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Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter Kindle Edition

by Beth Fantaskey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 90 ratings
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It’s 1920s Chicago—the guns-and-gangster era of Al Capone—and it’s unusual for a girl to be selling the Tribune on the street corner. But ten-year-old Isabel Feeney is unusual . . . unusually obsessed with being a news reporter. She can’t believe her luck when she stumbles not only into a real-live murder scene, but also into her hero, the famous journalist Maude Collier. The story of how the smart, curious, loyal Isabel fights to defend the honor of her accused friend and latches on to the murder case like a dog on a pant leg makes for a winning, thoroughly entertaining middle grade mystery.

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  1. Reading age
    9 - 12 years, from customers
  2. Print length
    347 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    Preschool - 6
  5. Lexile measure
    840L
  6. Publisher
    Clarion Books
  7. Publication date
    March 1, 2016
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  12. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4–6—Chicago in the 1920s provides the setting for this fast-paced mystery. Isabel Feeney is the spunky protagonist who makes friends, young and old, while hot on the trail of a killer. Isabel sells copies of the Chicago Tribune on the city streets to supplement her single mother's salary. When Isabel hears a gun fire, she runs toward the sound to an alley where she sees Miss Giddings, the kind and pretty young lady who regularly buys newspapers from her, kneeling over a dead man. Isabel is quickly involved in the investigation and befriends Maude Collier, a famous Tribune reporter whom she admires for her reporting excellence. Isabel has always aspired to be a female crime reporter, just like Maude, and now is her chance to investigate a real crime with her writing hero. Fantaskey keeps the chapters short and snappy, with each one ending on a mini-cliff-hanger, enticing kids to read on. There are guns and gangsters, future movie stars, glamour, sibling rivalries, bullet proof cars, polio, several possible suspects, and a host of eclectic personalities. Isabel is fearless but expresses her vulnerability in her desire to have friends. The author's historical note explains the inspiration for the novel: five real-life female reporters who wrote for the Chicago Tribune in the 1920s. VERDICT A not-to-be-missed novel for middle graders looking for a satisfying mystery with a daring female heroine.—Helen Foster James, University of California at San Diego

Review

"Fantaskey does an excellent job of conveying the flavor of the time period, drawing attention to the public’s fascination with murderers, bootleggers, and gangsters...Isabel's innocence and intelligence combine to form a complex character full of moxie."
—Booklist STARRED Review

"Fantaskey offers a dark but exciting picture of one of Chicago’s most infamous decades..."
—Bulletin

"It’s a story chockfull of colorful historical information with a heroine who is impetuous, flawed, and very easy to root for."
—Publishers Weekly

"A not-to-be-missed novel for middle graders looking for a satisfying mystery with a daring female heroine."
—School Library Journal

"Fast-moving, short chapters are narrated by the sassy Isabel, whose speech ("Jeez, what kind of bee was in his bonnet?") captures the flavor of the era."
—Kirkus

“Izzie is an endearing latchkey kid: blunt, unwittingly funny and doggedly determined. Readers will cheer her on as she fights for the truth and for her newfound friends.”
—Shelf Awareness

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B011H55HPY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Clarion Books; Reprint edition (March 1, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 1, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2566 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 347 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 90 ratings

About the author

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Beth Fantaskey

Beth Fantaskey

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I'm the author of the YA novels Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, Jessica Rules the Dark Side, Jekel Loves Hyde and Buzz Kill. I've also written the middle-grade mystery Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter. Visit me at bethfantaskeyauthor.com or find me on just about any social media platform.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
90 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Keida Kostreci
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for your girls and tweens
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2018
Verified Purchase
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.
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AshertopiA
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Clean Novel
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2016
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
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.
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TJC
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable for adults and kids.
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2019
Verified Purchase
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.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars ... 10 year old grand daughter read this book and liked it. I also read it and had to ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2016
Verified Purchase
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.
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LiebinAtl
5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2017
Verified Purchase
I love this book. It is a great mystery, and the plot is also very well planned.I totally recommend this book.
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💜I Love Jellybeans
4.0 out of 5 stars Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter..what a fun book and great starter for chapter readers
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2016
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
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 Diaries
American 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 if
the 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 way
that 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.
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delicateflower152
5.0 out of 5 stars Aspiring Reporter - “…Curiosity, Determination to Seek the Truth, and Courage …”
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2016
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
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.
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