Wordie Wednesdays | The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley

My first meeting with Brianna was wonderful.  As we sipped Starbucks coffee, I felt a connection to her.  She felt like a kindred spirit, and as our conversation turned from her wedding to discussing minutiae about ourselves, my ears perked up when she mentioned a great book she had just read– The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley.  I had told her that I loved young adult lit, and she told me that although it wasn’t technically YA that she thought I’d like it.  She handed it to me at her engagement session, and it sat on my shelf for quite awhile.

I finally read it, and it was such a delight.  And I felt foolish for having waited so long to read it.  I’m giddily awaiting our next coffee date so we can discuss everything about the novel.

What really makes the novel sing is Flavia, our delightful narrator.  Flavia, an 11 year old girl living in 1950’s England, discovers a dying man in the garden.  Instead of shrinking up and getting as far away from the situation as possible, she takes it upon herself to find out who the murderer was.  She’s delightfully spunky and intelligent, and does everything in her power to prove that her father is innocent (he is a suspect in the case).  Not only is she brave (she lies and sneaks around as if she was a criminal herself), but uses her intellect in regards to chemistry and poisons to help solve the murder.  In short, Flavia is Awesome with a capital A and I wanted her to be my partner in crime.

I typically do not read mysteries, but this novel was so much fun and continued to twist and turn, often in humorous ways.  If you read it, let me know what you think– I’d love to relive Flavia’s Awesomeness with you.