Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter

I read "Isabel Feeney" because it was my daughter's choice for her "Black Eyed Susan" book club when it was her turn to host. I loved the topic, I loved how the author has depicted Isabel - as a strong, independent, compassionate, fierce girl - how she describes '20s Chicago, how she put the social constructs in context, so the readers can draw conclusions about the characters, storyline and how times have changed. I appreciated that she drew from real people to create some of the characters, most notably Maude Collier. It is a great example for strong girls. Ms. Fantaskey shows real skill in balancing the sometimes bleak circumstances - including the consequences of World War One and other social ills - with Isabel's spunk and the dynamic between her, Flora and Robert. I would recommend this book for young girls who love reading and history, and don't mind being transported back in a time that is was both glamorous and hard scrabble.

When one of the only nice customers she has its found kneeling next to adead man, Isabel refuses to believe she is guilty. Then, the game is afoot.Working the case is a female star reporter, Maude Collier, who becomes a friend and champion of Isabel's passion: to become a newspaper reporter.This is a middle schooler novel so it won't come as a huge spoiler to say that by the end Isabel gets that byline, finds the criminal, and saves her friends.While the story is formulaic, it's charming and fun to read.If a reader of this review is getting annoyed with the constant paragraph breaks, they would feel exactly as I do about the constant chapter breaks. Ninety seven chapters in 334 pages, or about one every 3 pages. Many of the pages are barely written on meaning that the book, if it stays in the form I read (an ARC,) is closer to 250 pages long. Still long enough for a novel so I'm not sure about the fascination with new chapters. I found it distracting.All, this is a clean, fun novel and the afterward interestingly tells the reader about the real female reporters dieing this time in history and how this story is based in pay on a real case. The message of over coming bias based on sex is a good one.I recommend this book.

I got a copy of this book for work (United Through Reading) and wanted to read it, before offering it to the families to choose. It was a quick and interesting read. I bought a copy to read with my boys. Not a true story, but based off events that occurred in the 1920s- murderesses row, Al Capone and his crew, women reporters being few and far between- this book was intriguing and I found myself trying to solve the murder mystery right along with the police and kids.

My 10 year old grand daughter read this book and liked it. I also read it and had to finish so I could learn who the killer was. It is an entertaining book for kids to read.

I love this book. It is a great mystery, and the plot is also very well planned.I totally recommend this book.

Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter.I got this book for my tween daughter.I thought she would enjoy it since she likes other mystery books such as Nancy Drew DiariesAmerican Girl Mystery series and is a huge fan of Red Rock Mysteries.We read this one together and both enjoyed it and hope that it becomes a series however would have loved it ifthe mystery would not have been a murder.Some of the subjects in the book are not ones we have dealt with before yet in her readings but they are done in a waythat she was not uncomfortable with it.She really liked trying to imagine what it might have been like growing up in the 1920's vs how it is for girls now.The characters are rather engaging and hold the readers attention.We like the shorter chapter style in this book. It tended to help with wanting more and more until before we knew it we were done with the book and so want more from this author. We really hope that this turns into a series.

A young female protagonist, having an engaging personality and a good, old-fashioned murder mystery make “Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter” an excellent novel for young readers. Beth Fantaskey brings 1920’s Chicago and its unique ties to the Mob alive through her descriptions and her incorporation of that era’s cultural facets into the storyline.Highlighting the economic turmoil preceding the Great Depression, young Isabel Feeney has quit school in order to work. She helps her mother support them by selling newspapers on a Chicago street corner. Her real ambition is to become a reporter like Maude Collier, one of the few female reporters not assigned to society or gardening topics. One evening, Isabel sees one of her favorite customers, Colette Giddings arguing with small-time mobster Charles “Bull” Bessemer and then hears a gunshot. Running to investigate, she discovers Miss Giddings kneeling next to Bessemer’s body. Believing Miss Giddings to be innocent, Isabel inserts herself into the police investigation. She also aligns herself with Maude Collier who is writing about the crime for the “Chicago Tribune”. As her investigation continues, she befriends Miss Gidding’s son Robert and Bessemer’s daughter Flora, an aspiring actress. Through their discussions and her own investigation of the crime scene, Isabel makes some surprising discoveries that will reveal, in a courtroom scene reminiscent of “Perry Mason”, the murderer.Adding to the authenticity of the novel’s setting, “Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter” incorporates elements of the period in which it is set. The limited employment opportunities for women play a role in the story. Relegated to typically pink-collar jobs, Isabel’s mother cleans offices and Miss Giddings is a salesclerk at Marshall Fields; her sister is studying to become a secretary. Maude Collier’s occupation as a news reporter is unusual. Isabel asks one woman, “…How come men go out all over the city and women get stuck answering telephones …It’s just … the way it’s done …”References to consumer products, common to an earlier era – Vicks VapoRub, Wonder Bread, and Beeman’s Chewing Gum – to news-making individuals, Leopold and Loeb – and to popular film stars, Rudolph Valentino in “The Shiek” – may be unfamiliar to young readers.Characters are engaging. Isabel is a persistent, intelligent protagonist who follows her instincts and uses her abilities to reach a goal. Because of her age and the other characters’ involvement with Isabel, this could be the start of a series of “Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter” books.Beth Fantaskey has done an outstanding job of writing a mystery novel for the target group – readers, ages 8 – 12 years old. This is a story that will appeal to both girls and boys. Language and situations are appropriate for all readers; violence is not particularly graphic and is not gratuitous. Conversations reminded me of those heard in Jimmy Cagney movies. Red herrings prevent the reader from immediately guessing the identity of the murderer, but are not so obtuse that young readers will be discouraged should they not solve the mystery before Isabel does. Chapters are very short; the novel is easy to read.If you are seeking an excellent mystery novel for your younger reader, I definitely recommend “Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter”. It is both interesting and fun to read.