Brick House Burglars, The - Hardcover

Grade 5-7-Four fiesty, preteen girls; an abandoned mansion; a sleazy landlord; and a gang of troubled youths should add up to a story full of excitement and adventure. However, this one misses a few beats. Mary Jane, the narrator, introduces her friends, the Brick House Burglars, in a succinct and fun way. Heather is cool, Rainbow is little, Donnavita is exotic, and, as for Mary Jane, "The right word for me is ordinary." Readers may expect to see some growth and action from these characters, but they remain flat throughout. The mystery revolves around an old, abandoned house that is next door to the apartment complex where the girls reside. They decide to make the place into their clubhouse and break in daily to care for a wild cat and her kittens. They soon discover that someone is trying to burn down the building, and they prevent two fires from breaking out before they trap the culprit, whose identity is obvious from the outset. The disjointed narrative jumps from episode to episode, making it hard to experience the fulfillment of a good mystery.
Suzanne Hawley, Laurel Oak Elementary School, Naples, FL
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An obvious villain and an archetypal misunderstood youth are on the scene for a mild-mannered mystery about four girls and the abandoned house that becomes their neighborhood hideout. Mary Jane, who believes herself to be an ordinary 12-year-old, tells how the girls gain entry and how, with nearby buildings going up in flames attributed to arson, she and friends Heather, Donnavita, and Rainbow begin sleuthing in order to protect their territory. They have foiled two arson attempts before Mary Jane encounters the insurance-hungry owner and prevents his third fire from spreading. Why the author trots out such a clich‚d plot remains a mystery, but Griffin--who has written such original tales as Hobkin and Otto From Otherwhere--does give the story a lift with some realities of urban living: dope-smoking teenagers, crowded housing projects, tenant/landlord issues, gang graffiti; and the girls' varied personalities are well drawn, their bickering comfortably familiar. But they react to the clues in dribs and drabs; most readers will outpace them on the guesswork. (Fiction. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.