A very fun book for tweens and up.  The art and style is fantastic.  The plot feels contrived, but overall a fun, fast-paced book.

Love. Goldie Vance is a feisty 16-year-old amateur detective whose character is clearly inspired by Nancy Drew: #1-64. The art is bright and clearly drawn in large panels, making it easy and fun to read. 

Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys Lumberjanes or The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.

Oh, guys, Goldie Vance!  It looks delightful from the front cover, which is why I requested it from Netgalley. Then you open it and it gets sweeter and more adorable and DELIGHTFUL than I can describe to you.

In this version of Cold War Florida, Goldie's father manages a hotel. Goldie works as a valet and solves mysteries as the hotel detective's unofficial sidekick. Her best friend works at the front desk and dreams of being an astronaut.

This is a 1950-something that should have been, where people of different races live and work together, where Goldie has a crush on a girl and it's all in stride, where a brown girl aspires to be an astronaut and is working hard toward that goal.  It's what the good old days should have looked like.

But it's not good just because it makes you feel good. It's good because it's the best kind of detective story, with complicated heists, evil Russians, first dates, stolen jewels, car chases...everything you could want.  It's got a simplicity that's kid-friendly, but it's a breath of fresh air and a glorious romp. 

Next volume's out soon; I can't wait.  You guys really need to read this one!

A really fun, and engaging mystery comic. Boom strikes again!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It's going to be such a hit with my mystery fans, Lumberjanes readers, and so many other teens at my library. I can't wait to share this title!

A weird one – tries to be a drama concerning a teenaged hotel detective's daughter muscling in on her father's job, but despite the bright, modern colouring seems to be set in the distant years of the Cold War.  Not horrendous, but not great.

This is an adorable comic. I love the setting and how Goldie is an aspiring detective. It's a great all-ages comic that is still engaging for all readers. The mystery in this arch was interesting and it felt high stakes. I highly recommend this comic series to anyone who is tired of superheroes and wants to try something new. AND as an added bonus, there is an LGTB romance blooming!

The charmingly retro-yet-intersectional adventures of a young hotel detective. Like the last comic I read, Cannibal, this is set in a gorgeously realised Florida, but it's a very different vision of the coast, as light and cute as you'd expect from the artist of the current Hellcat run. I wasn't sure about the way the resolution left one major plot strand dangling, but otherwise a joy.

(Netgalley ARC)

I loved this book. As a young girl, I adored mystery novels like "The Boxcar Children" and 
Nancy Drew. This is right in that vein, but appealing to a modern and diverse audience.. Goldie is a bright, energentic young woman who solves mysteries around her home in a Florida resort. The story was fun and fast paced. The panels are well drawn, brightly colored, and easy to follow. Graphic novels are the most beloved genre in my classroom library, and I know that this one will become an instant favorite - much like "The Lumberjanes" and "Friends with Boys."

What really sold me on this novel was the diversity of the characters. I teach at an inner city school, and love that my kids will be able to relate to the characters in the Goldie Vance series. Many skin tones and body types are represented in the novel, as well as featuring a queer relationship in a way that is natural and organic, not simply as shock value. Students in middle grades already have enough pressure about all their decisions. That they will be able to connect with the great characters in this book is a real plus.  

I will undoubtedly be buying this book for my classroom, and eagerly await the release of the second one.

I wasn't exactly overwhelmed by this book. The plot was decent. I found myself wanting to know more about the hotel and the major characters, a good sign in terms of future volumes. THe illustration style is solid, clean lines and a decent sense of movement. The mystery isn't the best. Clues come out of nowhere. There's not enough cause and effect and I didn't love the ending.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The characters were all interesting, the artwork was very well done (a bit retro, which was cool) and the story was engaging. The twists at the end really pull the reader in to the rest of the series. I'm looking forward to reading further adventures of Goldie Vance.

Reading Goldie Vance as an adult made me relive the thrill and exhilaration I felt whilst reading Nancy Drew as a young girl.

Nice graphic novel!
I would like to thank the publisher for giving me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review will be published on my personal blog on March 18, 2017. I will update this review with links to Goodreads, twitter, and instagram.
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If you take Nancy Drew, reimagine her as a bi racial gear head, amp up the sass, and replace Ned with Diane, then you have pint size dynamo Goldie Vance. 

What I liked
Art: Great retro style to manga-esque art with a candy colored palette. Panels are very clean with spare backgrounds. The illustrations seemed to match Goldie's vivacious personality.

Humor: This isn't a laugh out loud book, but the humor sprinkled through is pretty random and that just makes the laughs pop out of you. One of my favorite parts was  a spy yelling in Russian which apparently translates into "booger". (I think this means I've been spending too much time with sixth graders.)

Diversity: It's great to see a comic book world populated with so many people of color just being normal. The story opens with Goldie helping the Kids find their wayward son. Cheryl at the front desk is super smart, adorably in love with Alan Shepard, and dreams of being an astronaut. Hotel guests and employees reflect the racial diversity of the US.

How it was revealed that Goldie is gay: It's easy to figure out that Goldie has a crush on Diane, the beatnik owner of the local record store. Larson didn't make a big deal out of it, she just made a sweet little reveal that felt normal and natural. And Goldie was totally adorable when she got flustered while trying to be all chill around her.

What I'm on the fence about

Story: This was a quick little mystery complete with car chases and and spies. I thought it was a bit simple, no real twists or cliff hangers. And there’s a lot of theft going on in that hotel but Goldie lets them slide if they’re her friend. That kinda makes her the worst hotel detective ever. The storyline actually seemed a better fit for older elementary or middle schoolers then the YA target audience.

A diverse and welcoming story set in the 60s requires some suspension of belief: I appreciate the diversity in this story, that a black man can run a resort in Florida and his daughter and her friends have no trouble eating at the local diner. But that's not reality and it kind of threw me off at first. I couldn't figure out if the story was actually set in the past or if it just had a retro feel. It's just something I wanted to point out, it wasn't a deal breaker for me and probably won't bother most readers.


Stereotypical bad guys: Lots of stock character bad guys, from spies, to blustering hotel owners and their horrible spoiled daughters. This kind of enforced the simplistic feel of the story. But Sugar Maple, the spoiled daughter, is horrible and I really want Goldie to kick her butt. Repeatedly.

The ending: What?! I don't want to spoil the story but the ending was kind of a lame "twist". It felt very convenient but ridiculous out of left field conclusion.

Rating: 3.5

I liked it and weaknesses can be attributed to laying the groundwork for a new series. It's a bubbly and cute little mystery that I think will appeal to readers.

It’s a rare treasure that all the elements stand-out, yet come together in a comic. The writing, coloring, and character/casting of this book are magnificent. Marigold “Goldie” Vance is an intelligent, energetic, loveable, cuter -than-all-get-out, gumshoe extraordinaire. She is a gallant friend that stands-up to any threats (even herself!)to her friendship with her bff Cheryl; this and more serve as endearing traits.

The adventures and thrills do not stop in this book! Every page reveals some cool hobby, or talent, or friend, or super-diver mom Goldie has. This story manages to embody diversity without making it a schtick. It is a rich story with rich characters and a dynamic plot. Larson does an excellent job putting Goldie in a corner just so we readers can see the brilliance of Goldie sleuthing her way out of it.

The ad for Crossed Palms Resort said it best…“February blues? Don’t call your shrink — Crossed Palms Resort has the sunshine cure!” & THAT sunshine is GOLDIE!!

Goldie Vance is a 16 year old girl who has her hands full as a valet driver and junior detective. She has the run of a sprawling Florida resort managed by her father. In this first story Goldie buts in on an investigation surrounding a missing necklace that leads to a bigger mystery. I fell in love with this book. The gorgeous art and wonderful diversity are easily folded into a story full of action and discovery.

The fact that this book is by female creators really shines through in this volume. The female characters are multifaceted without limiting the male characters in the story A great read.

A fresh new "girl detective" story for more modern young women, Will definitely appeal to tween and teen girls.

Although Goldie Vance seems quite young she gets the job done and already has a nemesis! She does a good job of finding what she's looking for and is a very good character in any graphic novel.

It's really good, I think y'all should read it!