Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

Share your impressions of Three Times Lucky here!

I love this. I'm ready to read it again.

I was surprised that I actually downloaded this on my Kindle. Hopefully will start soon, but do have a whole bunch of really dense linguistics books on the go.

I started reading Three Times Lucky early this morning and ended up quitting in frustration after about the first chapter, as I simply cannot stand Sheila Turnage's writing style, since her first person narration has young Moses (Mo) sounding not like an eleven year old child but like a university educated adult (like the author artificially masquerading herself as a child). Not going to continue either as artificially adult first person narrations (by children) drive me bananas.

Manybooks wrote: "I started reading Three Times Lucky early this morning and ended up quitting in frustration after about the first chapter, as I simply cannot stand Sheila Turnage's writing style, s..."

I have the opposite thing with romance novels. If it sounds like a whiny child who complains about the love interest and everything else relating to life I drop it.

Ray wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "I started reading Three Times Lucky early this morning and ended up quitting in frustration after about the first chapter, as I simply cannot stand Sheila Turnage'..."

My main issue with Mo's voice was that she is supposed to be something like eleven years old but her narration sounds like she is thirty.

I read this many years ago, and I've just revisited it on my 'Read' list. I rated it a 2*, which, in Goodreads rating, meant it was ok. I don't remember much about it, but I did remember wondering what I had missed because it won an award but I didn't come out of it with that 'wow' feeling.

What I liked: lots of great characters. Because the story takes place in a small town, all the characters (except the recently arrived detective) all know each other very well (maybe too well) and their interactions are fun and perfect. The main character is a true spitfire and the kind of girl I’d want as a friend if I was 11. It’s a mystery, which I love, and gets even more exciting as you near the end.

What I didn’t like: It’s a slow beginning. Very slow. Even though there’s a murder pretty close to the beginning of the book, it takes a while for the action to pick up. I found myself dragging to read the first half of the book. But, once I hit the second half, I had a hard time putting it down.

Alba wrote: "What I liked: lots of great characters. Because the story takes place in a small town, all the characters (except the recently arrived detective) all know each other very well (maybe too well) and ..."

Good review. I did not mind the slow start because I enjoyed the character development of the first few chapters.
I am reading the second book in the series, The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing. It also has a slow start, but there are new characters being introduced and a new location, the "haunted" inn.

Harley wrote: "Alba wrote: "What I liked: lots of great characters. Because the story takes place in a small town, all the characters (except the recently arrived detective) all know each other very well (maybe t..."

Cool! The second book does sound interesting.

I enjoyed Three Times Lucky because I found it very humorous and intriguing, though I wish that the mystery would have been a bit more developed. The mystery was still nicely complicated as it was, though.

I'm only 3 weeks late on this one. :) I am in love with Mo. I love her direct manner and her utter belief that she can do anything she puts her mind to. She's a great role model as she is polite and (generally) follows rules. :) She's an orphan, but she has a wonderful, if strange, family and loyal friends. I think the author has such a fun way of phrasing things and I kept laughing at all the southernisms.

SaraKat wrote: "I'm only 3 weeks late on this one. :) I am in love with Mo. I love her direct manner and her utter belief that she can do anything she puts her mind to. She's a great role model as she is polite an..."

I felt like the characters were the best part of book, especially since they were all so eccentric and interesting like Mo or The Colonel. My favorite was Miss Lana, with her wigs and her love of classic movies actresses.

I have to confess that I love this series. I've read them all, and went back and repeated them earlier this year.

In response to the criticism that the narrator doesn't sound at all like 11, I'd have to take a closer look, because I don't remember noticing that when I read it. But I will admit that I have a soft spot (between the ears) for kids who sound like grown-ups (Anne Shirley, anyone?). And of course part of what's going on with Mo is her effort to be adult and independent, including trying really hard to sound like an adult.

I just have to add that the people, especially the kids, in Tupelo Landing seem a lot more interesting than most people!