Beware the Gingerbread House (Raven Hill Gang S., #5) (Raven Hill Mysteries, #3)

by Emily Rodda

Even though I've been looking for years, I've never managed to track down all 30 of the Teen Power Inc series. I really hope at some point these are released in ebook format. Or reprinted as paperbacks. I'm not really fussed but I would definitely like to read all of them in some format. Still over the years I've read a great many of them and have recently been rereading the ones I have. (And scouring auctions and used bookstores for missing copies.)

Anyway Teen Power Inc is brilliant. They're lighthearted mysteries featuring a cast of six teenagers who start their own odd job business to earn money. Each book is narrated by a different character. There's Liz who is the mother hen. She is passionate about equality and fairness and helping others. Her best friend is Sunny who is super sporty. She spends a lot of her time exercising and attending taekwondo and gymnastic classes. Tom is the class clown of the group, always ready with a joke and his sketchpad. Elmo is the reporter. He joins the group in the first novel, when the gang accept a job as the new delivery people for the Pen (the local newspaper) that Elmo's father owns. Nick is described as being "cool". He's always ready with the right words and the charm. And last of all is Richelle who is the fashionista and kind of an airhead. Each book focuses on the adventures and mysteries the group fall into when they start a new job.

Beware of the Gingerbread House follows Sunny. Sunny is the jock of the group - she's always exercising, going to the gym or taking Taekwondo classes. Sunny lives with her mother and four sisters. Her parents are still married but her dad is a professional tennis player turned coach and he spends most of his time abroad. In this novel, we see how much this affects Sunny and strains her relationship with him. Sunny's best friend is Liz, although she seems to get on well with all the gang.

Sunny is the level headed and calm one of the group. She never panics but always looks at the situation logically and remains level headed. In the first book (The Ghost of Raven Hill) Liz and Sunny are trapped in a burning office building - but while Liz freaks out, Sunny comes up with a solution, keeps Liz distracted and gets them both out.

So it's a surprise then to find that Sunny is not as calm as she appears when it comes to Hansel and Gretel - a fairytale that has always creeped her out. Although reluctant, Sunny agrees to work at the local bakery - dressed as rabbits and handing out flyers. The bakery is beset by problems from the beginning and Sunny finds herself even more on edge when her dad returns for a visit and decides she should leave Raven Hill and tour with him as a professional athlete.

Although tempted, Sunny decides she's better off in Raven Hill with her family and friends, which is good because the gang soon find themselves deep in trouble and need Sunny to save the day.

It's a cross between middle grade and young adult whatever you call that. Sunny is not exactly my favourite character so this wasn't my favourite book. The mystery was interesting though if not predictable and I liked the fairy tale elements. For my own personal rating I'd give this two stars. Maybe 2.5. But it's not actually bad and I've no doubt the target age group would rate this 3 stars - ergo 3 stars.