“The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour” by Michael D. Beil

Well, I didn’t read as much as I would have liked this summer.  Oddly, two of the books I did read had main characters with very similar names.  The first was Sophie St. Pierre in Michael Beil’s “The Ring of Rocamadour.”  A newer series, it hasn’t been discovered yet by my students, and that is a shame.  Heralding back to teen mystery series of the past, it’s like a contemporary Nancy Drew with superior writing and characterizations.  Fans of “The Westing Game” will finally be able to find solace in an equally strong story that moves quickly and has nice little puzzles to solve.  Older students may not be interested in the book because Sophie is only a 7th grader, but she is a New Yorker, and feels a tad more sophisticated than your average 12 or 13 year-old.  It is the Sophie character that makes the story so engaging to me.  Unlike Nancy Drew, Sophie is not the smartest, most bold or most suave of her friends.  She is appealingly flawed, and owns up to her mistakes as well as her successes.  It is her narrative voice, which speaks directly to the reader, that brings a real element of fun to this tale.  At one point in the book, she insists that the reader stop and solve the puzzle – rather forcefully!  Each of the short chapters is titled with an amusing self-effacing reflection by Sophie.  Despite the overwhelming odds/girl detective thing, the characters come off as real and I had to check the author’s bio several times to remind me that he was, in fact, a male.  No doubt he is able to draw from his students’ experiences in creating this series.  Authentic, accessible and well-wrought.  Bravo, Mr. Beil.  I look forward to reading the next one.