Book Review: Dani Noir

Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma

Releases: September 22, 2009

Publisher: Aladdin

Pages: 272

Rating: 4 stars

If this were a movie, you'd open to the first page of this book and be transported to a whole other world. Everything would be in black and white, except maybe for the girl in pink polka-dot tights, and this really great music would start to swell in the background. All of a sudden, you wouldn't be able to help it -- you'd be a part of the story, you'd be totally sucked in. You'd be in this place, filled with big lies, mysterious secrets, and a tween girl turned sleuth....

Zoom in on thirteen-year-old Dani Callanzano. It's the summer before eighth grade, and Dani is stuck in her nothing-ever-happens town with only her favorite noir mysteries at the Little Art movie theater to keep her company.

But one day, a real-life mystery begins to unravel -- at the Little Art! And it all has something to do with a girl in polka-dot tights.... Armed with a vivid imagination, a flair for the dramatic, and her knowledge of all things Rita Hayworth, Dani sets out to solve the mystery, and she learns more about herself than she ever though she could.

I’ve wanted to read this since I first read the summary, and even more after I saw the cover – which is one of the best covers I’ve seen! I do admit that I was a little nervous because there was a lot of rave going on and I hadn’t read one bad review. But no worries, Dani Noir was awesome and I wasn’t disappointed at all.

This was such an adorable read, with a very spunky narrator, Dani. Her love for noir films was so much fun to read about – really makes me want to go out and rent one of the Rita Hayworth movies she raves about. I love how she could be doing something and then explain what she would do if it was a noir movie. Also, her little smart remarks and creative comebacks had me laughing like crazy.

Dani Noir is a great novel and definitely one that can be enjoyed by all ages. I recommend this book if your looking for something light, fun, and exciting to read.

And because I just LOVE the cover so much, I wanted to share the front and back. Isn't it just gorgeous?