Millie of the Manor

Gr 3-6–Amy loves all things mysterious and can rarely be found without a Sherlock Holmes book to keep her company. After all, books are just easier than people, especially with Amy’s social anxiety. Amy wants to avoid social interaction as much as possible, but that becomes hard when classmate Reagan invites Amy to her murder mystery-themed birthday party. Amy works up the courage to attend, determined to just blend into the background. However, Amy only invited a few kids, and everyone needs to participate for the group to solve the crime. Over the course of the story, Amy steps into her role as Millie, a scientist with a secret that might just lead to the murderer of the dead mansion owner. The murder mystery plot follows typical twists and turns, with settings and tropes familiar to readers even vaguely familiar with the genre. Each time the kids enter the story, the background of the panels changes to the mansion setting of the murder. The opposite is true when the game is interrupted—if Mom halts the investigation with pizza bites, the setting switches back to Reagan’s house. Visual clues aid the emotional storytelling; for example, the panel backgrounds turn gray whenever Amy’s anxiety pulls her away from what is happening around her. Fun artwork and character development will ­remind readers of Kayla Miller’s “Click” series and Raina Telgemeier’s Smile and Sisters. Amy and Reagan are white, the other party goers are depicted with a variety of skin tones and hair textures.