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A Pocketful of Eyes

3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 · rating details · 276 ratings · 60 reviews

Bee is in her element volunteering in the taxidermy department at the Museum-but her summer job turns out to be full of surprises including: A dead body in the Red Rotunda. A mysterious Museum benefactor. A large stuffed tiger in the catacombs. A handsome boy with a fascination for unusual animal mating habits. And a pocket full of glass eyes. Can Bee sift through the clue...more

Paperback, 311 pages

Published May 16th 2011 by Allen & Unwin, Australia (first published May 1st 2011)

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May 15, 2012 Shirley Marr rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-ya

Lili Wilkinson is a plucky, gutsy author! She decides to single-handedly bring sexy-back to old school detective stories by bringing it into YA fiction. Do I think she's achieved the goal? After trying to do Bee the Girl Detective of this novel proud and looking at Exhibit 1: Novel - A Pocketful of Eyes under the microscope I have deduced:

1. Going about it by writing a novel full of Geek Girl facts, ironically hip characters, cool dialogue and her trademark over the top humour is the right way t...more

16 likes · like · see review

Dec 02, 2012 Mith rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: absolutely-spiffing, whodunit, young-adult

If Sherlock Holmes were a teenage girl, he'd probably be like Bee Ross. Bee likes to observe things and break them down into bullet points. She also likes mysteries and can list all of the original Nancy Drew book titles from memory (that won me over, that did). She works in the taxidermy department (when was that seen last time in YA?!) of a Museum - where she stuffs dead animals - alongside a cute nerd, who seems to know the ins and outs of the mating rituals of all the animals ever, AND her m...more

3 likes · like · see review

Aug 30, 2011 Jo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: boy-crush, down-under, oh-how-we-laugh, ya, e

3.5 stars.

“She had carried a detective kit everywhere she went, containing a magnifiying glass, a pair of rubber gloves, a notebook, a sharpened pencil, a battered Miss Marple novel and a lipstick, because, as Nancy Drew had taught her, lipstick wasn’t just for glamour….”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
This book was fun fun fun but now I have the overwhelming urge to go to the Manchester Museum.

High Points.
Museums. Taxidermy. Mystery. Murder. Stuffed tigers. Glass eyes. Fun facts. Wheelie chairs. R...more

18 likes · like · see review

Sep 18, 2011 Tatiana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Tatiana by: Flannery

Shelves: aus-nz, 2011, mysteries-thrillers-horror, ya

A Pocketful of Eyes had all the potential to be a super-nerdy romantic comedy a la Past Perfect.

Bee and Toby work at Melbourne Natural History Museum in the Taxidermy Department, meaning they stuff dead animal skins. Bee has an obsession with detective stories. And Toby is a walking animal world encyclopedia (Male and female hearts beat differently, but if you put a man’s heart into a woman, it’ll start behaving like a woman’s heart. But if you put a female heart into a male, it’ll always beat...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Isamlq rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5/5

Never mind her trying to be Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden or even Veronica Mars, Bee is such an odd ball… and she made me laugh so hard. She’s too old for the mystery bit, and got caught up in her not so simple little scenarios, but the things she did to move forward were priceless!

She’s not the only odd ball either. For one, there’s her mother. For another, there’s Toby. I got a kick out of her mother... what with her dating a Celestial Badger and her D& D nights. Fun! I got kick out of...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Keertana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie, swoooon, rainy-day-re-reads

Rating: 4.5 Stars

You’d think that amidst the constant praise for Aussie YA Novels you’d come across at least one book that didn’t hit the mark, but Lili Wilkinson’s A Pocketful of Eyes is not that story. Wilkinson, like so many Aussie authors, seems to have a knack for throwing together various ideas such as murder mysteries, nerdy sci-fi shows like Doctor Who and Star Wars, science museums, random trivia and Trixie Belden together to create an intriguing, funny, and utterly compelling novel. I...more Rating: 4.5 Stars

You’d think that amidst the constant praise for Aussie YA Novels you’d come across at least one book that didn’t hit the mark, but Lili Wilkinson’s A Pocketful of Eyes is not that story. Wilkinson, like so many Aussie authors, seems to have a knack for throwing together various ideas such as murder mysteries, nerdy sci-fi shows like Doctor Who and Star Wars, science museums, random trivia and Trixie Belden together to create an intriguing, funny, and utterly compelling novel. I am constantly floored by the depth, witty-ness, and spunk of Aussie characters and Bee is, by far, one of the most enjoyable characters I have come across.

Bee’s summer is anything but perfect: she’s working in a museum in Melbourne, her boyfriend is cheating on her with her best friend (and he still hasn’t broken up with her), she hasn’t spoken to her best friend in what seems like forever, her mother has a new boyfriend (who is actually a Celestial Badger), and she’s doing her best to avoid her enigmatic and handsome new co-worker. Still, the last thing Bee expects is for the body of her supervisor to end up in the museum overnight – dead. Although Gus, her mentor, has been presumed to have committed suicide, Bee is determined to investigate this murder, the first real case to come up her alley! Armed with a childhood of Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Sherlock Holmes, and Agatha Christie, Bee sets out to expose the killer – with the help of her co-worker Toby, who she just may not be able to resist after all.

I think I’m kind of in love with this story. A Pocketful of Eyes was a well-crafted murder mystery – one whose ending I definitely did not see coming. Yet, what makes this book phenomenal isn’t the hidden clues, intelligent insights, or secret passageways – it’s the characters. Bee is witty, spunky, and clever and speaks with a voice that is refreshing, compelling, and hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed reading her perspective, and, although I do wish it had been told in first person since we would have gleaned more insight into Bee’s mind, I liked the way it was told just fine. Despite being a strong, courageous character – unlike your typical heroine – Bee still has her moments of embarrassment and makes her fair share of mistakes. Yet, all of these imperfections only make her more perfect in my eye. Although most of this novel is focused on the intriguing murder mystery, don’t let that fool you into thinking this story doesn’t have depth of its own, because it definitely does. Bee’s problems with her best friend, her discomfort with her mother’s boyfriend, and her overall confusion at life were never gone into in any great detail, but they were there, they were relevant, and they played a large role in her growth as a character. I guess most readers would have wanted Wilkinson to go into greater depth with these topics, especially as this novel wasn’t particularly long, but I loved the subtlety of it, especially as Bee isn’t the type of person to focus more on personal issues when there is a Agatha-Christie-type mystery knocking at her front door. I felt as if her private issues were touched upon and developed in such a manner that they never took away from the murder case, they only added to and embellished it.

Even though I loved Bee with all my heart and I sort of wish she was my best friend, I have to admit I fell for Toby – fell hard. There is something completely attractive by an intelligent guy, especially one who isn’t afraid to come across as a nerd. Toby was funny, flirty, and just as witty as Bee. Furthermore, he was somewhat of a genius, spouted trivia the way most people breathe, and completely swoon-worthy. I loved his developing relationship with Bee – their misunderstandings, their arguing, their acceptance of one another. Their romance was definitely one of the most fun love stories I’ve read in a really long time. Although there was no denying their attraction from the beginning, what really made me love their relationship was the way it progressed. Toby admires Bee’s quirky traits and she in turn adores his obsession with strange animal trivia. That’s another thing I loved about this book – the trivia! If you thought you didn’t know anything about animals before reading this book, you’ll find out plenty to keep people thinking you’re a wannabe-zoologist by the time you’re done. The best part about the trivia however, was how perfectly it fit into the story. It never felt forced or strange; it simply flowed and joined the throng of phenomenal ideas that were present in this novel.

A Pocketful of Eyes is fun, intelligent, and nerdy. It’s a story that will keep you on your toes – not only to find out about the killer or the shady side-characters, but also for the romance. The narration is nothing short of brilliant and there were no major qualms I had with this book either than that the mystery felt a tad bit unbelievable at times. Nevertheless, this story was cleverly-crafted, original, and one that can be re-read over and over again simply because it is that much fun. Plus, it gets major props for having an eye-catching cover that actually relates to the story (it’s not a myth – they do tend to pop up on rare occasions)! So, without further ado, I urge you to discard your latest Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, or Agatha Christie and pick up A Pocketful of Eyes instead – it’s just as entertaining as the classics, if not more!(;
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May 20, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian, hilariousness, read-in-2012, young-adult, wishlist, reviewed

3 or 4 stars, I really can't decide. In the spirit of Bee, I'll call it 3.5 stars .

This was such a cute book. Obviously, when you pick up a book that has a magnifying glass, tiger head, bunch of flowers, and a girl wearing a seriously awesome shade of purple coloured t-shirt, it is perhaps a tad unlikely that you're going to get a classic piece of literature (not that I want to make generalisations or anything. I mean, it is possible that girls in amazing purple t-shirts could feature on the cov...more 3 or 4 stars, I really can't decide. In the spirit of Bee, I'll call it 3.5 stars .

This was such a cute book. Obviously, when you pick up a book that has a magnifying glass, tiger head, bunch of flowers, and a girl wearing a seriously awesome shade of purple coloured t-shirt, it is perhaps a tad unlikely that you're going to get a classic piece of literature (not that I want to make generalisations or anything. I mean, it is possible that girls in amazing purple t-shirts could feature on the cover of a Jane Austen one day. Just unlikely). But that's not what this book tries to be. Its just a quirky, fun little book perfect for a summer afternoon. And a murder mystery.

Perhaps not a typical coupling, the whole murder-quirkiness thing. But for me, it worked really well in this book, sort of offering a contrast between life and murder & intrigue. Partially because of the characters I think. They are such fun to read about, utter grin-worthy geekiness and non-conformity (do you know anyone who spends their summer holiday in a taxidermy lab?) and "detectiving". I mean, no they may not be great literary feats or represent half of humanity in their pinkie or something. But who cares? They sure wouldn’t.

Bee is a seriously cool cat, in my books at least. Sort of obsessive-compulsive meets Anne of Green Gables. She’s curious, interesting, pretends to know random facts, mocks but is impressed, fights hormonal for impartial, sticks her foot in it, stays calm in dangerous situations, incites a baddie to tell a story of the ways to kill someone in a museum, can tell you the name and a brief overview of any Nancy Drew ever made, and much else besides. She’s quirky, and she doesn’t try to make a club of it. Bee just is.

And then there’s the plot. Although a lot of my attention was on Bee, her relationships and the other characters, this still managed to keep my attention. There was enough happening to keep me interested, and whenever things got overwhelming, Bee would jump in with a convenient little list of questions or something (told you she was OC) to sort everything out. Again, not world-class supreme. But intriguing enough to keep me reading, with a nice little twist at the end (and I didn't guess it! That was pretty amazing)

Do you get the feeling I’m trying to justify this book’s non-literariness? Yeah, me too. I can’t help it. There were so many things I liked about it, I really wanted it to be written well and not, well, written so much as though it were trying to be trash. Because if there’s one thing that annoys me, and that gets my trash-o-meter up to red alert, it’s an over, over exploitation of pop culture. I’m not really sure what the point was. Sure, for this year or so after it was published it makes it a little relatable to the teenage riffraff (says I from my high and mighty literary mountain). But after that... can you think of a more surefire way to turn readers off? Even I, reading a novel from 2009 or so, climb the aforesaid mountain and laugh gaily (we’re so high and mighty there we can say that and mean it in the Enid Blyton sense) at the oh-so-already dated pop culture references. So I’m really disappointed that Lili Wilkinson had to spoil the fun of many future readers with this. And while I’ve climbed all the way up my mountain, and before I pass out from lack of oxygen, there were a few other things I wasn’t keen on. Despite all of these pop culture references, the book had quite a surreal feel to it. Nothing seemed quite believable, from the rather contrived romantic tension to the Neal-Celestial Badger thing (you’ll only get that after reading the book).

But I must descend now. Long periods of breathing cannot be sustained up there, because it’s so much more fun down here. And I really loved this book. Its good for a little pick-me-up, and it really did hook me in with the story and characters. It was a light, fun, mysterious romp of a book. And very, very quirky.
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Jan 03, 2012 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: girls who don't dumb themselves down for boys

Shelves: aussie-books, favorites

I love this book. Its one of my favourites. I read it while I was studying abroad in Australia for my junior year of college.

Bee is a fifteen year old Australian girl living in Melbourne with her geeky mom. She loves science, mysteries and detective novels. She works in the Melbourne Natural History Museum in the Taxidermy department, stuffing dead animals. But then...there's a murder. And Bee channels her inner Nancy Drew to, along with a cute boy named Toby who is also working in the same dep...more

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Jun 26, 2011 Lux rated it 4 of 5 stars

Have you ever felt so puzzled that you find yourself standing there saying, “What would Nancy do?”
No? Well Beatrice May Ross sure has.
When I began reading A Pocketful of Eyes, I couldn’t even name one mystery novel that I've read in my entire life, nor did I know who Trixie Beldon was, or what taxidermy meant. But, needless to say, I did enjoy this book very much.
I feel like a need to make a special note of mentioning Angela and The Celestial Badger. They really upped the awesome. I kind of wish...more

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May 31, 2011 Jaki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: just-finished

If you can get past the idea that the police would take one look at a dead body on the floor of the museum, a bottle of poison clutched in his hand, and immediately declare it a suicide without searching the room nor doing an autopsy, then you can settle back and enjoy the ride.

Despite this rather glaring plot-hole, A Pocketful of Eyes by Australian author Lili Wilkinson is actually an enjoyable read. How refreshing to come across a book in the Young Adult genre, aimed at girls, that does NOT co...more If you can get past the idea that the police would take one look at a dead body on the floor of the museum, a bottle of poison clutched in his hand, and immediately declare it a suicide without searching the room nor doing an autopsy, then you can settle back and enjoy the ride.

Despite this rather glaring plot-hole, A Pocketful of Eyes by Australian author Lili Wilkinson is actually an enjoyable read. How refreshing to come across a book in the Young Adult genre, aimed at girls, that does NOT contain gorgeous vampires, an angsty heroine, a love triangle with Bad Boy and Nice- Boy-But-Kinda-Bad-Also, and lots of brooding.

Bee Ross is volunteering in the taxidermy department of Melbourne’s Natural History Museum over the summer, before starting her last year of high school, when two mysteries fall into her lap. The first is the apparent suicide of her mentor, found dead in the Red Rotunda room of the Museum. The second is, just who is the new boy Toby, working with her?

Bee has her doubts whether Gus really committed suicide – she’s more inclined to believe it a murder. And so, with Toby’s help, she sets out to uncover the real truth.

It’s a wonderful mystery story, one that actually had me guessing pretty much right up until the end. And Bee is an absolutely delightful character. She’s dealing with a few upheavals in her life – her mother’s new romance, her best friend and Bee’s ex-boyfriend getting together, her growing attraction to Toby that she tries to ignore. And of course, the death of Gus, her mentor from the museum. But there’s no angst to Bee – there’s no doom and gloom to her. A level-headed, rather quiet and solitary teen, she’s a fan of mysteries. When she was young, she wanted to be a “girl detective” – think Trixie Beldon. :D

The clues come together well, leading to a satisfactory – and rather surprising – ending. And yes, Bee does gather all suspects together, in time-honoured fashion, and solves the crime. :D

I think of all the characters in the book, my absolute favourite was Bee’s mother. Loved D&D, video games, fantasy, total geek. Very much reminded me of me – without the D&D playing. :D

I can see A Pocketful of Eyes turning into a series – Bee Ross, Girl Detective.

I did enjoy this book – well written, engaging characters, satisfyingly solved crime. I’d definitely recommend it to fans of YA, particularly those who are tired of the same ol’ same ol’ cookie-cutter brooding vampires that is so prevalant in YA today.

**Published May 1st 2011. I received a free copy of this book from the Australian online bookstore Boomerang Books. This is no way influences my review as I write honest reviews and give my honest thoughts. (less)

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Jul 13, 2011 Reynje rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian, read-2011, young-adult, contemp-or-realistic

3.5 stars

Taking place in a Melbourne museum with monetary woes, A Pocketful of Eyes is a twisty mystery that involves animal trivia, taxidermy, a tiger and a cute boy called Toby. (And that’s enough cheesy alliteration from me).

Bee is working a summer job in the department of taxidermy at the Museum of Natural History, trying to avoid thinking about the fact that her boyfriend may prefer her best friend, and ignore her handsome new colleague, when the body of her mentor and supervisor and turns...more

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Jun 21, 2011 Sue Bursztynski rated it 3 of 5 stars

There's the usual Lili Wilkinson over-the-top humour, with the mother who plays Dungeons and Dragons in costume and plays computer games in between SF cons. the heroine who has a passion for crime fiction from Trixie Belden to PD James and the trivia-spouting but rather cute geeky boy she meets at work.

As mystery goes, I admit I didn't spot the rather Poirot-ish ending, although I did notice all those clues - no, Clues - jumping up and down through the novel, shouting, "Hey! Clue!", probably bec...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-ya-reads

Lili Wilkinson just never fails to impress me! This is my third book I've read by her, and I've finished it with a goofy smile on my face and an already blooming feeling of nostalgia because man I'm gonna miss reading something by her. Reading about Bee and her love of mystery novels and detective skills was an absolute joy, and made me want to take up a summer job at a natural history museum where I can have my own Toby. The solution to the whole puzzle admittedly did surprise me, because I rea...more

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Mar 16, 2011 Bec rated it 5 of 5 stars

I don't want to give too much about this one away, because I will be adding a full review plus an interview with the lovely Lili to the first edition of the A Thousand Words Newsletter (see www.athousandwordsfestival.com.au to sign up). BUT, it is safe to say that I LOVED "A Pocketful of Eyes".

I grew up reading Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew, and was devastated every time I tapped on a wooden panel only to discover that it was not, in fact, hiding a marvelous secret room full of mysteries and clue...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Laila Murphy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I feel in love with the cover and blurb of this book - having loved Nancy Drew stories as a kid, how I could resist a YA Girl Detective?

I won't repeat the plot, just sum up it's strengths and weaknesses.

Bee and Toby are great characters and different enough to stand out from many other books, which is great. The Natural History Museum setting is superb. I did a library work experience stint once in the entomology department of the Liverpool World Museum and remember thinking at the time that it...more

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Aug 05, 2011 Steve lovell rated it 4 of 5 stars

A light-hearted murder mystery romp, an Aussie update of Nancy Drew/Trixie Belbin, Lili Wilkinson hits all the right notes as she guides the reader through various clues/red herrings as our heroine attempts to put together the jigsaw surrounding a death in the Museum of Natural History. Not much of it is in the slightest way believable, but that's not the point. Her teeneage sleuth is a delightful creation- sexy/nerdy and feisty - plus she loves lists, always a bonus. Her sidekick has mysteries...more

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May 05, 2011 ALPHAreader rated it 5 of 5 stars

Beatrice May Ross is one peculiar teenager. Beatrice ‘Bee’ is interning at the Melbourne Natural History Museum’s Department of Preparation over the holidays. Because Bee enjoys taxidermy – reanimating an animal with pins, glass eyes and careful stitching. Bee loves taxidermy almost as much as she loves a good mystery – everything from Trixie Belden to Agatha Christie and Janet Evanovich (anything but that primly perfect Nancy Drew. Bee can’t stand that sickening sweet do-gooder).

So Bee is oddl...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Prashanti rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Girls who like simple mysteries and cute, nerdy boys.

Shelves: aussie, favorites, school-literature, mystery, romance, reviewed

"A Pocketful of Eyes" is the first proper detective novel that I've ever read, and I honestly really enjoyed it. The pace of the book was great, not too slow/boring and not too quick either.

This book was engaging and very, very funny. I really enjoyed Toby's awkward trivias about animals, (most of the time animal mating!) It really was hilarious, some of the random stuff Toby would say at the most inconvienient of times! :)

I loved how the author made the reader suspicious of all the characters a...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Skye rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-ya

This review is also posted on my blog, In The Good Books.

A Pocketful Of Eyes is a quirky, fun, and unique murder mystery novel for reluctant mystery novel readers. I count myself in that group.

The first thing you'll notice in A Pocketful Of Eyes is the main character. She's clever, funny, and a little peculiar (which I suppose you need to be to work as a taxidermist for the summer), and her voice is strong and apparent in each word. With each piece of narration, even through third person, I felt...more

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Mar 14, 2012 meeners rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, mystery

picked this up solely because i thought the title might be an allusion to agatha christie's a pocket full of rye (and it is) - always a good sign.

but i thought this kind of 中途半端 overall. i figured out the Big Reveal about a quarter into the book (it is textbook whodunnit!) and then spent most of the time immensely frustrated at the author for making it too easy. (mysteries are only fun, after all, if the author is able to outwit you.) if you are a devout fan of agatha christie and all the other...more

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Apr 18, 2012 Tara Calaby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, ya-fiction, australian-ya, romance, museums, workplace-setting

(4.5 stars)

I'm amazed that there aren't more Young Adult mysteries out there. It's such a well-loved genre when it comes to junior and middle grade fiction, what with the massive popularity of the Enid Blyton mysteries and series such as Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, but then there's a real hole in the market in the section between those books and their adult counterparts. I was excited, therefore, to discover A Pocketful of Eyes. I knew of Lili Wilkinson from her excellent Pink...more (4.5 stars)

I'm amazed that there aren't more Young Adult mysteries out there. It's such a well-loved genre when it comes to junior and middle grade fiction, what with the massive popularity of the Enid Blyton mysteries and series such as Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, but then there's a real hole in the market in the section between those books and their adult counterparts. I was excited, therefore, to discover A Pocketful of Eyes. I knew of Lili Wilkinson from her excellent Pink and was very pleased that she had produced an Australian, Young Adult take on the murder mystery.

Just like the stories that are regularly referenced in the novel, A Pocketful of Eyes is great fun. There's an ever present sense of its place in the world of the whodunnit, but Wilkinson is also aware at all times of her audience. There's no stuffy Poirot here. The protagonist, Bee, is just as keen a detective as her literary ancestors, but she's also very much a teenage girl. Her sleuthing is often derailed by her growing crush on her sidekick, Toby, and she has her geeky mother and her new boyfriend to deal with as well.

I knew I'd love A Pocketful of Eyes from the moment that it started talking about Bee's childhood obsession with Trixie Belden. I, too, wanted to be Trixie when I grew up, and I received far too much pleasure from the references to her and the book series throughout the novel. I have to wonder whether Wilkinson was also a big childhood fan of junior mysteries, because they are all spoken of with such love.

The mystery itself is nicely paced and cleverly constructed. While I picked up on the murder weapon reasonably early in the piece, due to the various hints given in the pages, I had not predicted the other details of the death at all, which is always good. (To be fair, I am not the type of person who tends to think a lot about whodunnit, preferring to let things unfold at the author's pace.) As with most books in the genre, the reader has to suspend disbelief a little, but I think that's part of the fun of mysteries. There's an escapist element to lay detectives that really appeals to one's own, personal sense of potential adventure.

I wasn't sure what to expect of A Pocketful of Eyes, given the aforementioned lack of YA mysteries, but was very pleased to find that I enjoyed it very much. I'd love to see more books about Bee, or at least a few more whodunnits from Lili Wilkinson.

You can find more of my reviews at taracalaby.com
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Mar 02, 2012 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian, teenage

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 05, 2011 Maree Kimberley rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a really fun book and something fresh on the YA scene. I love a quirky, smart protagonist (who's a bit of a dag as well) and Bea is just that. The pace is fast, dialogue is pitch perfect and each of the characters is well-rounded. The mystery really is a mystery and although there were clues along the way the ending came as a surprise to me - but it all made sense! If I had to nitpick, (and this is nitpicking) the mother character was a bit annoying - maybe she was just a little too diff...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Asmaa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie, 2013-reads, 2013-amazing-reads, 2013-tbr-reduction-challenge, book-titles-that-rock, contemp, 50-states-or-countries-of-ya-chal, explosive-couple, hahaha, wish-you-were-my-boyfriend, you-make-me-smile, young-adult

Rating: 4.25/5

Disclaimer: I found this picture while I was not looking for sexy guys with glasses, and I think he is perfect for Toby.

Favorite quote:
Life wasn’t a detective novel. You couldn’t just be objective and stand back and believe everything would work itself out. Life was messy and had a way of tangling you up in its messiness and making everything all knotted and confusing. Not every crime had a villain. Not every question had an answer. Not every mystery had a neat solution.

I think...more Rating: 4.25/5

Disclaimer: I found this picture while I was not looking for sexy guys with glasses, and I think he is perfect for Toby.

Favorite quote:
Life wasn’t a detective novel. You couldn’t just be objective and stand back and believe everything would work itself out. Life was messy and had a way of tangling you up in its messiness and making everything all knotted and confusing. Not every crime had a villain. Not every question had an answer. Not every mystery had a neat solution.

I think I’m in love with Aussie authors. And don’t let the cover or the title misleads you, they make perfect sense once you read the book. Especially the cover *swoon*

Every single book I read was absolutely brilliant, with wittiness and funny dialogues and characters adorably engaging.

Beatrice Bee Ross has been a mystery-novel hardcore fanatic since her 11 years old birthday. She knows by heart every work of Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew. She even has the notebook, the magnifying glass and the lipstick to go with it.

For her summer job, she’s working as an assistant in the taxidermy lab of the natural museum. Just day after a new, annoyingly cute and trivia-nerd university boy with knee-melting kisses comes to work in her lab, her boss Gus is found dead in the Red Rotunda, with a bottle of mercury chloride in his hand and pocketful of glass eyes.

While everything points out that Gus committed suicide, Bee can’t shake the feeling that his death is a not self-inflicted: so she decides to embrace her Nancy Drew side and takes it upon herself to uncover the truth and solve the case.

Easier said than done.

This book was not the cheesy or a poor imitation of a teenage spy-detective I thought it would be. Bee was smart but not a genius; she had good instinct was very methodic by listing her thoughts and asking questions and trying to figure out the missing pieces of the puzzle but not every clue fell in her lap. She kept reminding herself that her life is no detective novel and she wasn’t after all perfect Nancy or Trixie. She had common sense but her flaws made her a very likable girl.

The mystery she was working on was a good one; Wilkinson did a very good job with messing with my head in an Agatha-Christie-ish way and then baffled me at the end; I admit that I didn’t see that one coming at all!

The relationship with Toby was crush-worthy and melt-your-heart-with-cuteness; he was such a nerd with his fascination for animals mating habits and trying to be the Watson to her Holmes. They had very good chemistry and their banter and flirtation was cunningly sweet and sexy. (less)

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Oct 29, 2012 kb rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4ever-young-adult, ohsum-aussie, books-id-save-from-fire-flood, ayebooks

I was meant to read Pink first but couldn't find any copy so I had to settle down with Lili Wilkinson's second book, A Pocketful of Eyes. Which wasn't such a bad deal. At all. Because it was just the kind of story I've been wanting to read for a long time, without me even knowing it. It was the whole package - drama, suspense, mystery, thrill, romance, YA - and it was a win-win situation for those who are fond of character-driven stories and those who prefer plot-driven ones BECAUSE it's both th...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Catherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, title-equals-ingenious

Bee's summer job at the musem, stuffing dead animals behind the guise the art of taxidermy, turns out to be not as meticulous as she first thought. The arrival of a hot university student, Toby, apparently making up extra credit for an exam he failed and a string of non-normal events that she notices in her mild OCD induced state, brings a twisted turn. The death of Gus, the taxidermist specialist and her life is flung from far from its path of straight-forwardness. Determined to find out wheter...more

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Jul 03, 2011 Readingjay rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, mystery, aussie-ya-reading-challenge, australian-woman-writer, 2011, australian

Lili Wilkinson's homage to the mystery genre is great fun. Inter-textual references to the greats should give YA readers an extensive reading list should they want to investigate further. The title (a play on the Agatha Christie 'Pocketful of Rye') sets the tone and most of famous detectives of the genre are referenced in this witty and clever novel that has a typically smart Wilkinson female protagonist. Set in the taxidermy section of the Natural History Museum, there is scope for the extensiv...more

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May 23, 2012 Watermelon Daisy rated it 4 of 5 stars

A Pocketful of Eyes is the first Lili Wilkison book I’ve read and fell in love with her literature instantly.

The thing is, the first few pages were full of such gibberish-weird information, I actually considered putting it down. Thank God I didn’t, because it’s such a wonderful mystery for us to solve.

I didn’t like, at first, how the romance progressed. But then it went slow from then on, so I don’t have much to say.

This book’s a different sort of mystery ,because it’s one that most people can’...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Carmen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I tried to come up with a witty, informed review of this book and failed. There was just too much to gush over. In short, if I had young nieces to foist this off onto I would in a heartbeat. It’s far, far better than 99% of the YA fiction out there. Most importantly, there isn’t a damn vampire in sight!

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Sep 23, 2011 Metaspinster rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie, theme-nerdtastic, ya-contemporary, genre-mystery, wonko-o-ya

3.5 stars, but a very favorable 3.5 stars. Adorable! With the D&D playing mum, the lead character's love/hate relationship with Nancy Drew, bantery-banterness with Toby and his neverending supply of anecdotes about animal mating habits. Also, nice gently meta mystery plot.

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About Lili Wilkinson

Lili Wilkinson was born in Melbourne, Australia, in the front room where her parents still live. She is an only child, and loves it. She was first published when she was 12, in Voiceworks Magazine. After studying Creative Arts at Melbourne University, Lili was employed by the Centre for Youth Literature at the State Library of Victoria, where she manages insideadog.com.au, a highly acclaimed all-a...more

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