The Ring of Rocamadour

Cute middle grade mystery. I like that they let you work with them to solve the mysteries although I did glaze over the math parts. ( )

Book talk: The mystery really starts with Sophie screaming in her seventh grade English class, and that was page one. Yes, the mystery really does get off to a great start that quickly. Sophie and her friends are not your ordinary seventh grade girls. They go to a private Catholic girls' school in New York City on the upper east side of Manhattan. These girls may all dress alike in their uniforms with the red blazers, but each brings something unique to the story. Margaret is über-brainy, and Rebecca is pretty quick with the wisecracks. Then there is the new girl, Leigh Ann. She's perfect, in every way, and she's probably after Raf, the guy that Sophie has known, like, forever, but whom she now seems to like in a different way . . . though she won't admit it. Then there is the mystery to solve, complete with a scavenger hunt that takes them all around the church in places they aren't supposed to be. You see, that scream led to Sophie meeting a wealthy, elderly lady trying to solve a 20-year-old puzzle. But there are other not-so-trustworthy people also trying to solve the puzzle. The Ring of Rocamadour is priceless; it's part of a pair of rings said to be a gift to a young couple centuries ago. In fact, the young couple's rings touched the famous veil used to wipe the face of Christ. the rings were passed down through the centuries, and those who wear the rings, it is said, are visited in their dreams by St. Veronica, who answers their prayers. The groom's ring was found in the ruins of a twelfth-century chapel near Rocamadour, France, and was donated to a museum. Sophie and her pals are looking for the missing Bride's ring. Could it be buried in the church? Could the clues really be from a long-lost birthday card? Read The Red Blazer Girls book one, and whatever you do, don't miss the catchy chapter titles. (They were some of my favorite parts of the book!) ( )

This is the first book in the RBG series. Here the Red Blazer Girls (Sophie, Margaret, Rebecca, Leigh Ann) try to find the priceless Ring of Rocamadour by solving academic puzzles and with the help of a few friends. The narrator is Sophie, who was pretty realistic but a little too smug and cutesy for me. However she no longer annoys me as much by the end of the book. The math/puzzle explanations were lecture-like so I just skimmed through those parts. I loved that the characters were well-rounded smart girls who lead interesting but balanced lives. I probably would have adored this book if I had read it when I was in the characters' age group (7th grade). As an adult I found it enjoyable despite a couple of boring math paragraphs. Near the end there is a scene about Margaret which was particularly touching. I am looking forward to reading the 2nd book in this series. ( )

This is a DaVinci Code wannabe for tweens. As a mystery it is boring, as a lesson plan it is rather interesting. It is clearly designed to prove to tweens, particularly girls, that math, history, and literature are fun. As a lesson plan for use in the classroom it is structured much the same as the Blue Balliet books, however, where those succeed this one doesn't. This will be a series and I hope it improves as the series moves along. I would recommend this to teachers who want to use it in math classes to illustrate points or generate interest in geometry, but as a mystery it falls flat. I listened to the recorded version of this book and had problems with the narrator. It is clear that she is an older woman trying to speak like a tween and it doesn't work. She comes off sounding snobby. ( )

In this book Sophie,Rebecca and Margaret meet Ms. Harriman who has a puzzle she can't solve. But not a jigsaw puzzle a word and adventure mystery puzzle. They have to find many clues and then Ms. Harriman can find her daughter who is now an adult. ( )