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1st out of 29 books
—
17 voters
Gilda Joyce: Psychic Investigator (Gilda Joyce #1)
by
Jennifer Allison (Goodreads Author)
Ever since her father died, quirky Gilda Joyce has been working hard to sharpen her psychic skills. She's determined to communicate with spirits from the Other Side and become a crack investigator of spooky, twisted mysteries. After wrangling an invitation to visit relatives in San Francisco, Gilda discovers that her dreary, tight-lipped uncle and his strange, delicate dau...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
November 23rd 2006
by Puffin
(first published January 1st 2005)
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It is a cute book about a young girl who spends her summer trying to be a (wait for it...) psychic detective. It's a nice piece of YA, with a few particularly compelling parts. One is Gilda herself who is a fabulous character - up for anything, willing to be weird, more obsessed with her future career that with boys, etc. The other is the way that Allison handles Gilda's father's death. She doesn't shy away from the pain and loss Gilda feels, but it isn't one of those emotionally manipulative te...more
This is a solid book. Gilda, the 13 year-old protagonist, is a very well-drawn thought-out character. It reminds me of what it was like to be 13 with hopes and dreams of being an adult and with always looking for a mystery to solve (I never found one). However, Gilda is a very gutsy outspoken kid often bordering on the rude side. The book is the first one of a series and I will certainly read the other book that I own. The book is less paranormal, although there are a few elements, and more a co...more
Ah, the beloved Quirky, Notemaking Narrator In the tradition of Anastasia Krupnik and Harriet the Spy? Perhaps the cooled affection is because I encountered Gilda as an adult, though I am still pretty quirky and I still take lots of notes... Regardless, Gilda Joyce is a lovely character, and I can see why several students have regarded her with such great affection, but something is missing for me. A hallmark of such characters is a sweetly desperate earnestness; Gilda Joyce certainly has that,...more
Not something I would normally pick up all by myself. This book came HIGHLY recommended by one of my fifth graders. I had never heard of the Gilda Joyce series, but this girl's mom is a librarian at another school and this girl even dressed up like Gilda for the Readathon! Also, when my students ask to borrow my books, I make this whole big deal about it by glaring at them for several seconds and saying things like, "Is this book ever going to make it back to me in one piece?" Or I'll say, "If I...more
Title: Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator
Author: Jennifer Allison
Year: 2006
ISBN: 9780142406984
Type: book
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Length/Pages & Reading Level: 336 pages; 9 and up
Publisher: Puffin
Plot Summary: Gilda is a self-proclaimed psychic investigator. When she invites herself to stay in San Francisco with a distant relative she discovers that the Splinters are living in a house haunted by Mr. Splinter’s dead sister, who had committed suicide. Gilda and her Mr. Splinter’s daughter Juliet...more
Author: Jennifer Allison
Year: 2006
ISBN: 9780142406984
Type: book
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Length/Pages & Reading Level: 336 pages; 9 and up
Publisher: Puffin
Plot Summary: Gilda is a self-proclaimed psychic investigator. When she invites herself to stay in San Francisco with a distant relative she discovers that the Splinters are living in a house haunted by Mr. Splinter’s dead sister, who had committed suicide. Gilda and her Mr. Splinter’s daughter Juliet...more
Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!
Gilda Joyce lives a life of glamour and intrigue in Detroit, Michigan. At least she imagines she does. As a self-described "psychic investigator," Gilda strives to use her natural abilities to solve mysteries of the paranormal, among her many other projects. When her eight-grade year ends, Gilda is worried her summer won't be as exciting as she'd hoped after her best friend goes away to camp. Dete...more
Gilda Joyce lives a life of glamour and intrigue in Detroit, Michigan. At least she imagines she does. As a self-described "psychic investigator," Gilda strives to use her natural abilities to solve mysteries of the paranormal, among her many other projects. When her eight-grade year ends, Gilda is worried her summer won't be as exciting as she'd hoped after her best friend goes away to camp. Dete...more
I liked this book, but I must admit as a parent, I was a little put out by her personality. I like the mystery solving idea. I thought it was an interesting way of writing a story about a girl who thinks she is psychic and can sense things. I thought it was interesting to have her go to visit her cousin and find out that there was a mystery to be solved. The personality part that bothers me is the fact that she is bold and brash and doesn't seem to worry about if something is proper. She does so...more
his book is aimed for the young crowd, despite the fact I got it from the Young Adult section of the library. I would've put it in children's. But that's okay, I loved it anyway. Gilda is a very intelligent, quirky girl that stops at nothing to get her way or solve a mystery. She is fearless and lovable at the same time. She's determined to do something awesome for summer break and contacts her mother's long lost cousin in San Francisco. She convinces him to let her stay the summer.
Turns out, sh...more
Turns out, sh...more
Gilda Joyce has a few career goals: to write a novel and be a psychic investigator. To do this, she decides to visit some distance cousins in San Francisco. It turns out that they live in a haunted house and that her cousin’s aunt may have been murdered. Fortunately as a self-trained psychic investigator, Gilda is up to the challenge.
I had placed this book on my list because I’m always on the lookout for mystery series I can recommend. This series has at least 4 in it, and I know it’s fairly pop...more
I had placed this book on my list because I’m always on the lookout for mystery series I can recommend. This series has at least 4 in it, and I know it’s fairly pop...more
This was a book in the memorial section of my library, I work in a K-5 building, so I picked it up for some middle reader fun, and fun it was. Glida reminds me of me in Junior High, I spent all my time writing scary stories and thought I'd end up solving mysteries when I grew up, instead I just ended up reading about mysteries as a Librarian, haha. Some of my parents might have issues with some of the language in this book (hell twice, bitchy) as I work with 5th graders as my highest grade....AR...more
Gilda Joyce has a few career goals: to write a novel and be a psychic investigator. To do this, she decides to visit some distance cousins in San Francisco. It turns out that they live in a haunted house and that her cousin’s aunt may have been murdered. Fortunately as a self-trained psychic investigator, Gilda is up to the challenge.
I enjoyed the book. It’s got a solid mystery complete with clues although some of the clues do come to the characters in the form of dreams and other ghostly messen...more
I enjoyed the book. It’s got a solid mystery complete with clues although some of the clues do come to the characters in the form of dreams and other ghostly messen...more
I thought this was a really cute and fun story. Gilda Joyce is 13 and is working on her very serious career of becoming a Psychic Investigator. Gilda is a spunky character - she invites herself to San Francisco for the summer to visit a long-lost cousin. She finds that this cousin has a daughter her age, Juliet. Together, they investigate the spooky mansion where Juliet and her father live. Will Gilda be able to solve her first mystery with the help of the spirits in the house?
The only thing I d...more
The only thing I d...more
Gilda is an unusual, quirky teenaged girl who fancies herself as a psychic investigator ever since the death of her father. Contemplating a long, boring summer in Michigan, she manages to finagle an invitation to visit a somewhat distant relative in San Francisco. When she arrives, Gilda discovers that he lives in a haunted Victorian mansion with his withdrawn and seemingly depressed teenaged daughter, Juliet. As Gilda gets to know both Juliet and the house better, she tries to use her psychic a...more
The Gilda Joyce books are about a girl named (obviously) Gilda Joyce. She is a self-proclaimed psychic investigator and she loves writing and has a crazy (in a good way :) sense of style. Her first case she solves takes place at her cousin's house in San Francisco. Juliet, her cousin, has an aunt that killed herself several years earlier and her ghost is haunting the property. I won't give anything away but I will say this: the ending is surprising and not what I was expecting. But it was good....more
This mystery selection is quite different from any other mystery I've read previously. The protagonist in this story is a Gilda Joyce, a 13 year old girl who lives in Michigan with her Mother and her older brother. She is really into ghosts and psychic experiences including seances. The story is set in the summer between Gilda's 8th grade year and her first year of High School. On the last day of school she is caught daydreaming when asked what she is planning on doing for the summer. She quickl...more
I listened to this book on CD. Maybe I was bothered by the narrator, or maybe it wasn't my cup of tea, but this book just turned out alright for me. I did appreciate the strong characterizations, although I don't think Gilda would be a daughter I would want as she would probably frustrate me to no end with never being able to take advice and follow instructions. She certainly had a mind of her own. While the plot was developed, I found the actual conflict a bit weak. Though this book is YA, I co...more
The Gilda Joyce series should be read by everyone who is in need of a good laugh. This book was hilarious. Gilda Joyce is the female protagonist. She is 13 years old and a promising Psychic Investigator. She spies on all of her hometown eccentrics and hangs out with her best friend Wendy. Wendy leaves for the summer, so Gilda is completely alone. She invites herself to her cousin's house. Lester Splinter has a daughter named Juliet. Juliet should be a New York character since she is pale and a l...more
Gilda Joyce, an investigator, loves ghosts and stories ghosts and anything to do with ghosts. One day her mom sets of on a vacation to Florida where she meets a man named Eugene Pook. But when the whole family goes over to Florida to arrange the wedding weird things start to happen. There are intense cold spots in the house(sign of a ghost), her mom starts acting weird and over time Gilda starts discovering things about Eugene's past. How he had a financee before and how someone had killed her....more
Another book read aloud to my daughter, this was a cute story but really started to drag by the end. The tale of a tween who decides she wants to be a Psychic Investigator (that is, use contact with the dead/ghosts to try to solve mysteries) it was a sweet story involving coming to terms both with the recent death of her own father while helping her cousin and uncle learn to live with the loss of their Aunt/Sister Melanie 10 years ago. The story takes place in her Uncle's home in San Francisco,...more
i tottaly loved gilda!..she kinda became my role model now!..her witty "psychic" discoveries and the eagerness to find out what goin on was fabulous!...lookin forward to read the other books in the series!
the book is about gilda joyce a slueth who is trying to communicate with the dead after her fathers death...and got the perfect oppurtunity as she invited herself to visit her strange, far relative who is coping with his sister tragic death. gilda becomes suspicious of the "suicide" as uncle le...more
the book is about gilda joyce a slueth who is trying to communicate with the dead after her fathers death...and got the perfect oppurtunity as she invited herself to visit her strange, far relative who is coping with his sister tragic death. gilda becomes suspicious of the "suicide" as uncle le...more
it starts when she tells everybody in her class that she is going to california to writw a novel. her best friend suspects that is not true so now gilda has to find a way to go to california. her mom tells her that her uncle lester lives in californis. she writes to her uncle and asks him to come over. his secretary says yea and she comes. uncle lester has a girl her age. she isnt very friendly though until she learns gilda will help her find what the noises in the tower are. there is a mystery...more
This book was just amazing! I really like reading mystery books and this series is the reason why! This was probably the first time I read something in the genre of mystery. Well, kind of... Anyway, once I started reading it, there was this small creature in my head saying: "Keep on reading this book.. Come on! You know you want to.... Don't resist the urge, come on, just a few chapters won't hurt, right..??" It was like torture! I just HAD to read all of it quickly. When I finished reading the...more
This was an interesting look at how kids deal with rather heavy topics (death, divorce, suicide, etc.). Gilda was an endearing character in terms of her spunk, creativity, intelligence and charm but Allison made her more loveable by Gilda's handling of these issues.
The mystery itself was pretty good, though I've read better actual mysteries for this age, which is partly why I gave it just three stars.
As an elementary librarian, I've puzzled since these came out if I should have them in my coll...more
The mystery itself was pretty good, though I've read better actual mysteries for this age, which is partly why I gave it just three stars.
As an elementary librarian, I've puzzled since these came out if I should have them in my coll...more
Mar 17, 2010
Camilla
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People who like semi-mystery with regular story scenes combined
What was really funny was about halfway through the book, I was sensing some mystery. Guess what? In tiny little letters right below the title it says: A Mystery. How naive am I?!
I normally don't like mysteries because they always make me feel insecure and scared. But this book had minor mystery but had the feeling of a normal children's book. One chapter would be Gilda and her friend going to the beach and planning something totally strange and another chapter would be them trying to solve the...more
I normally don't like mysteries because they always make me feel insecure and scared. But this book had minor mystery but had the feeling of a normal children's book. One chapter would be Gilda and her friend going to the beach and planning something totally strange and another chapter would be them trying to solve the...more
It lost one star thingy because the mystery side of the story didn't work really out in the end, there really wasn't a mystery as such. I loved the wacky Gilda, and her real relationships with people, with realistic ups and downs, like life really is. Most of all i love the courage it tries to instill in kids reading this, that you can be dreaming, and doing crazy things, that doesn't mean that there is something wrong with you, that just means you are interesting and special. Its better to be d...more
This was a fun book.. It is rated YA, and it should be! It's not exactly the best pick for a 10 year old and a 6 year old boy (although they enjoyed it!)
Gilda is a humerous girl who has some issues...but she's pretty confident in herself AND her abilites:) Like any teen-age girl she sometimes has questions she can't answer, although she tries...and when she can't she tries harder. She was quirky, cute..and occasionally had some language problems (there were curse words in the book:)
The real acti...more
Gilda is a humerous girl who has some issues...but she's pretty confident in herself AND her abilites:) Like any teen-age girl she sometimes has questions she can't answer, although she tries...and when she can't she tries harder. She was quirky, cute..and occasionally had some language problems (there were curse words in the book:)
The real acti...more
Gilda lives with her mom and older brother in Michigan, but longs for something a bit more adventurous so she writes to a relative in San Francisco and kind of invites herself to visit. When she arrives, she finds her uncle to be distant and distracted and her cousin Juliet to be dour. She's very excited to discover that the house they live in is rumored to be haunted, and sets about trying to solve the mystery of why.
This was a fun book. Gilda is a likable, annoying, funny, interesting girl. I...more
This was a fun book. Gilda is a likable, annoying, funny, interesting girl. I...more
Mystery is one of my favorite topics in reading. Gilda Joyce is an average teenager who just had her Dad die a year ago and now lives with her Mom and her older brother. During summer break Gilda is set on a mystery to go to San Francisco and visit her Uncles haunted house and find out if there are any ghosts haunting the house. While on her case Gilda meets her Uncle`s daughter Juliet for the first time! At first Juliet thinks that Gilda is up to something but before you know it the two girls b...more
"Ever since her father died, quirky Gilda Joyce has been working hard to sharpen her psychic skills. She's determined to communicate with spirits from the Other Side and become a crack investigator of spooky, twisted mysteries. After wrangling an invitation to visit relatives in San Francisco, Gilda discovers that her dreary, tight-lipped uncle and his strange, delicate daughter need her help to uncover the terrible family secret that has a tortured ghost stalking their home. From poignant to ha...more
The best part of this book is the main character Gilda! She reminds me a bit of Flavia de Luce of Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, but there's an extra sparkle to her. And she reminds me of Shawn Spencer of Psych, but she's not a boy. And her character is off-set well by her cousin Juliet, who seems opposite in a lot of ways.
Here's the only problem with this novel: the protagonist is 13 years old, which means that the intended audience is probably tweens. But there are a few, only a very few,...more
Here's the only problem with this novel: the protagonist is 13 years old, which means that the intended audience is probably tweens. But there are a few, only a very few,...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What did you think did she commit suiced, she fell, or was she killed? | 2 | 7 | Mar 30, 2013 09:27am | |
| test 1 | 1 | 5 | Dec 05, 2011 10:40am | |
| test 1 | 1 | 2 | Dec 05, 2011 10:40am | |
| First Entry-Why I chose this book | 2 | 3 | Dec 02, 2011 04:49am | |
| Gilda Joyce | 6 | 24 | Jun 24, 2009 05:37am |
Jennifer Allison grew up in a small town in Michigan. One of her best friends lived on a sheep farm, and the two girls found the spooky atmosphere of the barn hayloft to be perfect for séances. As it turned out, the experience was also perfect inspiration for a novel about a thirteen-year-old psychic investigator.
Ms. Allison holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.F.A. from American...more
More about Jennifer Allison...
Ms. Allison holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.F.A. from American...more
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