Maisy and the Mystery Manor, from Elizabeth Woodrum (The Maisy Files #3)

Hello, lovelies! I’m back with another really late review from happier days, before my break down and all the emo music I’ve been listening to. One would think teenage angst couldn’t be a deal after our twenties, but oh well.

Despite the teen phase, I’m here today to talk about a middle grade book, which proves that I’m never going to truly grow up – middle grade books can be the sweetest thing ever ❤ I present you the third volume in The Maisy Files series, from Elizabeth Woodrum: Maisy and the Mystery Manor! I’ve won my copy from Lola’s Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review, so here we are! Thanks, guys ❤

As miracles do happen, we have reviews for all the books in the series so far! If you want to take a look at them before reading this one, please, be my guest!

Maisy and the Missing Mice (The Maisy Files #1)

Maisy and the Money Marauder (The Maisy Files #2)

Super sleuths will be thrilled to know that everyone’s favorite fourth-grade detective is back with a double dose of mystery adventure! As Maisy participates in a mystery weekend event for junior detectives, she uncovers a real case. Could a ghost be haunting Mystery Manor? Find out in the exciting third installment of The Maisy Files!

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

I was so sad to know this was the last book in the series and even sadder to not know if there will be more volumes to it! =( Especially given that Maisy and The Mystery Manor is the best volume – full standalone, so you don’t need to read books one and two to meet Maisy and understand why she is on the Mystery Manor – and also the cleverest of them all! ❤ I finished it with an I-want-more taste on my mouth and it was a five stars read from beginning to end!

The narrative follows the style from the previous books: third person from Maisy’s view. It’s amazing to see how skilled Maisy becomes through the books, using her logic better and better with each mystery solved. Woodrum also had the care of always making the next mystery slightly more challenging than the last, so that’s also amazing. I confess I got lost trying to solve the main mystery, so more points to the author! ❤ Annelise, dear, don’t talk like your mental age was above 12.

Mea culpa, as I have the sinking feeling that it’s not just my face that is stuck in time since I became a vampire, at the age of 14. Seriously, a high-schooler hit on me on the mall the other day and I not-so-kindly told him I had the age to be his mother, as I’m 22 and already finished college. Kids those days! Still, it’s amazing to see how Woodrum built a good mystery without resorting to anything too complicated. I can’t even tell you how refreshing this was!

…And I already talked about the plot, haha! I don’t want to say much more, because a good mystery doesn’t ask for spoilers 😉

The interesting thing to see about the characters is their evolution. Maisy may be the leading character, but her best friend Veronica also got much better at being a detective and both girls grow up a little, but never losing their childish shine ❤

I truly only have good things to say about this book and this series, so I’m afraid this review will be shorter than my usual ones.

Please, do try to disguise your relief a little bit, yes? Thank you! Hahahaha!

As I say my goodbyes for this delightful series (for now! I still have hopes for a new The Maisy Files book and re-reads are always a thing), I’d like to share the biggest lesson I took from Maisy:

“Never mess with a girl’s lollipops” – SAWYER, Maisy.

Thank you for reading yet another review and many thanks again to Lola’s Blog Tours for my review copy! =) See you around and love you, guys!

Maisy and the Missing Mice, from Elizabeth Woodrum (The Maisy Files #1)

Hello, again! So, I decided to try to review a book per day until I catch up with myself. Of course I can’t promise anything, but trying is important, right? 🙂

I’d like to talk today about a lovely middle grade mystery that I received from Lola Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review: Maisy and the Missing Mice, the first one in The Maisy Files series, from Elizabeth Woodrum 😀 Thanks so much for my review copy! Let’s do this 🙂

*Oh, I’d like to take a moment to explain why I have a lack of bookish pictures on my reviews lately: I haven’t got a second alone with my iPad to take nice pictures. My parents are always using it, 24/7, and now that I’m back to work I don’t have a single moment of the day in which I have the damn tablet all for myself, haha! I’ll try to take some decent and pretty pictures this week before they get home 🙂

Maisy Sawyer has two passions on her life: mysteries and cherry lollipops. Even being only a fourth grade student, she is considered her school’s professional detective and always helps people solving their mysteries… In exchange for cherry lollipops, of course!

At first, the robbery of the school’s mice seemed just another regular mystery on Maisy’s schedule. But it all became personal when the thief, The Black Boot, decided to also steal Maisy’s cherry lollipops collection. That just went too far.

Now it’s not only a matter of helping the school getting their mascots back. The Black Boot went too far and made it personal. And Maisy Sawyer never left a mystery unsolved.

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

This book was insanely cute. It was so refreshing to read a so well-written children’s book! ❤ I won’t lie, the mystery is really obvious, but I can really see middle grade students grabbing this book and reading it in one sitting (like I did) to find out who stole the mice and Maisy’s lollipops, haha! (like I did, because I needed to know if I was right, haha!) I had some small problems with Maisy’s behavior – she did things too right sometimes, to the point that it became unnatural for a kid on her age to have that level of awareness of her surroundings – but overall, it was a delightful read. Four stars ❤

The narrative is third person from Maisy’s point of view, which really works for the suspense of the mystery. I liked Maisy, she was a very cute kid and has a great future as a detective 🙂 Woodrum’s writing style was fluid and simple, but sometimes it felt too simple. For example, she would always use “but” instead of mixing it with “however” or any other synonyms and while I understand this is a middle grade book, a child can feel how repetitive it gets. I talk from experience, as I’ve been an assiduous reader since I learned how to do it, with the age of seven – ironically, I was the last child on my classroom to learn how to read, haha! But after I got the hang of it, I never stopped, oops!

The plot was good and well executed. The mystery wasn’t that complex – it is a middle grade book, after all – but I liked that the author didn’t make it too easy too. I think a child can solve it too, but nothing is outrageously obvious 🙂 I was highly satisfied with all the technical aspects of Maisy and the Missing Mice!

Now, let’s talk about characters. While I really appreciate that Woodrum didn’t treat Maisy as a naïve and vulnerable child just because she is young, there were times in which Maisy’s maturity was beyond forced. I get that she tried to “teach” children what they should do, but it’s from the young nature to be impulsive and reckless. I was a mature child myself and even so, I did impulsive and reckless things all the time and my mom would end up fighting with me. My point is, I missed a little this natural aspect of a child in Maisy.

On the other hand, there is this scene in which Maisy’s classroom is leaving for their break and Maisy sees some children with their coats on and suddenly decides she wants her coat too. While I think this is perfectly normal behavior among children, it felt forced on Maisy, because she was so decided and couldn’t care less for what her colleagues and friends thought. Contradictory much?

Anyway, even with those small problems, I still loved Maisy and the other characters. They were overall very real and relatable, as we saw little habits that make people who they are 🙂 Veronica, her best friend, was lovely ❤

Overall, if you like a good mystery for children or is looking for a good middle grade book – who knows? – you totally should give Maisy and the Missing Mice a try 😀

Thanks so much for reading my review ❤ Also, thanks again to Lola’s Blog Tours for sending me my review copy!