Goldie Vance Volume 2 starts with a bang- or rather with a shriek as an astronaut with amnesia is found washed up on the beach as Goldie and her best friend Cheryl are taking an early morning jog.

What I like best about Goldie Vance is how much it reminds me of my childhood binge-readings of Nancy Drew, The Boxcar Children, and Trixie Belden, and curling up to watch Murder She Wrote when I’d sleepover at my Gran’s house. It’s a good old-fashioned mystery, safe for kids, but engaging for older readers as well. It keeps true to its 1960s Florida setting with close attention to clothing, slang, and decor, but features a heavily female-led cast of characters with a lot of diversity.

Writer Hope Larson and artist Brittany Williams barely paused between finishing Goldie’s first arc, which was supposed to be a mini-series, and diving right into the next mystery when Goldie Vance was switched from limited to ongoing. In an October 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Williams said of the second arc: “You have this humungous mystery and at the base of it is just two friends trying to be friends again and get over their argument and their differences.” The duo is incredibly adept at incorporating themes of friendship and empathy alongside Goldie’s adventures.

Recently, Bleeding Cool reported that after the issues in the third volume of Goldie Vance had run, the series next three volumes will be released as complete graphic novels as opposed to individual issues. In my opinion, this will be easier for younger readers to access, especially since school and public libraries will be more easily able to get them onto the shelves. Goldie Vance could see similar success to the books of Raina Telgemeier, author of YA graphic novels Smile and Sisters, both on the New York Times Bestsellers’ List.

I’d hate to spoil the mystery for you, so if you’re all about a scrappy teenager tumbling headlong into trouble, check out the second volume of Goldie Vance. If you’re looking for a summer read for a kiddo in your life, it would also make a great gift!

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