Review by Booklist Review
Growing up living and working at an insectarium in Philadelphia means everything to Liberty James. She particularly loves the pipevine swallowtail butterfly and proposes a summer program about the species, with any funds raised going towards visiting her best friend, Emmy, who recently moved to Texas. Liberty is forced to widen her friendship circle when a boy from school, Cam, is hired to touch up the paint on the museum's murals. The plot heats up when the kids overhear strangers talking about robbing the insectarium while Liberty's dad is away at a business meeting. They inform the police, who take the threat seriously, but it is ultimately up to the kids to hatch a plan to thwart the thieves. Clearly fans of Home Alone, Cam, Liberty, and Emmy (via FaceTime) create booby traps that mimic the protective instincts of insects (smoke bombs like bombardier beetles, deafening cicada chirps, etc.). Insect lovers will be drawn in from the beginning, but those searching for mystery will have to read longer to enjoy this creepy-crawly detective story.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Kids join forces to protect the denizens of Philadelphia's Walnut Street Insectarium from thieves and financial ruin. Liberty Jacobs loves insects, though her fascination with them has earned her the nickname "Bug Girl" at school. Libs knows her entomologist father is seeking investors to help sustain the museum, situated in a rambling mansion, with a gift shop, coffee bar, workshare stations, and Libs and Dad's apartment on the top floor. An odd overheard conversation between two men leaving the museum makes Libs believe they're after the insectarium's expensive specimens, including pink katydids and an endangered scorpion. But when police stakeouts fail to nab any criminals, Lib works with best friend Emmy Perez (who offers help via the phone from Florida) and popular, sporty, artistic (and surprisingly nice) classmate Cam Jones to foil the anticipated "buglary." The trio draws inspiration fromHome Alone, and the story offers plenty of suspects to consider. First-person narrator Libs, who's cued white, inserts interesting factoids about the museum's resident insects, tarantula, and even Kermit the iguana. She, Emmy, and Cam also navigate friendship and family expectations before the story wraps up with a neat conclusion. The cover art portrays Cam with dark skin; he's thinly characterized as "good at everything. Great, actually," and largely reads like a prop to support Libs' development. Stock images showing butterflies, bees, beetles, ants, and other creatures are scattered throughout. The young crime stoppers' escapades will hold readers' interest. (insectarium guide, author's note)(Adventure. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
