The last thing 13-year-old Dani wants is to have anything to do with her no-good cheating father, who left the family to move in with another woman and her daughter. Luckily, there are plenty of things in her sleepy upstate New York town to keep her busy. Dani's best friend has moved away and does not return her phone calls. Her old best friend, Taylor, is hanging around, and her mother wants Dani to work at the newspaper office with her. Luckily there's always the Little Art theatre to escape to, where Dani can watch her beloved Rita Hayworth in old black-and-white noir films.
But then even the Little Art theatre goes sour. Her classmate Austin's family owns the theatre, and Henry is always getting on her nerves. The projectionist Jackson is Henry's cousin and is dating Dani's former babysitterâ¦until the day Dani spots another girl leaving the projection room. Determined to get to the bottom of two-faced Jackson's mystery, Dani doesn't realize the extent of her selfishness and the pain of her father leaving her until it's almost too late to salvage the relationships around her.
DANI NOIR is a powerfully entertaining and heartfelt middle-grade novel by a talented debut author to keep an eye out for. Dani is pitch-perfect and has ageless appeal, and it's easy to connect with the issues she faces in this story.
The star of the novel is without a doubt Dani, who's precocious with her interest in noir films, yet just self-centered enough in that way of preteens to be infuriating and endearing. She may remind you of your best and worst self in middle schoolâand if she doesn't, then she is that girl in your math class, or the kind of girl you wish you had been back in the day. Dani is far from perfect: other characters rightfully call her âselfish,â but you can't help but feel close to her, because not only is she terribly real, she's also incredibly funny and entertaining.
Dani's quest to expose Jackson's lies is lighthearted enough, but, unbeknownst to her, carries a strong connection to her feelings of paternal abandonment. Separation and divorce is a common enough subject in middle grade fiction, but Nova Ren Suma deals with it delicately here, not allowing it to consume Dani's life and thus make DANI NOIR just another serious issues book.
DANI NOIR has a great protagonist and would make for a good read for middle schoolers, their older siblings, and their parents and grandparents. Don't miss out on this wonderfully sweet novel!
But then even the Little Art theatre goes sour. Her classmate Austin's family owns the theatre, and Henry is always getting on her nerves. The projectionist Jackson is Henry's cousin and is dating Dani's former babysitterâ¦until the day Dani spots another girl leaving the projection room. Determined to get to the bottom of two-faced Jackson's mystery, Dani doesn't realize the extent of her selfishness and the pain of her father leaving her until it's almost too late to salvage the relationships around her.
DANI NOIR is a powerfully entertaining and heartfelt middle-grade novel by a talented debut author to keep an eye out for. Dani is pitch-perfect and has ageless appeal, and it's easy to connect with the issues she faces in this story.
The star of the novel is without a doubt Dani, who's precocious with her interest in noir films, yet just self-centered enough in that way of preteens to be infuriating and endearing. She may remind you of your best and worst self in middle schoolâand if she doesn't, then she is that girl in your math class, or the kind of girl you wish you had been back in the day. Dani is far from perfect: other characters rightfully call her âselfish,â but you can't help but feel close to her, because not only is she terribly real, she's also incredibly funny and entertaining.
Dani's quest to expose Jackson's lies is lighthearted enough, but, unbeknownst to her, carries a strong connection to her feelings of paternal abandonment. Separation and divorce is a common enough subject in middle grade fiction, but Nova Ren Suma deals with it delicately here, not allowing it to consume Dani's life and thus make DANI NOIR just another serious issues book.
DANI NOIR has a great protagonist and would make for a good read for middle schoolers, their older siblings, and their parents and grandparents. Don't miss out on this wonderfully sweet novel!
Reviewed by Cat for TeensReadToo.com
I was drawn to Nova Ren Suma's debut novel, DANI NOIR, the moment I caught sight of its title and attention-grabbing cover. Thanks to my love of pink, polka-dot tights and noir cinema, I found a new favorite author and another great addition for the keeper shelf.
Dani's having a rough summer dealing with the fallout of her parents' divorce. It's horrible watching her dad move on (and in) with his girlfriend, knowing her best friend has moved to a town more than an hours' drive away, and feeling so lonely she's actually starting to miss her annoying brother, who's gone off to soccer camp.
Dani's only solace comes when she enters the Little Art and disappears into the moody, atmospheric mysteries of noir films. There's a comfort in walking away from the theater knowing exactly who the good and bad guys are, not to mention hanging out with the projectionist and her former baby-sitter's new boyfriend, Jackson. Being left alone and not asked stupid questions like: "How are you *feeling* about your parents divorce?" is almost worth the hassle of getting past her classmate and Jackson's younger cousin, Austin.
Until one day when Dani catches Jackson in a lie about a mysterious girl in pink, polka-dot tights she spies leaving through the theater's fire exit. Now, Dani is on the trail of a real-life puzzle, but off-screen mysteries almost never wrap up as neatly as those in movies.
Every character in DANI NOIR is so real, with their fallibility and raw emotions - especially Dani. I didn't always like her - at times she's bratty, even downright mean - but I understood the reasons for her behavior. Her entire world has been destroyed by the people she loves and trusts more than anyone else. It's one of life's most difficult experiences, and in it's the aftermath of suspicion that sets Dani on the mystery girl's trail.
Nova Ren Suma transported me to Dani's world: the tedious heat of small town summers; nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to see. I *was* Dani, sweating in front Taco Juan's while peering down the street towards my mother's office at newspaper headquarters, the mountains off in the distance; sun beating mercilessly on my aching head. What a relief to escape my sadness and worries in the cool comfort of celluloid, where dames are glamorous, private eyes know all, and problems are solved in under two hours.
I was drawn to Nova Ren Suma's debut novel, DANI NOIR, the moment I caught sight of its title and attention-grabbing cover. Thanks to my love of pink, polka-dot tights and noir cinema, I found a new favorite author and another great addition for the keeper shelf.
Dani's having a rough summer dealing with the fallout of her parents' divorce. It's horrible watching her dad move on (and in) with his girlfriend, knowing her best friend has moved to a town more than an hours' drive away, and feeling so lonely she's actually starting to miss her annoying brother, who's gone off to soccer camp.
Dani's only solace comes when she enters the Little Art and disappears into the moody, atmospheric mysteries of noir films. There's a comfort in walking away from the theater knowing exactly who the good and bad guys are, not to mention hanging out with the projectionist and her former baby-sitter's new boyfriend, Jackson. Being left alone and not asked stupid questions like: "How are you *feeling* about your parents divorce?" is almost worth the hassle of getting past her classmate and Jackson's younger cousin, Austin.
Until one day when Dani catches Jackson in a lie about a mysterious girl in pink, polka-dot tights she spies leaving through the theater's fire exit. Now, Dani is on the trail of a real-life puzzle, but off-screen mysteries almost never wrap up as neatly as those in movies.
Every character in DANI NOIR is so real, with their fallibility and raw emotions - especially Dani. I didn't always like her - at times she's bratty, even downright mean - but I understood the reasons for her behavior. Her entire world has been destroyed by the people she loves and trusts more than anyone else. It's one of life's most difficult experiences, and in it's the aftermath of suspicion that sets Dani on the mystery girl's trail.
Nova Ren Suma transported me to Dani's world: the tedious heat of small town summers; nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to see. I *was* Dani, sweating in front Taco Juan's while peering down the street towards my mother's office at newspaper headquarters, the mountains off in the distance; sun beating mercilessly on my aching head. What a relief to escape my sadness and worries in the cool comfort of celluloid, where dames are glamorous, private eyes know all, and problems are solved in under two hours.
