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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Not Blazing But Still a Great Read

The Ring of Rocamadour (The Red Blazer Girls Series #1) by Michael D. Beil

Again, as I was shelving books at work, I found the second book of the Red Blazer Girls series.  I was very intrigued because it was girls in a Catholic School who were working with a priest to solve a mystery.  Could this be a secular Catholic book, I wondered. 

I read the first book and I really liked it.  The girls in the book do refer to Cosmo and Vogue, which I don't think most of the Catholic homeschool girls I know would relate to, but I don't have girls so maybe they would and probably most girls regardless of religion would know about those magazines.  I did not like that the girls said hell.

But, there were many things I did like.  I liked that the girls were good kids who came from a variety of backgrounds.  School was important to them and one of their teachers is a good mentor for them.  The girls are also respectful to adults.  In the end, they help bring members of family who were estranged from each other back together again.  The priests in the book are portrayed as good people, not sticks-in-the-mud or hypocrites.

The girls must use knowledge about literature, social studies, math, and more to solve the many clues in the mystery.  I thought that was really cool.  Along with the mystery, there's also a crush to deal with.  In the end there is a kiss in public with their families there.  A good compromise?  There's the kiss for the audience, but with a purer environment for selective parents' of the reader. 

I think this is a great read for young girls with a bit of boy and Glamour and an emphasis on what we should really treasure-friends and family.

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