The Case of the Wilted Broccoli by William Hertling

They added an air of authenticity to the characters. Or how they got excited about the drone they were building. There are some fun typically kids scenes like an imaginary light saber fight and an imaginary friend. I liked seeing their relationship with each other and how each of their personalities shone through. The want to build a drone for the science fair and they all have their own role in the project. The book mostly focuses on the three main characters, Willow and her two younger brothers Elon and Linden. I also liked how almost everything that happened in the book had a function or played a role or tied into something else eventually, it was very well done.

And I really liked how they eventually found out who was behind it and how everything got wrapped up. The mystery also kept me guessing as I wasn't sure who or what was behind the bad food. The mystery was really well done, the kids handled the problem very maturely and when they decided to investigate themselves they made logical steps. The story focused on two main plot lines namely the science fair that's at their school soon and the kids work on their science fair projects and besides that there is the mystery concerning the cafeteria food. The pace is very steady, with not a dull or rushed moment. The book is very story focused with the focus being on the events and what they would do next.

It all felt very natural and realistically written, ofcourse the part with how the kids solve everything is a bit unbelievable, but I thought it was handled well and made believable for the most part. Kids who read this book will probably learn some new things, but it's smoothly incorporated into the story and everything that happens has a role in the story. There is some focus on science due to science fair projects they worked on and a lesson they get in class where food comes from. I had a lot of fun reading this book and I hope the author decides to make it a series or write more books like this. A strong storyline, great characters and I really enjoyed the mystery part too.

I am really glad I picked it up as this is exactly the type of MG books that I enjoy. I saw this book in an e-mail with discounted books and something about the cover grabbed my attention and for only 0.99$ I decided to give this book a try.

The Case of the Wilted Broccoli by William Hertling