Forensics Squad Unleashed

by Monique Polak

Overview

Tabitha is thrilled to be attending a summer forensics camp, even if she has to go with her sort-of friend Mason. Soon she is learning to dust for fingerprints, photograph a crime scene and take footprint impressions. Even though the camp instructors have set up a “crime” for the kids to solve, Tabitha longs to use her newfound skills to solve a real-life mystery. She’s pretty sure a dognapping ring is active in her Montreal neighborhood, and when her beloved dog, Roxie, is stolen, she convinces her forensics “team” to help her find Roxie and nab the ’nappers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459809796
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	03/28/2016
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 4.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Monique Polak is the author of more than thirty books for young people. She is the three-time winner of the Quebec Writers' Federation Prize for Children's and YA Literature for her novels Hate Mail, What World is Left and Room for One More. In addition to teaching at Marianopolis College in Montreal, Monique is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in Maclean's Magazine, the Montreal Gazette and other Postmedia newspapers. She is also a columnist on ICI Radio-Canada's Plus on est de fous, plus on lit! In 2016, Monique was the CBC/Quebec Writers' Federation inaugural writer-in-residence. Monique lives in Montreal.

Editorial Reviews

"The action will keep readers interested."

Resource Links

"For the niche crew fascinated by the nitty-gritty of DNA evidence, handwriting analysis, footwear impressions, and crime scene investigation, put this one in their fingerprint-dusted hands."

Booklist

"Characters are well developed and the interaction realistic...recommended."

School Library Connection

"Tabitha narrates, and Polak keeps the focus on her excitement as she works her way through not only evidence, but some new life lessons...Science and courage make for an appealing mystery for dog lovers."

Kirkus Reviews

"For the niche crew fascinated by the nitty-gritty of DNA evidence, handwriting analysis, footwear impressions, and crime scene investigation, put this one in their fingerprint-dusted hands."

Booklist

2016-01-09
A 13-year-old budding criminal analyst gets to go to forensics day camp in the summer and also finds a real mystery to crack. Tabitha certainly knows what she wants to be when she grows up: a forensic scientist. She owns a copy of the Junior Encyclopedia of Forensic Science and knows the contents nearly by heart. At camp, it's clear that Tabitha knows more than anyone. They have a crime to solve, one that has been staged by the forensics camp: discover who vandalized the school cafeteria kitchen. They interview the suspects on the list and take photos, measurements, and fingerprints as they learn the craft. Meanwhile, however, purebred dogs have begun disappearing across town, and the police don't seem to be making those cases a priority. When the family dog of one of Tabitha's campmates goes missing, she and the other kids team up to try to catch the dognapper using their new forensic skills. However, Tabitha and her friends might be getting themselves in over their heads and even into danger. Tabitha narrates, and Polak keeps the focus on her excitement as she works her way through not only evidence, but some new life lessons. Despite the big-city setting—Montréal—the cast does not appear to be notably diverse (or French). Science and courage make for an appealing mystery for dog lovers. (Mystery. 8-11)

Kirkus Reviews