Book Review: Gilda Joyce Psychic Investigator

Title:  Gilda Joyce Psychic Investigator
Author:  Jennifer Allison
Pages:  321
Publication Date:  2005
Version:  Paperback
Genre:  Young Adult Fiction/Mystery/Paranormal

Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"Ever since her father died, quirky Gilda Joyce has been working hard to sharpen her psychic skills. She's determined to communicate with spirits from the Other Side and become a crack investigator of spooky, twisted mysteries. After wrangling an invitation to visit relatives in San Francisco, Gilda discovers that her dreary, tight-lipped uncle and his strange, delicate daughter need her help to uncover the terrible family secret that has a tortured ghost stalking their home. From poignant to hair-raising and hilarious, this is a behind-the-scenes, tell-all account of the very first case in the illustrious career of Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator."

My Review:
This is the story of a unique young girl named Gilda.  She has lost her Father to cancer and her Mother is hardly ever around because of working so much to make ends meet.  Her brother Stephen is pretty much useless to her now, even though they used to be great friends.  Gilda has taken up some odd hobbies....aka professions in her mind.  She is a spy, mostly on Mr. Plaid Pants at the gas station; she just knows he is up to something, always wearing the same clothes and all.  She also fancies herself a psychic investigator.  She believe she can communicate with the dead...you know; ghosts.  It's summer break and her best friend is headed away to Band Camp and she has no other true friends.  Hearing about other classmates summer adventures, and not wanting to be left out, Gilda soon comes up with a story about going to visit a long lost Uncle in San Francisco at his mansion.  This starts out as a concocted story of hers, but soon she really is on her way there.  She is amused to find out that he also has a teen daughter and hopes to make a new friend.  Once there she learns that the mansion is haunted and the tower connected to the house is also haunted, by her Uncle's sister who committed suicide by jumping from the towers top window.  Soon Juliet, her Uncle's daughter, and Gilda do become friends and decide to investigate what really happened to Aunt Melanie.  Was it really a suicide?  What is Gilda's Uncle really hiding in that tower, now that it is locked and boarded up?  Why will no one ever speak of Aunt Melanie?  Can Gilda really talk to ghosts and be able to talk to Melanie too?  Some secrets are said to be secrets for a reason, is this one secret that should be left alone?

I must say I did enjoy this read.  It was a bit different than I expected, but in a good way.  It was a mystery book that was "light" to read.  What I mean is, there was not a lot of hard drama the was mysteries can be in adult fiction form.  It was a mystery; one that I very much enjoyed and couldn't put down, but without all the murder, blood, gore, and huge drama with the characters.  I just loved the character of Gilda Joyce!  She is just this quirky young lady who doesn't care what anyone thinks of her or of her psychic investigator hobby.  She is who she is and if someone doesn't like it, well, that's just too bad for them.  She is a strong character for being a young teen girl.  She is a, "take life by the horns" type of girl and I just loved that about her.  She sees what she wants and makes it happen no matter what anyone tells her.  Juliet was a great counter character to Gilda.  Juliet is the shy, quiet, keeps to herself kind of teen girl.  She too has few, if any, friends and is who she is.  She is a lost soul in a way because of how her family is.  Her parents are divorced and she wants nothing more than to get answers to what her Aunt Melanie was like, apart from her memories she does have of her, but no one will talk about her and only gets mad if she tries to bring her name up.  I loved all the characters, but these two were my favorite ones.  I loved the friendship they eventually learned to have too.

The plot was very well written.  These two teen girls band together to figure out deep dark family secrets, even if it means they get into huge trouble.  The book flows very well from the start of the book right up to the end of the book.  I had many laugh out loud moments too as I was reading.  I could just see Gilda in her "psychic seance" costume and it just cracked me up!  I loved how vivid the descriptions were in this book.  I could picture each and every event, costume, setting, and character with great detail from the descriptions given.  If you are looking for a great mystery read without all the blood and gore details this is the book for you!  An easy and very fun read for me that's for sure!

5/5 Stars!!