2011
WISE Score
Amazon
Forget the deerstalker and the pipe; this is Sherlock as a scrappy 14-year-old dealing with actual gore and a very creepy Victorian conspiracy.
4.4
4.4View →Our reviews and ratings are 100% unbiased, but as an Amazon Associate, Screenwise earns an affiliate fee if you buy a book or game by clicking one of our links. We don't get any credit if you just Google it instead :)
This isn't your grandma's Sherlock. Andrew Lane does a great job of stripping away the stuffy icon and giving us a teenager who is brilliant but still very much out of his depth.
It’s gritty for a middle-grade book—expect some blood and genuine Victorian filth—but for a kid who finds most assigned school reading boring, this is a total win. It’s an origin story for the world’s most famous brain that actually treats the reader like they’re smart enough to keep up.
Best for the 11-15 crowd. It’s perfect for kids who have outgrown 'Encyclopedia Brown' but aren't quite ready for the full, unfiltered grit of adult true crime or thrillers.
The book features a strong, unconventional mentor-student relationship and a focus on justice, though the tone is more gritty than 'sweet.'
A clever 'origin story' that reconstructs a legendary character's psyche, encouraging readers to use their own powers of observation.
Generally safe for the target age, but it doesn't shy away from Victorian-era grime, physical violence, and some fairly graphic descriptions of death.
High-level vocabulary, solid historical context of 1860s England, and a masterclass in introducing deductive logic to younger readers.
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