Shirley & Jamila - Gillian Goerz
Save Their Summer - Jamila is a fifth grader who wants to play basketball all summer, but her mom threatens to enroll her in science camp. She meets an unusual girl, Shirley Bones, and their mothers agree that they can hang out together. Bones solves playground mysteries; she is a kid-friendly pastiche of Sherlock Holmes, and Goerz doesn't skimp on the more disagreeable parts of the original character's personality. Soon Shirley and Jamila are at odds, but Jamila is curious about the mystery, and finds herself wondering if she and Shirley are friends. The drawing is superb, and if Shirley comes off as rather flat, Jamila is a fully fleshed-out character. A fine addition to the burgeoning field of elementary graphic novel series. [3.5]
