The Peacock Detectives

October 14, 2019
“Eleven-turning-twelve years old” Cassie narrates this story, set in small-town Australia. Her father, an English teacher who always wanted to be a writer, teaches Cassie many writing tips (“be good at details,” include an “Inciting Incident”) that she shares in the text. He also named the observant girl a “Peacock Detective” when noting details helped her to track down the neighbor’s escaped peacocks, William Shakespeare and Virginia. Cassie plans for her story to be about the latest peacock escape, but then her dad begins having more “Those Days”—depressive episodes—something Cassie understands because she sometimes has them, too. Though Cassie tries to avoid seeing the problems facing her family, she employs her observational prowess when her mother moves out, mean girl Rhea keeps telling Cassie her dad is “crazy,” and a secret about her beloved grandfather is revealed. This quietly powerful journey deals honestly with the impact of depression and such social issues as gun violence in the U.S. Debut author Nugent sensitively portrays Cassie’s struggles with family and friends as she grows to see that true bonds can be both hard won and well worth the effort. Ages 8–12.

December 1, 2019

Gr 3-6-Eleven-year-old Cassie is an expert when it comes to tracking down her neighbors' peacocks, which go missing frequently. She's less confident, however, when it comes to dealing with changes in her family. Her older sister is making choices that Cassie doesn't understand, her beloved grandfather is ill, her father is sinking into depression, and her mother seems to be separating herself from the family. Even her best friend Jonas is acting strange and moody. Can Cassie unravel the mysteries she's facing in life, or will they prove to be too much for her detective skills? This Australian import has plenty of quirky charm. Though the mystery element is slight, there's plenty of character development, and the book touches on many family and friendship situations with which readers will empathize. Fans of Sheila Turnage and Susan Patron are a natural audience for this story. VERDICT Purchase where there's a need for realistic fiction dealing with family issues.-Misti Tidman, Mansfield/Richland County Public Library, OH

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2019
An 11-turning-12-year-old girl looks for lost peacocks as a distraction from The Truth about the things that are changing in her life. Cassie, short for Cassandra, is not unlike her namesake from the Greek myth: She is cursed to know the truth, but no one quite believes her. Australian debut writer Nugent employs this disarming narrator to take readers through a painful period of her life in which she gradually discovers (like a detective) that her grandfather is dying, her father is struggling with mental health issues, her mother needs to move out of the house in order to cope, and her only sister, at 15, is becoming her own person. What saves her are her connection to her family; her friendship with Jonas, a science-minded, fact-oriented soul; and honest interactions with her unpredictable schoolmate Rhea. Cassie is also an aspiring and conflicted writer with a propensity for capital letters who shares with readers the many components of a good story even as she is engaged in telling one. This idea-packed book strains credulity at times but is satisfying in its energy, style, and use of metaphor--most of all the peacock, symbol of vision and awakening. Characters present white. Approaches tender topics with unflinching courage and aplomb. (Fiction. 8-12)

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November 1, 2019
Grades 4-6 A hunt for two runaway peacocks unravels dramatic family changes in this middle-grade debut set in Australia. Cassie Andersen, an aspiring writer, keeps her Notebook for Noticing handy in order to jot down important details, like clues to the whereabouts of her neighbors' peacocks. Lately, she has also taken note of changes in her parents' relationship, her sister's temperament, and her grandfather's health. True to the dynamics of the Andersen family, Nugent never directly names the issues experienced by its members, instead employing euphemisms like those days to describe the father's struggle with mental illness. The adults in Cassie's world avoid discussing sensitive topics, leaving Cassie's power of observation and writing as her only form of agency. While the unresolved and unexplained story lines might frustrate readers who seek closure, others will recognize the feeling of being deemed too young to understand. The number of issues may feel heavy-handed at times, but the depiction of the varying coping mechanisms within a family, especially when there is no communication, is insightful.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2020
Cassie is enlisted by her neighbors to find their missing peacocks--again--because of her skill at noticing details. But there are plenty of other things for the Australian almost-twelve-year-old aspiring writer to notice, and the story Cassie narrates ends up taking a broader focus, encompassing her parents' separation, her grandfather's illness, her older sister's embrace of Buddhism, and her father's and her own mental health (like Cassie, he struggles with depression). When Cassie's best friend runs away, it's Cassie who figures out where to follow him, but she is surprised to encounter the school bully, who's also running away from home, along the way. Readers observe Cassie's world along with her; her narration makes clear that she doesn't always understand what's happening but sees enough to know when secrets are being kept from her (though references, in her often-funny voice, to the story elements she's employing show her trying to feel in control: "In this story I'm going to try to give you enough details so that you can understand, but not so many that you get bored and stop reading and go to the park or the zoo instead"). The lost peacocks are secondary; friendship and family come first, making this detective story a good choice for any realistic fiction fan, mystery lover or not.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

March 1, 2020
Cassie is enlisted by her neighbors to find their missing peacocks�? again�? because of her skill at noticing details. But there are plenty of other things for the Australian almost-twelve-year-old aspiring writer to notice, and the story Cassie narrates ends up taking a broader focus, encompassing her parents' separation, her grandfather's illness, her older sister's embrace of Buddhism, and her father's and her own mental health (like Cassie, he struggles with depression). When Cassie's best friend runs away, it's Cassie who figures out where to follow him, but she is surprised to encounter the school bully, who's also running away from home, along the way. Readers observe Cassie's world along with her; her narration makes clear that she doesn't always understand what's happening but sees enough to know when secrets are being kept from her (though references, in her often-funny voice, to the story elements she's employing show her trying to feel in control: "In this story I'm going to try to give you enough details so that you can understand, but not so many that you get bored and stop reading and go to the park or the zoo instead"). The lost peacocks are secondary; friendship and family come first, making this detective story a good choice for any realistic fiction fan, mystery lover or not. Shoshana Flax

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

April 12, 2018
Eleven-year-old Cassie Anderson, Peacock Detective, like all great detectives, is good at noticing things. She notices the scratches in the corner of the cage when the peacocks William Shakespeare and Virginia go missing from Mr and Mrs Hudson’s backyard, and the half-smiling, faraway look that her dad gets when he’s watching her mum. But although Cassie notices a lot of things, there’s a lot that doesn’t make sense. Like why her sister, Diana, who is 14-going-on-15, is living in the backyard and doesn’t go to church anymore. And why her best friend, Jonas, doesn’t call his parents ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ like everyone else. And why Rhea Grimm is so mean. And why her dad has started going to The Clinic when he should be going to work. Through the eyes of this beautifully awkward and naïve narrator, The Peacock Detectives delivers a story for middle-grade readers that is heartfelt and funny, with a powerful message about people—old and young—learning to understand each other better, and learning to understand themselves better in the process. Reminiscent of Harriet the Spy and A is for Alphabet, Carly Nugent’s debut, is a lively and generous story that acknowledges the powerful feelings of its readers, and the space they occupy in the world. Bec Kavanagh is a writer, reviewer and manager of the Stella Schools Program