Alice-Miranda in Paris by Jacqueline Harvey

Title: Alice-Miranda in Paris

Author: Jacqueline Harvey

Genre: Fiction/Mystery

Publisher: Puffin

Published: 16^th July 2019/1^st March 2013

Format: Paperback

Pages: 336

Price: $16.99

Synopsis: Très chic sightseeing, singing and fashion in Paris!

Alice-Miranda and her friends are in Paris with a group of teachers from Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale and the Fayle School for Boys. The students have a very exciting opportunity: to sing at Paris Fashion Week. The amazing city is humming with excitement and outrageous fashion choices – quite often coming from Mr Lipp, the children’s choir conductor.

But a couple of France’s best-known designers are harbouring serious secrets, and when Christian Fontaine has some expensive fabric stolen just days before his show, Alice-Miranda and her friends realise there is a darker side to the glitz and glamour of the famous city.

~*~

It’s time to go to Paris! Alice-Miranda and her friends from Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies and Fayle’s School for Boys are headed to Paris. They’re heading there as a choir to sing at some very exclusive fashion events, at Versailles and at Notre Dame. It’s a wonderful chance to show off what they can do, explore Paris and catch up with friends.

Yet, there are secrets everywhere, from the thefts of the expensive fabric to Alice-Miranda’s mother and aunt, and there’s something going on with Ambrosia Headlington-Bear, Jacinta’s mother. Not to mention the mysterious boy that Alice-Miranda and her friends have noticed in the house next door to the hotel they’re staying in.

The seventh Alice-Miranda adventure is filled with singing, mystery, dogs, friends and reunions in one of the most magical and romantic cities in Europe. It’s a fun addition, because the kids get to explore Paris, they get to learn French and all about a new culture, and having been to Paris, I could picture some of the places that they visited like the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Couer. It was great to revisit Paris through the eyes of a child and see how they all reacted to the city and what they liked about it, and what it was like for them travelling around as a choir.

The mystery in this book is intriguing, and spot on for what young children might want to solve. Not knowing much about a mysterious child makes them interesting, and shows that children of all ages have a natural curiosity about each other and the world around them. It’s one of the aspects of the mystery that feeds so well into the story, where things are hidden until the reader needs to know them. This worked so well in this Alice-Miranda book, bringing Paris and its secrets to life, bringing the secrets of the fashion world to life. Jacqueline Harvey also brings Paris to life in this book, introducing younger readers to a new place, and a new language with the French words peppered throughout the book.

Alice-Miranda gets to go everywhere in this series, and gets to have all sorts of experiences with school and outside of school. She’s very lucky, and I love the way she gets to know people in every new environment, showing the best of these places, and delving into darker sides, but in a very appropriate way for young readers with mysteries that will interest them and that aren’t too dangerous, or too high stakes. This is a good way to bring mystery into things for younger readers, and get them interested in travel, or see how mystery stories work.

This series is also a good representation of friendship and learning how to get along with people we may not think we would usually get along with. It’s charming and delightful to see how Alice-Miranda gets to know people, has her funny feelings and is determined to help everyone she can. It’s something I adore about her, and know she will grow up to be very special to everyone who meets her. I’m working my way through the series this year, and I have ten books left, as I had already read book one and the final three for review purposes. It’s a lot of fun filling in the gaps and meeting everyone else I had briefly met or seen mentioned in the other books.

A mystery revolving around Paris Fashion Week was wonderful to read, because it brought in a few things I have seen in adult books but made it fun for kids. I loved everything about this book and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.