Stephanie S. (skywriter319) -
Helpful Score: 1
Jaclyn Moriarty is back with another story about her Australian Ashbury high-schoolers! Bindy Mackenzie is and has been the smartest, most talented girl in school. Year 11, however, starts with a bad start as she is forced to take a Friendship and Development class with classmates she deems venomous and stupid. What Bindy doesn't realize is that her superior attitude is not earning her any new friends, and pretty soon nearly all of her FAD group has turned against her.
It is only when Bindy reexamines her life that she begins to change. She is determined to look for the positive qualities of the people in her FAD group, no matter how hard it is or how much history they might have with one another. Meanwhile, Bindy's having family problems. She's living with her aunt and uncle, and her father, a single-minded successful property developer, doesn't know that her younger brother Anthony is attending a drama school, paid for by their mother. Bindy's also been feeling weak and apathetic lately, but refuses to go see a doctor about her symptoms. Nevertheless... could it be that someone is trying to murder her? How else can one explain her sudden bad grades and tiredness?
THE MURDER OF BINDY MACKENZIE is laden with Jaclyn Moriarty's usual bunch of wacky incidents and outrageous premises. However, it works for the fun book. All of the characters are excellently developed. Through notes, diary entries, and Bindy's extremely accurate transcripts, readers will grow to embrace Bindy and her FAD group as good friends. As with all of her previous books, Jaclyn Moriarty's THE MURDER OF BINDY MACKENZIE is a real treat.
It is only when Bindy reexamines her life that she begins to change. She is determined to look for the positive qualities of the people in her FAD group, no matter how hard it is or how much history they might have with one another. Meanwhile, Bindy's having family problems. She's living with her aunt and uncle, and her father, a single-minded successful property developer, doesn't know that her younger brother Anthony is attending a drama school, paid for by their mother. Bindy's also been feeling weak and apathetic lately, but refuses to go see a doctor about her symptoms. Nevertheless... could it be that someone is trying to murder her? How else can one explain her sudden bad grades and tiredness?
THE MURDER OF BINDY MACKENZIE is laden with Jaclyn Moriarty's usual bunch of wacky incidents and outrageous premises. However, it works for the fun book. All of the characters are excellently developed. Through notes, diary entries, and Bindy's extremely accurate transcripts, readers will grow to embrace Bindy and her FAD group as good friends. As with all of her previous books, Jaclyn Moriarty's THE MURDER OF BINDY MACKENZIE is a real treat.
Jennifer W. (GeniusJen) reviewed The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie (aka Becoming Bindy Mackenzie) (Ashbury/Brookfield, Bk 3) on + 5322 more book reviews
Reviewed by The Compulsive Reader for TeensReadToo.com
Bindy Mackenzie--student extraordinaire and perfectionist--is the heroine in this follow-up novel to Moriarty's FEELING SORRY FOR CELIA and THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS.
Bindy is thrown when she is placed in FAD--Friendship and Development class. It doesn't make any sense! Who would rip away her study period so thoughtlessly? And what could she possibly learn from the other students in her class?
But could Bindy actually be so perfect that someone wants to kill her? And if so, the only people who can figure out who the perp is in time are the classmates that Bindy underestimated and alienated.
Laugh-out-loud funny, Moriarty doesn't disappoint. Full of her trademark intricate plot twists, quick wit, and told entirely in transcripts, journal entries, and letters, this novel gives a perfectly honest portrayal of teen life that is appropriate for even younger readers. Bindy Mackenzie will keep you guessing.
Bindy Mackenzie--student extraordinaire and perfectionist--is the heroine in this follow-up novel to Moriarty's FEELING SORRY FOR CELIA and THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS.
Bindy is thrown when she is placed in FAD--Friendship and Development class. It doesn't make any sense! Who would rip away her study period so thoughtlessly? And what could she possibly learn from the other students in her class?
But could Bindy actually be so perfect that someone wants to kill her? And if so, the only people who can figure out who the perp is in time are the classmates that Bindy underestimated and alienated.
Laugh-out-loud funny, Moriarty doesn't disappoint. Full of her trademark intricate plot twists, quick wit, and told entirely in transcripts, journal entries, and letters, this novel gives a perfectly honest portrayal of teen life that is appropriate for even younger readers. Bindy Mackenzie will keep you guessing.
