Casey’s Cases: The Mysterious New Girl
Written by Kay Healy
★ "While her cases may not be as mysterious as Nancy Drew’s or as challenging as Encyclopedia Brown’s, debut creator Healy’s ebullient would-be investigator Casey—depicted as a pale-skinned, triangle-shaped 11-year-old with brown pigtails and a red dress—is a welcome addition to the cadre of juvenile sleuths. On her birthday, Casey receives a magnifying glass and binoculars (necessities for a detective), as well as underwear (embarrassing), thus solving this pleasant early reader’s inaugural mystery: the Case of the Wrapped Presents. She uses her new binoculars to get the scoop on tan-skinned Jan, a tie-wearing new girl with an aptitude for science; the two become fast Bert and Ernie–esque friends. Casey joyfully approaches each new scenario, including kickball tryouts, decoding a note (that’s not a love letter) from her crush, and determining the gender of fat cat Mr. Muffin. Uncomplicated paneling and crisp line drawings punctuated by eye-catchingly bright hues encourage readers to join Casey as she endeavors to crack the case in this inviting series starter. Entertaining supporting characters—each rendered using simple shapes and a variety of skin tones—and their side stories inject goofy humor."
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Casey is an endearing, relatable lead, but it’s when she’s with the intelligent, helpful Jan that the story becomes comedy gold and incredibly heartwarming at the same time. The mysteries are fun, but the highlight is the friends we’ll make along the way."
—Kirkus Reviews