Half
Moon Investigations:
Step 1:
·
Colfer, Eoin. Half-Moon investigations.
New York, NY: Miramax Books/Hyperion Books for Children, 2006. Print.
Step
2:
Summary:
Fletcher
Moon is a young aspiring detective in a small town by the name of Lock in
Ireland. “My name is Moon. Fletcher Moon. And I’m a private detective. In my
twelve years on this spinning ball we call Earth I’ve seen a lot of thing
normal people never see.” (p. 01) Fletcher tends to show off when it comes to
his “detective badge”. His badge is his most prized possession, but being a
detective at age 12 is not something people are often fond of, especially at
school. One day, Fletcher-or as his school bullies call him, Half Moon- is
given a job by a 5th grade girl named April. April tells Fletcher
that someone had stole one of her personal possessions-a lock of hair from a
celebrity. The 2 already have a main suspect, Red Sharkey. Red is a member of
the Sharkey family, and Sharkeys are known for their skillfulness in stealing
from others. Through his endless hours of investigation, Fletcher also
discovers that someone was after Locks youth, not just a piece of hair. As he
tries to dig deeper into this case, he is attacked by a mysterious hooded figure
in the middle of the night. “‘I saw someone in the garden, so I went outside. I
was attacked with a hurl or bat and I woke up here.’” (p. 86) In the hospital
he opens his arm’s cast to see a bruise mark with the letter’s R-E-D on it. Red
had attacked him. Who else would have done this to him? He decides he needs to
record this evidence quick in any way he can, so he leaves the hospital to his
client’s play house to photograph it with her web camera. Outside his client’s
house, Fletcher sees a dress on fire. He tries to stop it, thinking it was his
client’s cousin on fire, but he was under heavy anesthetic, so it was difficult
for him to walk and focus. He wakes up in the hospital the next day with a police
officer, and was accused of arson. How will Fletcher solve his case when he’s
hospitalized and a suspect for an arson attempt? He gets out of this
predicament by running away from a police car to join none other than Mr. Red
Sharkey himself. “ It finally dawned on me what was happening when a mountain
bike skidded to a halt by my feet. I looked up to see the rider who was wearing
a striped ski mask. ‘Get on the back, Half Moon,’ he said. The voice was all
too familiar. ‘Sharkey!’ I gasped. ‘Could be,’ said the figure.” (p. 111) Together
they hunt for clues, gather information, and connect the dots of the case, but
will Fletcher and Red end up successful in cracking the case or will they end
up being regarded by their community for as guilty of arson and theft? Read the
book to find out.
Step 3:
Excerpt
(p. 140):
“There
was a flower bed at the base of the wall. Just a bed. No flowers. It seemed as
though they had been ripped out. ‘Signs of a search’, I noted, scribbling it
down in the notebook that the Sharkeys had thoughtfully stolen from my room.
‘Someone really went through this’
‘Maybe a gardener?’
‘No, We’ve got rose stalks here, and
ferns. These aren’t weeds. Someone was looking for something’”
Detective Fletcher Moon went to hunt for
clues to solve his mystery in this excerpt. He decides to go to a house where a
mini disk was stolen. He goes searching outside the victim’s bedroom window
only to find an empty flower bed. This is the clue that Fletcher finds. The
inference he makes based off his evidence is that someone had conducted a
search for something in particular.
Excerpt
(p. 240-241)
“‘That’s it,’ I whispered. ‘ No question.
Saint Jerome is the link.’ Red
stepped close to the whiteboard until his shadow blotted out the projected
names. ‘Okay. But link to what?’ I didn’t know yet. ‘ I need more detailed
information on our new list’ Dominique Kehoe checked her files. ‘If you don’t
have more details, and I don’t have them, then who on earth does?’ I had a
sudden vision of knitted cardigans and grinning dogs. ‘There is one person,’ I
said, and my voice may have trembled slightly’
Detective
Fletcher had found a link between all the petty theft crimes happening in Lock.
He drops a hint about who he may think is their new lead. He says an implicit
clue and that being: “I had a sudden vision of knitted cardigans and grinning
dogs. ‘There is one person,’”
Step 4:
1.
The
setting of “Half Moon Investigations” is in modern era and in present day
Ireland. It takes place in a town by the name of Lock.
2.
“My
name is Moon. Fletcher Moon. And I’m a private detective. In my 12 years on
this spinning ball we call Earth, I’ve seen a lot of things normal people never
see. I’ve seen lunch boxes being stripped of everything except fruit. I’ve seen
counterfeit homework networks that operated in five countries, and I’ve seen
truckloads of candy taken from babies.” (p. 01) The characterization technique
in this novel is the Reflection technique. Fletcher gives a brief introduction
on himself in the beginning, and we learn more about him and the way he thinks
deeper into the book.
3.
The
main character of the story are:
· Fletcher Moon: A young aspiring detective
who is keen to solve any case that would come his way, but not too many people
are very fond of his detective obsession.
· Red Sharkey: The common known bully of
the school. He comes from a family known for their stealthy art in theft.
· April Devereux: The known ‘girly girl’ of
the school. She is cousins with May Devereux.
· May Devereux: a young lovable little girl
whose mother left her and her father a couple of years ago. She enjoys dancing.
She is cousins with April Devereux
·
Mr.
Gregor Devereux: May’s father.
Step 5:
1.
The
primary theme of Half Moon Investigations is the “Injustice” theme. Fletcher
and Red are innocent, and they are being framed for actions that they have not
done. This is all very unjust and unfair, so the book shows how two 7th
graders can bring justice to their community with a little will power.
Reflection:
I
really enjoyed reading this book. It was fun, an easy read, and humorous. This
book shows how never giving up can really make a difference, and it tells you
to do whatever is in your power to bring justice to yourself. I don’t really
see myself in this book. I would rate this book an 8/10. It wasn’t the
best book I’ve ever read, but it was still a nice read with some funny jokes. I
would recommend this book to anyone into being the art of detective books.
No comments:
Post a Comment