Bad Kitty

January 30, 2006
Quirky characters breathe energy into Jaffe's (Bad Girl
, for adults) silly, if sometimes confusing, mystery novel. Wannabe detective Jasmine, who narrates, is on a family vacation at Las Vegas's Venetian Hotel. When a runaway cat attacks her, she finds herself in the middle of a real-life mystery involving a famous model/actress, her fugitive husband and a very handsome young man with a British accent. Jas seems to attract catastrophe (after the cat attack, she runs into a wedding, causing the cake—and the bride—to wind up in the pool). Other characters, including her fashion-savvy best friend, who drives a van called the Pink Pearl, and an unlikable cousin, who considers flavored lip gloss dessert, come along for the ride, offering assistance and often also ending up in trouble (Jasmine and her best friends also all offer a funny running banter in tinted sections at the bottom of many of the pages). As readers race along with Jas to unravel the mystery, following its many twists, they may find some plotting hard to follow. Also, the inevitable final confrontation seems more cinematic than authentic. Even so, it's hard not to like a book with a bow-wearing bodyguard nicknamed the Fabinator and a main character who grew up playing Barbie Crime Scene. Readers will likely find themselves quickly clawing their way through this fun novel. Ages 12-up.

February 1, 2006
Gr 9 Up -Jasmine Callihan, her father, and stepmother are vacationing in Las Vegas at the posh Venetian Hotel. All the 17-year-old really wants to do is sunbathe by the pool, write in her journal, and attempt to be a -Model Hallmark Card - daughter, all the while avoiding her -perfect - cousin Alyson and her -Evil Hench Twin, - Veronique. Her plans go awry, however, when a small boy and his cat make Jas a central character in a murder investigation. Soon Jas -s best friends come from LA to join her adventure and all attempt to solve the murder of Len Phillips, business manager of world-famous photographer Red Early. Teens will enjoy Jas and her friends - hilarious dialogue and will be entertained by Jaffe -s inclusion of footnotes to the plot twists on each page. While the story is somewhat convoluted and often defies credulity, the book does offer some fascinating characters and plenty of amusement for fans of this genre." -Kathryn Childs, Morris Mid/High School, OK"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2006
Gr. 9-12. Seventeen-year-old Jasmine (Jas) has wanted to be a detective since first grade, but her nose for trouble, as well as her penchant for dusting for fingerprints with eye shadow, drives her father crazy. He forces her to leave a plum police internship behind to go to Las Vegas for the family's summer vacation, but the city turns out to be "an EXCELLENT place to engage in amateur crime fighting." It isn't long before Jas and her three vacation-crashing friends are embroiled in a mystery involving a famous model, her family, and a three-legged cat. Jas, who narrates in breezy first person, is likable, quick-witted, and extremely funny. Her friends are dazzling, quirky quipsters; though they occasionally blend together, as their dialogue is limited to flippant comments, they provide amusing, if sometimes distracting, running commentary. Don't look for plausibility here--everything is irrepressibly larger than life--but readers able to check their disbelief at the door will have a great time.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2006
In this madcap murder mystery, aspiring detective Jasmine finds herself embroiled in a celebrity scandal while vacationing with her family in Las Vegas. The preposterous plot glitters with pop-culture panache as Jas and her friends face villains, heartthrobs, and fashion dilemmas. Despite distracting, though witty, footnoted dialogue scattered throughout the text, this juicy novel is full of frivolous fun.

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)