I’ve
read some of author Nancy Beaule’s children’s picture books (click for my reviews of Chompy & the Munchy Bunch Volumes
1 & 2 and Volume
3) and enjoyed them. So when I saw Beaule had written The Joker’s
Revenge, a foray into the young adult zone, I was happy to check it out.
“its chipped and faded clapboards pleading for a coat of white paint.” --from the description of the little farmhouse
From the beginning, Beaule creates evocative scenes and uses some wonderful figurative language to bring the settings to life. Readers will enjoy feeling like they are viewing all the action firsthand, and the chills that run up the spines of the characters are palpable. Adding to the realism, Beaule puts readers inside the heads of many of the characters, giving us limited access to their thoughts and feelings. There's a big invention that’s the center of a sub-plot, and while improbable, it’s a fun one to imagine existing, so readers won't mind suspending their disbelief a bit.
For adults-of-a-certain-age, the ‘60s and ‘70s nostalgia dropped into The Joker's Revenge is fabulous. Flashing back to the days of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, pedal-pushers, dialing a telephone, and Cheryl Ladd being THE Hollywood natural beauty all brought a smile to my face. There are lots of pop culture references that mostly helped this reader get a sense of time, but I wonder how many references are lost on the teen readers, The Joker’s Revenge intended audience. The plus side is that most teens won’t catch the anachronisms, and it’s possible some of the retro mentions could pique their curiosity for further research into the pre-digital world.
Admittedly,
I’m struggling with the age range of the intended audience of The Joker’s Revenge
being thirteen and up. I’d recommend it more for high schoolers and older
since there is some heavy content and so many potential triggers (including death
& grief, smoking & drinking, drinking on the job, illegal drug use, mental
illness, domestic abuse, rape, sex (off-page), and unplanned pregnancy). Have
all those things always existed and do they exist now? Sure. But it doesn’t mean
I want my middle-schooler reading about it all in one sitting, if at all.
From
an editing perspective, I’d like to see the novel have more time with an editor
tightening the plot, removing repetitious segments, and smoothing transitions
with the frequent, sometimes jarring changes in points-of-view. Additional proofreading
is also needed to clean up numerous typos and errors. Updating these elements
would take the book to the next level.
The bones of The Joker’s Revenge are solid, so most readers will find themselves immersed between the pages, ignoring or not noticing any editing issues. The primary mystery never takes a back seat, which is impressive given the plethora of sub-plots and wide cast of characters. It’s likely readers will figure out the main culprit fairly early on, but the perp’s motive? That was a huge surprise and there are some big, delicious twists leading to the resolution, where all loose ends are neatly tied together.
In The Joker’s Revenge, author Nancy Beaule shows she knows the formula for writing a mystery with plenty of appeal and quirky aspects to make it memorable. I look forward to her next novel.
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