Review: Cami and Kat and the Carrot Girl by Grete Bravo

Title: Cami and Kat and the Carrot Girl
Author: Grete Bravo 
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Createspace
Publish Date: March 17, 2017
Source: Author

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Grete Bravo's charming new children's mystery follows two sisters, Cami and Kat, as they struggle to adjust to their parents' divorce and their move to a new neighborhood.

Timid Cami and adventurous Kat are unhappy. They both wish for something exciting to happen in their dreary new home. One day, their wish comes true. The two sisters meet Siggy, the carrot girl, an eccentric outcast at their school. Their classmates are afraid of her and convinced she has special powers. When Cami and Kat meet Siggy, they realize that she, like everyone else, just wants friends. Siggy lets them play with her little dog, Plet, and teaches them about growing their own vegetables. The sisters love hanging out with Siggy in her garden and helping her feed her farm animals.

As the three grow closer, Cami and Kat discover a secret about Siggy's family. If they don't act in time, Siggy could disappear from their lives forever!

Bravo, who grew up in Svendborg, Denmark, includes Danish vocabulary to expand children's horizons and teach them about other people and cultures. Cami's and Kat's adventures with the carrot girl emphasize universal values of friendship, compassion, and understanding."

My Two Cents:

In "Cami and Kat and the Carrot Girl," sisters Cami and Kat aren't sure about their new neighborhood until they meet Siggy, the carrot girl. Although they have gone to school with her, they never really knew her and she always seemed like an outcast. Once they get to know her, they find that she is actually quite wonderful and takes them on all sorts of adventures so they begin to feel at home in their new place. Siggy is hiding a secret though that could upend their new friendship!

This is the first book in a planned mystery series for middle grade readers. With a good mix of friendship, fun, mystery, and a bit of an off-the-beaten path story, this book was a lot of fun. Our main characters are ones that middle grade readers will love to follow. Siggy is fun and a bit eccentric. I found her very refreshing because she doesn't seem to care what others think and she is super independent. I really liked that she introduces Kat and Cami to a new language, something that makes this book feel interactive!

The mystery aspect of the book was great. I don't want to give any of the twists and turns away but I wanted to know more about Siggy and her family. There are some pertinent details that seem to still be hidden by the end of the book. I was hoping that we'd get a little more information in order to understand more about what was going on. Perhaps that will come in future books?

Overall, this was a good, imaginative story! The characters were memorable and the story line is perfect for middle grade readers looking for a good mystery. There were some loose ends that I would have liked to be tied up but again, this is only the first book in the series so I will try to be patient to see if the ends are tied in future books!