie was good enough to make me want to read the other three books in the series.' But which book of the series to read next? Decisions, decisions... Even without reading the other books, I can happily recommend this series and especially The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie. It's definitely more than the average teen-problems novel.

"The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie" is my favorite Moriarty novel so far. I guess I am now used to the author's writing style, or maybe I can identify with Bindy better than with any other of her characters (I only pray I wasn't quite like Bindy in my overachieving teen years).

Bindy was introduced in Moriarty's previous books as an annoyingly smart student with killer typing skills. She excels at everything, she is very driven and thinks of herself as superior to other Ashbury students. Only in her run for excellence she builds walls around herself and misses out on friendships with her peers.

As usual, Moriarty's books are never just about teen issues, there is always some kind of mystery or crime involved. Same goes for this particular book. This story is not just a sort of makeover tale in which Bindy realizes her wrongs and changes herself by becoming more accessible to people around her, but a murder mystery too, and Bindy is at the center of it.

Once again, this novel has its signature Moriarty epistolary style and is made entirely out of notes, memos, and diaries. It is hard to put down and it gives a great insight into teen minds. I liked getting to know Bindy, I enjoyed her nerd wit and her condescending ways, but I also enjoyed finding out what exactly had made Bindy the way she was.

Simply, a great novel. I am looking forward to the next Moriarty novel which is out this year and, surprise-surprise, set in Ashbury High and has many of my old favorites in it.

Bindy Mackenzie--student extraordinaire and perfectionist--is the heroine in this follow-up novel to Moriarty's Feeling Sorry for Celia: A Novel and The Year Of Secret Assignments.

Bindy is thrown when she is placed in FAD--Friendship and Development class. It doesn't make any sense! Who would rip away her study period so thoughtlessly? And what could she possibly learn from the other students in her class?

But could Bindy actually be so perfect that someone wants to kill her? And if so, the only people who can figure out who the perp is in time are the classmates that Bindy underestimated and alienated.

Laugh-out-loud funny, Moriarty doesn't disappoint. Full of her trademark intricate plot twists, quick wit, and told entirely in transcripts, journal entries, and letters, this novel gives a perfectly honest portrayal of teen life that is appropriate for even younger readers. Bindy Mackenzie will keep you guessing.

Reviewed by: The Compulsive Reader