Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy (Amanda Lester, Detective, #1) by Paula Berinstein Series: Amanda Lester, Detective #1
Published by The Writing Show on May 22nd 2015
Pages: 386
Format: Paperback
Source: Author, Blog Tour
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I received this book for free from Author, Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Twelve-year-old Amanda Lester wouldn't be caught dead going into the family business. Just because she's related to Inspector G. Lestrade, that bumbler who sometimes worked with master sleuth Sherlock Holmes, doesn't mean she should become a detective and give up her dream of becoming a filmmaker. Unfortunately, her plans are in jeopardy. Her latest project with the Stick Dog Filmmakers Club and Production Company isn't coming together, and her control freak tendencies have driven away all her actors. If she doesn't make a winning film soon, her parents will insist that she go into the L.A.P.D. young cadets training program, and her budding career will be over. So when Herb and Lila Lester suddenly send her to a secret English school for the descendants of famous detectives, Amanda resists-until she and her new friends notice drops of blood and weird pink substances in odd places. Are these strange happenings clues to a real mystery or simply part of the elaborate class project the teachers assign every year? The answer comes all too soon. When Amanda's father disappears and the school's cook is found dead with her head in a bag of sugar, the kids are certain that crimes are taking place. Now Amanda must embrace her destiny and uncover the truth. The only snag is that arch-villain Blixus Moriarty, a descendant of Holmes's nemesis Professor James Moriarty, might be involved, and he doesn't like nosy little girls interfering in his business.
This is my stop during the blog tour for Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy by Paula Berinstein. This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 30 November till 13 December, you can view the complete tour schedule on the website of Lola’s Blog Tours.
So far this series contains 3 books: Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy (Amanda Lester, Detective #1), Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis (Amanda Lester, Detective #2) and Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle (Amanda Lester, Detective #3).
Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy, was a cute story. It had an interesting concept and room for development and growth of the characters. I do admit, while reading this my initial thought screamed, Harry Potter. A 12 year-old girl is forced away into a boarding school where she learns the skills she needs in order to become a detective. She gets sorted into one of the four houses, which ends up being a house she didn’t particularly want. Sounds fun right?
I enjoyed the story. It was a quick read. Amanda at first is very reluctant when it comes to going to the school. She does not want to be a detective, she wants to be a film maker. I have to admit, 12 years-old seems very young to be worrying about your career, and Amanda was very serious about growing her career. Once she gets to the school and meets a few friends, I think she slowly ends up warming up to the idea. Besides, the school offers her plenty of opportunities to help work on her film-making stuff, and when things start to go downhill in school, including a murder, Amanda and her friends find themselves in the thick of things.
As much as I enjoyed the story, there was a thing or two that did bother me.
As I pointed out before, I felt 12 years old Amanda was too focused on her career, and did not feel like a 12 year old. Maybe the book would have benefited if it was made for an older audience? The age and her ambitions sometimes did not match, but it was definitely written like a middle grade book, which clashed a bit for me. There was a scene about dead bodies, something I feel no 12 year old should witness. The character definitely should have been older. There had been instances that made her look older, and then there had been tantrum throwing that was age appropriate. There was also an attraction to a boy named Nick, once again the age kept swinging up and down for me.
There is a huge pet peeve in the book for me. The parent bashing as I like to call it. It suffers from the bad parent syndrome. The fact that this is a middle grade book made me frown a little. Amanda calls her mother stupid, there is a disconnect, and she hates the fact that her mother does not support her film-making career and is trying to send her away. The parents are portrayed badly in this too. Her mother says that film-making is dangerous, but she sends her off on a career path that can get her daughter killed.
Nonetheless, it has a lot of potential as Amanda carries on at the academy and grows as a character. Plus the artwork for the covers are stunning, absolutely adore them. As a middle grade book, it was also fast and easy to get through, but a few concepts felt a little heavy and confusing for the targeted audience.
Later books in the series:
Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis (Amanda Lester, Detective #2)
By Paula Berinstein
Genre: Mystery/ detective
Age category: Middle Grade
Release Date: September 15, 2015
Blurb:
If only Sherlock Holmes’s great-great-grandson weren’t such a dork . . .There’s a new student at the Legatum Continuatum School for the Descendants of Famous Detectives and Amanda is supposed to work with him. Scapulus Holmes is a descendant of the great Sherlock and he’s crazy about her. Unfortunately she thinks he’s a dork and would rather die than have anything to do with him.
But when the kids discover a dead body encrusted with strange living crystals, Amanda realizes she needs Holmes’s help. If the crystals fall into the wrong hands they could be used for nefarious purposes, and only he knows how to protect them.
Can the detectives keep the bad guys from learning the crystals’ secrets? It would help if they could figure out who the dead body is too. Only if Amanda and Holmes can find a way to work together can they prevent a disaster, and it isn’t looking good
You can find Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis on Goodreads
You can buy Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis here:
- Amazon
- Amazon Paperback
- Barnes & Noble
Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle (Amanda Lester, Detective #3)
By Paula Berinstein
Genre: Mystery/detective
Age category: Middle Grade
Release Date: November 15, 2015
Blurb:
Purple rainbows, a mysterious crypt, and pots of gold . . .Things are not going well for Amanda and the secret detective school. A priceless artifact has disappeared, a dangerous hacker is manipulating matter, and zombies are being seen all over the Lake District.
Then the real trouble starts. When her cousins go missing and her friend Clive is kidnapped, Amanda is forced to turn to someone she’d rather not deal with: her old boyfriend Scapulus Holmes. But then he vanishes too. Now’s she’s sure that arch-villain Blixus Moriarty is involved . . . or is he?
You can find Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle on Goodreads
You can buy Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle here:
- Amazon
- Amazon Paperback
About the Author:
Paula Berinstein is nothing like Amanda. For one thing, she’s crazy about Sherlock Holmes. For another, she’s never wanted to be a filmmaker. In addition, compared to Amanda she’s a big chicken! And she wouldn’t mind going to a secret school at all. In fact, she’s hoping that some day she’ll get to build one.
You can find and contact Paula here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Paula’s blog on Goodreads
- The Writing Show podcasts
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy. These are the prizes you can win:
- paperback copies of Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy (Amanda Lester, Detective #1), Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis (Amanda Lester, Detective #2) and Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle (Amanda Lester, Detective #3) by Paula Berinstein (INT)
- 2 winners will each win a paperback copy of Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy (Amanda Lester, Detective #1) Paula Berinstein (INT)
For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
kindlemom1
Glad you were still able to enjoy this despite the things that bothered you!
Lola
I am glad to hear you enjoyed this book :). I recently read this book as well and really enjoyed it. It also reminder me a bit of Harry Potter, in a good way, mostly the feel of the story and the boarding school elements.
I do think that with the heavy topics, it’s a bit more aimed at the older audiences as well, just like with HP which is MG, but also deals with more difficult and darker topics. I guess that’s also what made it fun to read, I never felt like Amanda was too young for me to relate to her. Some MG books have a too young feel for me, which wasn’t the case with this book.
The parent bashing didn’t bother me as much, I thought it came across as pretty realistic and I do think that starting there makes room for Amanda to grow and like her parents more. I am thinking her opinion of her parents will also change when she becomes more a detective, there’s even a hint of that in this book already.
I also love the artwork and the covers, it’s fun to be able to imagine clearly how everything looks like. This was such a fun read! Great review and thanks for being part of the tour!
Lola recently posted…Lola’s Ramblings: Reading Books in a New to Me Genre - Historical Romance
blodeuedd
And here I am, old and still unsure about my career
blodeuedd recently posted…Lost dogs and lonely hearts - Lucy Dillon
Paula B.
Thank you so much for being a host on my blog tour, Lily! I’m so glad you liked the book. Everyone is different, and everyone will view the way I presented the characters and the story in a different way. That’s absolutely fine with me.
If we were all alike the world would be boring.
melliane
It sounds fun even if the characters doesn’t look like their age. Maybe one day.
Tracy Terry
Wow, that’s certainly some title, along with its cute cover, definitely one that would make me pick up this book.
Sounds like a fun read overall though I can understand your reservations and especially the one about Bad Parent Syndrome.
Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews
I hardly ever read MG, Lily, because I often end up feeling the story is too juvenile for my taste. Pink Sugar Conspiracy sounds really cute, though, and I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Heidi
I think this sounds like a nice read for a MG reader. I like that it has shades of HP. I will have to consider it for my daughter in a couple of years.
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Joy // Joyousreads
Gosh. I can’t remember the last time I’ve indulged in MG books. These look like fun!
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Wattle
Ah I just read another review for this, though you pointed out some different things about it. It’s always interesting reading different thoughts on the same book
This series looks like good fun (and the covers are gorgeous!) I think I’ll have to check it out!
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Lekeisha
Looks like a cool MG series to read. Thanks for sharing!
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