Reviews

This time the mission within this novel is based all around scent. How it works, how individual scents afect us including how they ingrane on our memory and allow us to recollect memories from the past as a result of a certain scent. Linked in with the mystery this time rare animals are on the lose and none knows where they have come from. Ruby must figure out how the animals not native to the area are roaming around twinford and what this has to with scent and some mysterious encripted paper covered in perfume. Again another great mystery and a easy read full of adventures including codes to crack relating to scents. However, this novel felt like it was a stepping stone for what's to come next. A lot of unanswered questions and left you feeling like its all building up to something big.

mikaiten's review against another edition

Go to review page

1.0

I received this book as an ARC from Random House, and since I've been meaning to check out the Ruby Redfort series for a while, I figured it was a sign. I have never read the Clarice Bean books by Lauren Child, but from what I understand, Clarice reads the Ruby Redford books all the time in her books. It was this meta-fiction aspect that made me interested in the first place.

In this book Ruby is trying to learn survival skills as part of her secret agent training, but can't seem to stop overthinking things. She knows all the rules by heart, but when it comes to using her instincts to survive, she just can't do it. Additionally, some very weird things are going on in town, all having to do with a rare perfume that everyone seems to be talking about.

Since this is my first time reading this series, I was very surprised by how grown up the main characters seem. Both Ruby and her friend Clancy come across as being far more mature than what I would have expected from a middle grade series. It doesn't help that the adults in the book often come across as the exact opposite. They are the ones who care about things that don't really matter, and it's up to Ruby to save the day. Her mom is concerned about being invited to a party where this new perfume will be unveiled, meanwhile, her child has been missing school, gets horribly sick, and disappears for days on end.

In total honesty, I didn't read the entire book. There seemed to be a lot of uninteresting stuff in the middle about bikes and other nonsense, so after reading about 120 pages I just skipped to the last few chapters to see what happened. I don't feel like I missed a lot. I still know what happened, and got to read the parts that were actually important to the plot. I find it really disappointing that so much of the book was filler. I don't know many kids who would continue reading such a long book with a plot that moves so slowly. Perhaps the infrequent clues and puzzles might be entertaining to some, but I've seen similar books that engage the reader throughout and further the plot without losing their readers.

katiecherry47's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

2.5

joanna_rm05's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

catherinedsharp's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.5

Another childhood reread. This is a book that stands the test of time. Slower than some of the other ones but enjoyable nonetheless

talethal's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Catch your Death is Child’s best work so far in the Ruby Redfort series. The characters are becoming more complex, with Child taking a step back from stereotypes to develop the meat of the characters more, and every tiny set-up is given a satisfying pay-off whether you recognised it as a set-up at the time or not. The blending of truth with fiction is effective at increasing the stakes of the storyline.

I absolutely ADORE what Child has done with the Ruby and Clancy in this book - I think it’s fair to say that the latter is almost as much of a main point of interest as the former, and being able to see tension in their friendship is interesting and relatable. We all need a little more Clancy Crew in our lives.

More...