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A review by kblincoln
Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore
5.0
Apparently I'm a huge Clement-Moore fan now. Her books are just so much FUN. This is the third book I've read by her, the first in the Goodnight series (family of wacky psychics in the modern world) but the second I've read.
Still loving the psychic wackiness of the Goodnight family. We've got sisters Phin and Amy in this one, ranch-sitting their Aunt Hyacinth's goat ranch. Suddenly an area ghost, the Mad Monk, starts whacking ranch hands over the head, Amy gets caught chasing off a neighbor's invading cow in her underwear by handsome neighbor cowboy, and suddenly the walls Amy's erected between the real world and her family's psychic world are crumbling around.
You gotta love a book where the two love interests routinely call each other "McCrankypants" and "Underwear girls."
You also gotta love a book that flavors a YA paranormal suspense romance Texan dust devils, lost mines, archeology interns, spanish-speaking ghosts, and Kirlianometers (corona aura analysis meters).
Phin is the geek sister, using her mad math/physic skilz to try to measure paranormal phenomena, all the while being the epitome of an absent-minded professor. Amy's always run interference between her sister (her family) and the world, making sure no one locks them up as crazy.
But when the Mad Monk starts haunting her, Amy can't escape the reality of her own psychic powers. She may want to so she doesn't creep out the cute, cranky cowboy, but what makes this book go in to 5 star territory is that Amy and McCrankypants' snarky repartee is great, the mystery is great, and on top of all that you get some real character arc for Amy in terms of her self-image and how she deals with the world.
There's a point in the book where Phin says to Amy after rescuing her from a collapsed cavern "Mark and I are taking you and Ben to the hospital because its clear you can take care of everyone but yourselves." This is spot on. Both in terms of why Amy is attracted to Ben (he's responsible) and also for her own character.
Just a bit of kissing and some very, very veiled innuendo about a cell phone in a pocket "rounding on third base" so acceptable for even younger YA readers. Think way updated, much snarkier Nancy Drew/Scooby doo on a southern Texas ranch.
Still loving the psychic wackiness of the Goodnight family. We've got sisters Phin and Amy in this one, ranch-sitting their Aunt Hyacinth's goat ranch. Suddenly an area ghost, the Mad Monk, starts whacking ranch hands over the head, Amy gets caught chasing off a neighbor's invading cow in her underwear by handsome neighbor cowboy, and suddenly the walls Amy's erected between the real world and her family's psychic world are crumbling around.
You gotta love a book where the two love interests routinely call each other "McCrankypants" and "Underwear girls."
You also gotta love a book that flavors a YA paranormal suspense romance Texan dust devils, lost mines, archeology interns, spanish-speaking ghosts, and Kirlianometers (corona aura analysis meters).
Phin is the geek sister, using her mad math/physic skilz to try to measure paranormal phenomena, all the while being the epitome of an absent-minded professor. Amy's always run interference between her sister (her family) and the world, making sure no one locks them up as crazy.
But when the Mad Monk starts haunting her, Amy can't escape the reality of her own psychic powers. She may want to so she doesn't creep out the cute, cranky cowboy, but what makes this book go in to 5 star territory is that Amy and McCrankypants' snarky repartee is great, the mystery is great, and on top of all that you get some real character arc for Amy in terms of her self-image and how she deals with the world.
There's a point in the book where Phin says to Amy after rescuing her from a collapsed cavern "Mark and I are taking you and Ben to the hospital because its clear you can take care of everyone but yourselves." This is spot on. Both in terms of why Amy is attracted to Ben (he's responsible) and also for her own character.
Just a bit of kissing and some very, very veiled innuendo about a cell phone in a pocket "rounding on third base" so acceptable for even younger YA readers. Think way updated, much snarkier Nancy Drew/Scooby doo on a southern Texas ranch.