Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Book Review: No Place Like Holmes

Connor has been on a Sherlock Holmes kick for a few months now, so when I saw No Place Like Holmes available for review from Booksneeze, I pounced on it.  I read the book in an afternoon, and Connor is going at about the same pace today.  He is older than the recommended age range (9-12) but he is really enjoying the story anyway.

From the publisher:
The new resident in 221A Baker Street is about to give Sherlock Holmes a run for his magnifying glass!

When Griffin is sent to stay with his detective uncle at 221A Baker Street for the summer, he is certain that his uncle must be the great Sherlock Holmes! But Griffin is disappointed to discover that Holmes lives at 221B Baker Street and his uncle lives unit 221A. His uncle is a detective, just not a very good one. But when Griffin meets a woman with a case that Holmes has turned away for being too ridiculous, he and his uncle team up to help her. Along the way, Griffin shows his uncle just what it means to have true faith in God, even when the case challenges that. The woman claims that her husband was eaten by the Loch Ness Monster, but monsters aren’t real—or are they?
Finding books for my boys to read for fun is sometimes a challenge. Not so much now, for Connor anyway, as he is able to sit down with true classics and not be overwhelmed by their size.  Five years ago, I would have loved having this book for him to read, as it would have been long enough to keep him occupied for awhile (more than an afternoon!) yet not so long that he would have been intimidated.

It seems like almost everything written today is full of smart-alecky kids who hate their siblings, are smarter than every adult around them, and who get into their adventures through deception and defiance.

Griffin Sharpe has one of those issues -- he is smarter than a lot of the adults around him.  But he is respectful to everyone, even people who certainly don't deserve it.  While he gets into a lot of scrapes by being where he shouldn't be, it is because his uncle isn't paying attention and not because he is sneaking out or lying about where he is going.

Connor's response to the book is mostly positive.  He thinks Griffin is a fairly good role model.  His biggest complaint is the uncle (an inventor) has inventions that are way too advanced for the time period.  Some are conceivable for the early 1900's, but a couple are fairly fantastic even for today.  I don't think my two 9-12 year olds, however, are likely to have an issue with the fantastic inventions.

I'm thrilled to recommend this as a great "boy book" (though girls would enjoy it too!) for the upper elementary level reader.  I hope there are going to be more Griffin Sharpe books ahead.

Disclaimer: As a Booksneeze Blogger, I did receive this book for free from Thomas Nelson. No other compensation was received. For more about my take on reviews, visit my blog post here.

1 comment:

April E. said...

sounds like it's a Christian Steampunk novel. A genre I just learned about in the past year. LOL!! I think it's FM Lori who is into Steampunk. ;)