Minerva Clark Gets A Clue

Ferretluver, July 24, 2008
By
Jill Vanderwood "throughtherug.com" (Utah) - See all my reviews
Amazon.com
Young Adult Fiction
Minerva Clark Gets a Clue
By Karen Karbo

Minerva Clark is an awkward teenage girl with fizzy 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 takes her to the Under the Covers book store, where Jordan needs to talk with the store clerk, Dwight. Minerva likes Dwight right away, when he tells her that he also owns a ferret.

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, and 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.

While stuck in traffic, on the way home from the hospital, Minerva jumps from the car to investigate the crime tape and police activity at the Under the Covers book store. She sees the body of Dwight, the store clerk who loved ferrets.

Minerva finds herself asking questions and taking risks she never would imagined, before she was electrocuted. Is there a connection between Jordan's arrest and Dwight's murder? Will Minerva get caught sneaking out of the house? Could a homeless man with a lame hand really kill the store clerk? Is her cousin Jordan really as innocent as she seems?

Minerva Clark Gets A Clue is a modern day teen mystery.
Jill Ammon Vanderwood
Through the Rug
Through the Rug 2: Follow That Dog
Look for my video trailer for Through the Rug 2: Follow that Dog
On YouTube.com

Your Tags: mystery, murder, identity theft, computer age, ferret, science, karen karbo, thirteen, young adult fiction