Customer Reviews

Zoe Lucky: and the Green Gables' Mystery

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm a 9 year old girl and I received this book as a birthday present from my Aunt Kathy. At first when I started reading it, I didn't know how good it would be. After I got through a few chapters I couldn't put it down! It is the best book I've ever read! Better than any other book I've read. When I got to the end I was sad that it was over. I was excited to see that there were more Zoe Lucky books coming soon. I would recommend this book to any other 9 year old girls.

Nicely written and enjoyable reading. Love the references to Swahili language. Good story line. Love the ending!

Zoe Lucky isn't very lucky. "Zoe Lucky: And the Green Gables Mystery" follows young teenager Zoe as she copes with being home alone after her father passes on and her mother enters the working world. Even more scary is that a burglar is on the loose! The last thing Zoe needs as she enters young adulthood is for romance to strike her for the first time. "Zoe Lucky" is a charming book for younger teenage readers, giving them much to relate to.

Zoe Lucky and the Green Gables' Mystery
M. Carol Coffey
Outskirts Press, 2008
ISBN: 9781432731908
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for ReviewYourBook.com, 02/09
5 Stars
Entertaining mystery...
Zoe Lucky is a thirteen-year-old girl with a pet parrot. After the death of her police officer father, she and her mother move to a building painted a funky green, hence Zoe calls the building Green Gables. Several unusual events take place: a missing ring, a bank robbery, and a kidnapping.
Zoe Lucky and the Green Gables' Mystery by M. Carol Coffey is a well-written and entertaining mystery. I would suggest reading coaches use this book as a high interest/low level reading book.

When I was in elementary school, I formed a kids' detective agency with a couple of close friends. After the other students had gone home, we would revisit the ground on which we had all enjoyed recess just a few hours before. We searched through the sand for artifacts, read the graffiti on the brick walls, and created probing questions that only we could answer. When I took to my room in the evening, the Nancy Drew mysteries and Choose Your Own Adventure books were always among my favorite reading choices. I supposed I enjoyed the idea of a young hero, particularly a female one, solving a crime that had stumped even the most experienced adults. Therefore, I am excited to have discovered a young modern-day heroine by the name of Zoe Lucky. She is the creation of author M. Carol Coffey and in her new book, Zoe Lucky and the Green Gables' Mystery, she carries on the tradition of Nancy Drew fans and playground sleuths everywhere. Except, in Zoe's case, the crimes and the consequences are much more serious.

Zoe is a thirteen-year-old girl who recently moved to a new apartment with her mom following the tragic death of her father, a police officer who was shot in the line of duty. Zoe doesn't even have time to adjust to her surroundings before she finds herself amongst a cast of fascinating characters, some of whom with motives more sinister than they first seem. As the story unfolds, Zoe befriends a wise neighbor, draws close in puppy love to the cute boy from the pet shop, and finds herself in a position to uncover crimes ranging from burglary to arson to murder. Although the mystery that develops is frightening and quite serious, the author always manages to keep the perspective of a young teenage girl in her writing. Zoe is a girl who pieces together her clues through skilled work on her Blackberry and by the art of instant messaging ... she is smart and prepared to unlock criminal mysteries with a uniquely adolescent and 21st century style.

One of the most engaging aspects of this new novel is the great importance of birds to the development of Coffey's storyline. Zoe's pet African Gray parrot, Paki, specifically and all feathered friends in general play pivotal roles in ways that the humans involved in the situation could never manage. Paki is able to sense the true character of people who walk into the Luckys' apartment and tries to warn his young friend through less-than-subtle name calling. The crows that congregate outside of Zoe's apartment building maintain a long memory concerning those who have harmed them, and use their great abilities as guides to lead authorities to the man who had been the sources of so many wide-awake nightmares for Zoe and her family. With this aspect of the book, the author beautifully incorporates her love for birds and other animals. Coffey is a member of the Audubon Society and the National Wildlife Federation, and her knowledge of animals and their capabilities adds a unique dynamic that readers will not find in other books of this genre.

The fast-paced format and starring cast of characters in Zoe Lucky and the Green Gables Mystery come together to create a book that will be a popular choice in the Young Adult section of the bookstore. M. Carol Coffey does a magnificent job in appealing to an age group of readers who we all know can be difficult to please, but who are the most loyal fans once a relationship is established. I certainly can see Zoe Lucky emerging as a favorite heroine of young girls everywhere. However, I think this book will rightfully find an audience in readers of all ages. Coffey's writing is smart and complex without being painfully obvious about the process. She slowly reveals details about her characters that will keep readers turning the page to discover more. Also a talented illustrator, Coffey adds sketches throughout the book which add a great visual element. Her ability to create suspense will have readers guessing and perhaps sitting with their mouths dropped open in shock (as mine did) as the story reaches its climax and reveals some amazing twists. M. Carol Coffey has promised that more adventures are in store for Zoe Lucky, and I am looking forward to reading them with my daughter. Perhaps she will be inspired by Zoe to set upon her own mystery adventure, just as I was prompted by Nancy Drew!

I've never been an avid book reader so I didn't start to read it right away but a few days later while I sat under the hair dryer I picked up the book. I immediately got very interested and by the time my hair dried,and it takes forever to do that,I didn't want to put the book down. This was certainly a first for me and thought this is truly a very sweet book for a teenager to really enjoy I can imagine my first 3 month old great grandaughter reading this book when she turns 13. I enjoyed it very much.

Zoe Lucky and the Green Gables' Mystery is very well written and a suspenseful page turner. I enjoyed every minute of it, especially the references to Pittsburgh. Can't wait for more Zoe Lucky adventures!

I just finished reading this book and I believe the young teen set will find this book very interesting. I am hoping that "Zoe Lucky" will become
a role model for today's youth. I can't wait for the next episode. Ms. Coffey may have created a new heroine? Many congrats.

Zoe Lucky is a tween girl who just lost her father, and she and her mother move to Green Gables to make new friends and mourn. They also gain a pet bird that, they learn, speaks in Swahili and English. While Zoe is in the house, someone tries to rob and ransack the place, and with the help of her bird, Zoe begins to realize that not all of her friends can be trusted.

This was a cute book. Zoe is a likable character, and I enjoyed the antics of her bird.

Talk about a disappointment! The characters in this teen fiction are not believable--they are flat--without dimension. The story has unexplained gaps and holes. Misuse of punctuation indicates the need for an editor.

It's been a while since I was young, but I cannot believe that children have changed as much as indicated by the protagonist in this story. When Zoe, just-turned-thirteen, first meets Toby, he brushes at a stain on the front of her shirt and comes "much too close to the 'bump' in [her] new training bra" (7). For some reason, this provokes a love attraction to him! Later, she puts her "head in his lap" (43). This turns into the occasion of her first kiss. She drinks beer (79-80). There are references to marijuana (66). Please tell me that this is not typical!

One of the main characters is an African Gray parrot named Paki. He not only talks, he has the ability to think, analyze, and reply with sarcastic comments in both English and Swahili. In one incident, he announces his own illness (39). In another, he pronounces the death of a crow (44). He detects marijuana (78). And of course, he solves the mystery!

There are several good points: Swahili words, police codes, landmarks in Pittsburgh, PA, and facts about Kenya are interwoven into the story. However, this is not enough to redeem the weak writing. This is one teen book I will not recommend.