Book Title: The Clock Flower by Barbara Casey (Book 3 of The F.I.G. Mysteries)
Category: YA Fiction, 208 pages
Genre: Mystery / Fantasy
About the Book
Dara Roux, abandoned when she was seven years old by her mother. Exceptionally gifted in foreign languages. Orphan. Accepted to Yale University.
Mackenzie Yarborough, no record of her parents or where she was born. Exceptionally gifted in math and problem-solving. Orphan. Accepted to MIT.
Jennifer Torres, both parents killed in an automobile accident when she was sixteen. Exceptionally gifted in music and art. Orphan. Accepted to Juilliard.
The three FIGs—Females of Intellectual Genius—as they are called, have graduated from Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women after returning from New York City where Dara learned why her mother abandoned her all those years ago, and they are now attending universities where they can further their special talents. This means they will be separated from each other and from Carolina, their much-loved mentor and teacher who is “one of them,” for the first time in their young lives. They vow to try living apart for one semester, in the so-called real world that doesn’t include the orphanage; but if things don’t work out, they will come up with another plan—a plan where they can be together once again.
Dara is invited through Yale University to take part in an exciting archeological project in China. Jennifer, once again visualizing black and white images and the unusual sounds of another cadence that seem to be connected to Mackenzie, is engrossed in creating her next symphony at Juilliard. Mackenzie, because of her genius at problem-solving, is personally chosen by a US Senator to get involved in a mysterious, secret research project involving immortality that is being conducted in a small village in China—not too far from where Dara is involved with the archeological site. Once there, however, she finds herself facing a terrifying death from the blood-dripping teeth of an ancient evil dragon. Her best friends, the FIGs and Carolina, rely on their own unique genius and special talents to save her as she discovers the truth of her birth parents.
My Review
The Clock Flower is another Stand Alone Novel. I loved the first book in this series. The second book devoted a bit of time to recap new readers on the events of the first book. This third novel devoted a fairly large chunk of the book to bringing readers up to speed on both of the first two adventures. While this is wonderful for first time readers--it made the remaining novel a bit abrupt for series readers.
The author continues her realistic storyline and wonderful character interactions in The Clock Flower. The characters continue to use their individual gifts and talents (and connections) to move the storyline along and solve another personal mystery. I love the author's writing style and her characters--and the very realistic, systematic way the girls work through thy mystery (ies) of each novel.
This is a Wonderful Series for Younger, Young Adult, Gifted Girls. Being gifted has its certain rewards--and its challenges--especially for gifted and talented girls trying to find their space and roles in our tween/teen world. I think this is a great series to remind gifted and talented girls that they have a lot to offer the world--and that finding like minded individuals for companionship and collaboration may be difficult--but, not impossible. The characters in this series learn to accept (and enjoy) their individual differences and use their individual talents--without being portrayed as a weaker sex or requiring male love interests for a successful story.
Would I recommend The Clock Flower by Barbara Casey? I do love the characters in this series, I enjoy the author's writing style--and I always find the mysteries (and their solutions) very interesting. As a reader of the series, the first book was my favorite. This book, like the second, feels more rushed and less detailed than the first once the author re-introduced a great deal of old material from the earlier novels. I do recommend this series to families with gifted and talented students as it is an interesting portrayal of the social aspects of giftedness--and the novels are well developed and interesting.
To read more reviews, please visit Barbara Casey's page on iRead Book Tours.
About the Author
Barbara Casey is the author of several award-winning novels for both adults and young adults, as well as book-length works of nonfiction true crime and numerous articles, poems, and short stories. Her nonfiction true crime book, Kathryn Kelly: The Moll Behind Machine Gun Kelly, has been optioned for a major film and television series. In addition to her own writing, she is an editorial consultant and president of the Barbara Casey Agency. Established in 1995, she represents authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. Barbara is also a partner in Strategic Media Books Publishing, an independent publishing house that specializes in cutting-edge adult nonfiction. Barbara lives on a mountain in Georgia with her husband, and three dogs who adopted her: Benton, a hound-mix; Fitz, a miniature dachshund; and Gert, a Jack Russel terrier of sorts.
Connect with the author: Website
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Ends April 7, 2018
3 Comments
I enjoyed getting to know your book; congrats on the tour and I hope it is a fun one for you :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lisa, for commenting. I hope you get a chance to read the series and, if you do, that you enjoy the FIGs as much as I have enjoyed writing about them. My best to you.
DeleteAngela, I can't thank you enough for your interest in The F.I.G. Mystery Series. I sincerely appreciate your thoughtful reviews and your compliments. My best to you and to your bloggers.
ReplyDelete