Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit

by Lilliam Rivera, Elle Power (Illustrator), Hope Larson (Created by), Brittney Williams (Created by)

Overview

Move over, Nancy Drew—there's a new sleuth in town! Inspired by the beloved comic series, Goldie Vance is ready to sleuth her way through never-before-seen mysteries in this original novel series by Lilliam Rivera featuring 16 full-color comic pages!


Marigold "Goldie" Vance lives and works at the Crossed Palms Resort Hotel in Florida with a whole slew of characters: her dad, Art, the manager of the joint; Cheryl Lebeaux, the concierge and Goldie's best friend; and Walter Tooey, the hired hotel detective. Her mom, Sylvie, works nearby at the Mermaid Club.


While life at the Crossed Palms is always busy, the resort is currently overrun with Hollywood-types filming the hottest new creature feature, and tensions are at an all-time high. Even Goldie's mom is in on the movie act, doing what she does best: playing a mermaid. Just when Goldie thinks the movie biz couldn't get any more exciting, a diamond-encrusted swimming cap goes missing, and all fingers point to Goldie's mom as the culprit. Can Goldie uncover the true thief before it's too late?


Based on Hope Larson and Brittney Williams's critically acclaimed Goldie Vance comic, this thrilling novel explores a never-before-seen caper and features 16 full-color comic pages essential to unraveling the mystery.


Text and Illustration copyright: © 2020 BOOM! Studios
Goldie Vance(TM) and © 2020 Hope Larson & Brittney Williams

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316456647
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	03/17/2020
Pages:	264
Sales rank:	1,107,979
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Lilliam Rivera is the award-winning author of Dealing in Dreams and The Education of Margot Sanchez. She was nominated for a 2019 Rhode Island Teen Book Award, a 2017 Best Fiction for Young Adult Fiction by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), and has been featured on NPR, New York Times Book Review, New York magazine, MTV.com, and Teen Vogue, among others. Lilliam lives in Los Angeles.


Born in the United States before moving to and living in Ireland, Elle Power has earned a degree in animation and is pursuing a career in making things to share with others. Lead by a love of visual storytelling, she spends her days helping to create stories and worlds through illustration, comics, and animation. Elle first entered the world of Goldie Vance as a fan of the comic series and has gone on to illustrate volume four of the original graphic novel. She's had a blast ever since!

Editorial Reviews

01/06/2020

In this middle grade debut by Rivera (Dealing in Dreams) based on the beloved comics series, Goldie Vance, 16, may officially be a valet at the Cross Palm Resort in St. Pascal, Fla., where she lives part-time with her hotel manager father, but she considers her real title house detective in training. Lucky for Goldie, the actual hotel detective, Walt, gives in to her request to help out with a big movie filming at both the Cross Palm and the Mermaid Club, where Goldie’s mother works as one of the pool mermaids. The movie features megastar Delphine, an actress whom vivacious Goldie quickly befriends, and the Bejeweled Aqua Chapeau, a diamond-encrusted swim cap worth over a million dollars. When the cap goes missing and Goldie’s mom becomes the top suspect, Goldie resolves to solve the case. Though Goldie’s narration frequently sounds young for a 16-year-old, the hotels make great settings for intrigue, and the teen’s world is filled with entertaining characters, including her crush, Diane. Goldie’s endless optimism and belief in herself inspire while creating amusing moments in this satisfying gumshoe mystery. Comic book inserts by animator Power further enliven action-packed segments. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit:
A 2021 Rainbow Book List Title
 
"Goldie's endless optimism and belief in herself inspire while creating amusing moments in this satisfying gumshoe mystery. Comic book inserts by animator Power further enliven action-packed segments."—Publishers Weekly

"[...] [S]he [Rivera] shows herself to be skilled at combining noir language conventions with contemporary sensibilities in a way that doesn't feel anachronistic but is just a gas! [...] This biracial, LGBTQ protagonist seamlessly shifts from comics to prose in a winner of a series opener."—Kirkus

"Readers will love Goldie, an ambitious female lead who challenges gender roles, is gay, and is not to be underestimated. [...] A great purchase for middle grade collections, especially those whose readers are looking for their next boisterous supersleuth."—School Library Journal

"[T]his middle-grade novel is kind to new series readers, offering a standalone adventure for Goldie and the gang. Goldie is appealing as a headstrong, confident, absurdly good-natured narrator who worms her way into the heart of the surprisingly normal star Lucerne. [...] Rivera unravels the mystery in an enjoyable romp with a large cast of quirky, lovable characters."—BCCB

"[Goldie's] courage and determination will appeal to young readers who long for a sense of adventure and the desire to be accepted for who they are. Readers will enjoy this smart, independent, and quirky character who isn't afraid to go after what she wants."—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

02/01/2020

Gr 3–7—Sixteen-year-old Marigold "Goldie" Vance is a valet at the Cross Palms Resort in St. Pascal, FL, where her dad has worked for years as manager. Really, she would prefer to be assistant to the hotel's house detective, Walt Tooey, as she dreams of being a detective. Goldie pays close attention to details, always has a notepad with her, practices active listening, and is a self-proclaimed sneak. The Resort has a big job on their hands when movie conglomerate, Baldwin Studios, books their biggest star Delphine Lucerne as a special guest while filming their latest blockbuster. Goldie is on high alert when the menacing and power-crazed Mr. Cecil Davenport of Baldwin Studios asks Walt to keep an eye on a special delivery requiring the utmost privacy and security. While Walt tries to shoo Goldie away, she knows he really needs her. Originally a researcher, his clumsy tendencies would be much more suited to working in a quiet bookstore. Will Goldie be able to keep the special delivery safe? Based on the comic book series, Rivera's task of bringing Goldie to a prose novel is nicely done. Readers will love Goldie, an ambitious female lead who challenges gender roles, is gay, and is not to be underestimated. The book features two eight-page comic spreads. VERDICT A great purchase for middle grade collections, especially those whose readers are looking for their next boisterous supersleuth.—Gretchen Schulz, Schaumburg Township District Library, IL

School Library Journal

2020-01-12
Girl detective Goldie Vance moves from graphic novels to middle-grade prose.

Crossed Palms Resort valet and permanent resident Goldie Vance is a hopeful apprentice detective waiting for a big break. When movie star Delphine "the Temptress of the Ocean" Lucerne comes to Goldie's decidedly unglamorous Florida town to shoot a film, her arrival is soon followed by a theft—the 10-pound, diamond-laden swim cap made for Delphine's character in the film. What makes this complicated for Goldie is that clues seem to be pointing toward her mother as the culprit. But that can't be true. Now Goldie has two tasks, not just one: find the swim cap and clear her mother's name. Rivera's novel for teens Dealing in Dreams (2019) was filled with creative, believable, and consistent slang and jargon; here she shows herself to be skilled at combining noir language conventions with contemporary sensibilities in a way that doesn't feel anachronistic but is just a gas! Like Nancy Drew, brown-skinned Goldie is a teen girl, but her adventure really is entertaining and accessible for all ages—without the wooden characters or racism of the Carolyn Keene classics and with a little insertion of comics courtesy of Power to remind us where she came from.

This biracial, LGBTQ protagonist seamlessly shifts from comics to prose in a winner of a series opener. (Mystery. 10-16)

Kirkus Reviews

Narrator Frankie Corzo packs tons of pizzazz into her performance of this exciting mystery for young listeners. Teen sleuth Goldie Vance desperately wants her boss at the Crossed Palms Resort Hotel in Florida to appreciate her superior detective skills. When the Bejeweled Aqua Chapeau, a diamond-encrusted swim cap featured in a movie being filmed at the hotel, goes missing, Goldie is on the case. Corzo nails a classic hard-boiled detective tone in the narration. The blend of contemporary language and older slang works perfectly to create a timeless feel. Goldie is bright and bubbly, but deadly serious about her chosen profession. Corzo offers distinct voices for the wide cast of supporting characters—from the cigar-chomping movie director to the would-be poet slinging drinks at the Mermaid Bar. N.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

MAY 2020 - AudioFile

Narrator Frankie Corzo packs tons of pizzazz into her performance of this exciting mystery for young listeners. Teen sleuth Goldie Vance desperately wants her boss at the Crossed Palms Resort Hotel in Florida to appreciate her superior detective skills. When the Bejeweled Aqua Chapeau, a diamond-encrusted swim cap featured in a movie being filmed at the hotel, goes missing, Goldie is on the case. Corzo nails a classic hard-boiled detective tone in the narration. The blend of contemporary language and older slang works perfectly to create a timeless feel. Goldie is bright and bubbly, but deadly serious about her chosen profession. Corzo offers distinct voices for the wide cast of supporting characters—from the cigar-chomping movie director to the would-be poet slinging drinks at the Mermaid Bar. N.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

MAY 2020 - AudioFile