Witness to Murder (Hardy Boys CF#20) by Franklin W. Dixon

Title: Witness To Murder

Series: Hardy Boys Casefiles

Author: Franklin W. Dixon

Release Date: October 1, 1988

Publisher: Simon Pulse

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Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis:

Fatal charm

While trying to help Annie Shea, the pretty new girl in town, Joe accidentally runs down her old boyfriend, Phil. Joe's in a tight spot, but Annie seems afraid to help. Then the Hardys learn that Phil is the prime suspect in a million-dollar diamond robbery and Annie may be involved.

But when Annie is kidnapped the brother detectives swing into action. They follow her to the liar of America's most infamous gem thief, Cutter. Outnumbered, the Hardys take on the diamond man's gang in an all-out effort to save Annie -- and clear Joe of murder.

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My Review:

It's been a while since I've last picked up a Hardy Boys Casefile, and as someone who has a thing for Joe being girl-crazy, I was really looking forward to this. It held me right on the first page! But what I didn't like about it were the few references in the beginning to the first book in the series, Dead on Target. Not that I've read it (and I'm absolutely not planning to!), but I heard that Muslims are villains in that book, which really offends me as a Muslim, so I couldn't stand even the reminder of it. I couldn't stand the word "terrorist" being referred to Muslims, especially not in a HARDY BOYS book! Why did it also have to be in my favorite series?

In this installment of the Hardy Boys Casefiles, Joe gets accused of murder - vehicular homicide. I loved how Frank would go length to prove his brother's innocence.

The mystery in #20 Witness to Murder was fishy. Phil Sidler, Annie Shea's boyfriend, is involved in a robbery gang, and she might be involved too...

There were some intense scenes that kept me reading.

Since it's one of my favourite subjects, I loved how this particular Hardy Boys book emphasized how much love hurts. I loved the ending; the moment between Frank and Joe. Poor Joe.

Overall, I may have liked some things about this particular Hardy Boys book, but unfortunately, it wasn't one of the best ones I've read. There were a few times when I felt like Joe was being an idiot. The culprit has been kind of obvious since the beginning, but I guess Joe was too blinded by love to see it or something. ***Spoiler***I knew there was something off about Annie Shea!***Spoiler***

Sincerely, Diary by Maryna Doughty

Title: Sincerely, Diary

Author: Maryna Doughty

Release Date: November 4, 2023

Publisher: Pleated Press LLC

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Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis:

Where’s the safest place to keep your deepest secrets?

After a summer school teacher threatens to contact her parents over a concerning personal narrative assignment, sixth grader Annamarie Nilsson vows to only write her secrets in a diary. Secrets like wanting a best friend. And envying her dad’s favoritism of her younger sister. And the fact that she’s been spying on the neighbor girl who buries things in the creek.

What Annamarie doesn’t expect is that her diary can write back to her!

Diary encourages Annamarie to stay true to herself. However, she slowly makes changes to win her dad’s approval and the popular girls’ acceptance.

But will someone find out her secrets and put Annamarie’s reputation on the line? Unfortunately, Annamarie isn’t the only one hiding things. It’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out.

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My Review:

What a fun book!

A diary that writes back to you! Imagine!?

It's been a while since I've last picked up a magical realism, and I really enjoyed this imaginitive premise of a talking diary.

After a summer school teacher threatens to call her parents over a concerning personal narrative assignment, Annamarie vows to only keep her secrets in a diary. But little did she know that her diary could write back to her! How cool is that!?

There were some things I found myself relating to Annamarie about, such as, - as someone who has social anxiety - feeling alone, unloved, and longing for a best friend. Poor Annamarie, had to put an effort on to win her father's acceptance. I disliked Sofia, Annamarie's little sister. Seriously, what a brat!

I loved the beautiful illustrations.

Maryna Doughty's Sincerely, Diary also gave me some of the Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret vibes.

As someone whose cup of tea is teen and kid dramas, I loved the realisticness of what kids in this age go through, such as, putting in a lot of effort to fit in with the popular group and pretending to be someone they're not so people can like them. It was all very relatable.

I've sensed that there was something odd about Diary, but I didn't see that twist coming...

Read it to find out!

Out of My Mind (Out of My Mind #1) by Sharon M. Draper

Title: Out of My Mind

Series: Out of My Mind

Author: Sharon M. Draper

Release Date: March 9, 2010

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

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Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom - the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she's determined to let everyone know it - somehow.

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My Review:

How do I review this beautiful novel? Honestly, it was so beautiful, eye-opening, I don't know how to put it into words. 🥹

Melody can't talk. Melody can't walk. She has physical disabilities. But she's really smart; she has the strongest memory. Unfortunately though, despite that, she gets underestimated by the adults in her life, like her doctor (the bastard Dr. Hugely should not be allowed to practice!) and some of her teachers.

I'm not educated much about cerebral palsy, but Out of My Mind has the most perfect disability-rep I've ever seen! Usually, when we come across people with that condition in our lives, we generally automatically assume their brains are like a baby's and we don't know what to say to them. However, Sharon M. Draper's Out of My Mind shows us that just because someone is physically disabled, doesn't mean their mind is, too. I'm not gonna lie - I was a little ignorant about that fact. 🫢 I agree with a reviewer mentioning that you will never look at people with disabilities the same way after reading that book.

I loved Melody - she was a really smart, determined girl. I was rooting for her near the end of the book - I loved how she confronted her class after what happened (you'll have to read it to find out!).

Out of My Mind was a very beautiful, eye-opening novel about a girl with cerebral palsy. Would recommend to everyone.