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Book Review

Publisher's Note:

It’s a murder mystery on the moon in this humorous and suspenseful space adventure from the author of Belly Up and Spy School. Like his fellow lunarnauts—otherwise known as Moonies—living on Moon Base Alpha, twelve-year-old Dashiell Gibson is famous the world over for being one of the first humans to live on the moon. And he’s bored out of his mind. Kids aren’t allowed on the lunar surface, meaning they’re trapped inside the tiny moon base with next to nothing to occupy their time—and the only other kid Dash’s age spends all his time hooked into virtual reality games. Then Moon Base Alpha’s top scientist turns up dead. Dash senses there’s foul play afoot, but no one believes him. Everyone agrees Dr. Holtz went onto the lunar surface without his helmet properly affixed, simple as that. But Dr. Holtz was on the verge of an important new discovery, Dash finds out, and it’s a secret that could change everything for the Moonies—a secret someone just might kill to keep...…

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Space Case

by Stuart Gibbs

Overall Book Review:

Space Case was an enjoyable read. The author had clearly done a lot of research to write the book, and that the scientific descriptions seemed to be very thorough.  For readers who like science or space ships, the book will be particularly interesting.  As a bonus, the book was also a well-written mystery novel.  The author did an excellent job of leading the reader on and giving the reader clues to solve the mystery.  It is not Agatha Christie, but the version of Agatha Christie for twelve year olds (or younger readers–if they can navigate the scientific descriptions). All of the characters are well-formed and diverse, which is especially important since the novel takes place in a moon base, which means the author can’t easily introduce new characters.  Overall, Space Case is a fun adventure for middle school readers who love mystery and science.


Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  Several characters threaten each other; one characters turns up dead but with no details; there is a fight in a gym where some characters are injured with bloody noses, etc.; some characters are almost killed by a robotic arm.

Sex/Nudity:  A male character suggests to another male character that they watch a female character undress via security camera (Suggestion not followed).

Mature Subject Matter:

None

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None

Overall Book Rating
Profanity/Language
Rating:
0
10
Violence/Gore
Rating:
3
10
Sex/Nudity
Rating:
2
10

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About the Reviewer

An accountant and CPA by profession, I found myself a book reviewer for Squeaky Clean Reads by happenstance. When the opportunity came to transform that website into Compass Book Ratings, I was excited to seize it and meld my business background with my love of books. As the mother of three teenage sons, I have read a large number of children and young adult books and I believe that there is great value in a content review service. As much as we would love to read everything our children read, there just isn’t enough time. I also appreciate being able to select books for myself that are really worth my precious and limited reading time. I believe there is a book out there for everyone–they just have to find it!