2014
WISE Score
Amazon
Harriet the Spy meets Sherlock Holmes, but with more boarding school snobbery and a much better vocabulary.
4.7
4.7View →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 typical 'brain rot' mystery series. Friday Barnes is genuinely clever and doesn't pander to its audience.
It’s a great pick for the kid who thinks they're too smart for 'baby books' but isn't ready for the heavy themes of YA. The humor is sharp, the mysteries are satisfying, and it actually encourages kids to pay attention to details. It's modern, it's funny, and it’s a solid win for a middle-grade library.
Perfect for the 9-12 crowd. 8-year-olds can handle the content, but the 'existential' wit might fly over their heads. By 13, the school-yard drama might feel a bit young.
Friday is a self-reliant, hyper-intelligent girl who values logic over popularity. While she's a bit of a social misfit, the book avoids mean-spirited tropes and focuses on curiosity and solving problems rather than teenage angst.
It breathes new life into the 'boarding school mystery' genre with eccentric characters and quirky, low-stakes crimes like missing homework and fake swamp monsters. It encourages kids to look at the world like a puzzle.
Extremely safe. There's no graphic violence, sexual content, or heavy trauma. The 'crimes' are mostly school-based or light-hearted thefts. It's a clean read that won't give a 9-year-old nightmares.
The vocabulary is surprisingly sophisticated for a middle-grade book. Words like 'existential' and 'illicit' are dropped casually, challenging readers without being pretentious. It also models critical thinking and deductive reasoning.
Get a personalized guide on any topic
