I love it when I find another blogger who shares my same taste in books. Thus, when Catherine Gillespie wrote a raving review for The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, I knew I was in for a treat.
Eleven year old Flavia de Luce, lives on a quiet country estate near Bishop's Lacey, England. She is a feisty, curious girl in a passionate family. Her father is passionate about stamp collecting, her sisters are passionate about books and boys (hmmm, kind of like me??) and Flavia is consumed with a passion for chemistry. When a dead bird appears on their doorstep, with a rare stamp pinned to its beak and Flavia discovers a dead body in the garden, nothing can stop Flavia from getting to the bottom of things on her own, keeping one step ahead of the police.
This was such a delightful read. The protagonist literally jumps off the page and into your life. Actually, that is exactly what the author says happened. Alan Bradley took an early retirement in 1994 to write. As he was working on another book, Flavia appeared in the story seated on a camp chair and demanded a book of her own.
The really fabulous news is that Flavia has more adventures ahead. Bradley has already completed the second novel in the series and has committed to three more beyond that. Even though these would be wonderful books to recommend to young female readers, I would wager that my own boys will really enjoy these books once they reach the age of seven or eight. I may just plan now for a wonderful Flavia-fest during the summer of 2014!
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