Review: Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham

the lowdown

Scarlett is a fifteen year old Muslim detective who lives in Las Almas. She is an orphan, having lost her mother to cancer and her father to murder. Luckily, she still has her sister, who is a resident at a local hospital. When a young girl comes to her office requesting help because her brother is acting strangely, Scarlett has no idea that this seemingly innocent case will lead her to discover secrets about her family, her faith, and herself.
I wanted to love this book. I wanted to love it really bad. I really appreciated that the main character was a Muslim woman of color. Goodreads also lists this for fans of Veronica Mars, which is my favorite show ever, so I mean it when I say that I really wanted to love this book. I couldn't, though, and I didn't. Without giving too much away, I will say that the somewhat paranormal aspect of the story was irritating to me. I just didn't really enjoy it and I didn't finding myself suspending my disbelief throughout the story. I didn't hate this book; it certainly wasn't bad enough that I did not want to finish it, I just can't say I really enjoyed it, either.

the good 

• I really appreciated the representation that this book offered. I always find it refreshing to have a character who's not a white teenaged girl. In this case, We've got a Muslim American who's also a person of color. Love it. I do have to say that I've read that the author's characterizations of the tenants of Islam are somewhat inaccurate, perhaps bordering on offensive. I'm not well versed enough in the Islamic faith to say whether or not this is true, but it's worth noting.
• Scarlett is a total BAMF, which I love. While she's not necessarily afraid of relying on others, it's amazing how much Scarlett is able to accomplish on her own. Recognizing and ditching a tail? Check. Being able to beat down the bad guys with her blackjack? Check. Yep, she's definitely a badass.
• I really liked how the author wrote Scarlett's narration. I love narrative driven stories, and I thought that aspect of the story was well done. While I didn't love the plot, I did enjoy getting inside Scarlett's head and seeing not only how she solved the mystery, but also how the various revelations in the book impacted her.

the bad 

• There were a few, minor inconsistencies and sloppy editing that lead me to believe that this may have been rushed to print. For instance, the book jacket says that Scarlett is fifteen, but at one point in the book, Scarlett says she's sixteen. While that didn't change my understanding of the story, it definitely made me question how carefully the book was finished.
• The paranormal/cult aspect of this book, which constituted a majority of it, just did not ultimately appeal to me. If the story and characters are good and compelling enough, I'm usually willing to suspend disbelief for enjoyment purposes. I did not feel that way about this book. The paranormal aspect felt rushed, and I don't know that I feel like it was fully resolved. Given that it was the focus of the book, and not the characters, I think that it needed to be really well done to succeed, and unfortunately I don't think that's the case.
• The story felt a little short to me. I didn't feel like I got to know anyone other than Scarlett particularly well. Given that this is a young adult title, I was expecting quite a bit of focus on the characters. Instead we get a mostly absent sister and a whole cast of minor characters who appear when it's convenient to the story. The mystery aspect of the book was definitely the driving point, which would have been fine if it's was well done and interesting, but for me, it just wasn't.

the quote
"'Then I guess we'll have to do things the hard way,' I said. 'Because I'm real good at my job, and real bad at letting things go. Sooner or later, I'll bust up your little freak show. And when that happens, I guarantee you're not gonna like it."

skip it/borrow it/buy it
 Ultimately, unless you have a particular interest in a paranormal Muslim cult, this unfortunately falls in the skip it category.  

overall score: 5/10

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