Friday, November 03, 2006

The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty

The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty
3Q 3P

I'm so sorry to write what I'm about to write. I loved Jaclyn Moriarty's Feeling Sorry for Celia and liked her Year of Secret Assignments. I was so looking forward to reading this one. And now I have a terribly letdown feeling, because frankly, it was just not fun to read. At almost 500 pages, it was a long slog, even though it's written in journal format, which usually means a book reads more quickly.

Bindy Mackenzie is an extraordinarily intelligent girl in what would be her junior year in high school if she lived in the U.S. instead of Australia. She is also one of the least liked girls in her school, although she tries to be helpful and friendly to everyone. The trouble is, Bindy's people skills aren't as well developed as her study skills, so her fellow students don't see her as being friendly and helpful. They see her as being condescending, overbearing, too smart for her own good, and at least a little strange. And you know what? She is. As I read this story, even hearing it from Bindy's point of view, I agreed with her classmates. If I'm going to read 500 pages of a novel, I want to like the person I'm reading about. And I didn't. Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't hate her. I just found her irritating and remarkably clueless about herself and her family. We often hear that journaling helps people find clarity and understand themselves better. But Bindy occasionally writes things in her journal (particularly in a section she calls her life story) that are pretty revealing if you have the least bit of ability to read between the lines. Apparently, as good a student as she is, this is not one of her skills, because things that raise flags for the reader (which include six fellow students in her FAD - Friendship and Development - group, not just the person reading the book) don't trigger any sort of reaction in her at all. She truly is clueless about herself and her family, and frankly, that was as annoying as it was (to me) unlikely. She's too smart not to pick up on such obvious clues.

Bindy has always been a top student - until this year. This year, things have changed. Not only has she moved in with her aunt and uncle, but her grades are plummeting and she often feels tired and sick. She refuses to see the doctor. Among other reasons, she's afraid he'll tell her she has glandular fever [aka mononucleosis], and only teenagers get that. Bindy believes she isn't a teenager. Bindy's school is trying a new class this year for Year Eleven students. It's called Friendship and Development, and it's supposed to be a support group for students, since Year Eleven is such a difficult year (like junior year here!). Bindy thinks the group is a total waste of time (and writes to the education authorities to say so - three times). Included in her FAD group are Elizabeth (from Feeling Sorry for Celia and Emily (from Year of Secret Assignments, Toby, who she used to be friendly with in elementary school, Astrid (who Bindy has an unpleasant history with), and Finnegan, a new student and her assigned buddy. (On page 430, I was still waiting for her to admit that she has a crush on Finnegan and to find out if the feeling was mutual.) On the first day of FAD, the class is asked to write a sentence about each person in the class. Bindy is crushed and angry to see what they write about her, and she doesn't handle it well. Her methods of retaliation backfire on her big time, and she eventually realizes she needs to apologize. She also realizes she hasn't done some assignments for her FAD teacher. To make up the work, she writes her life story for her FAD teacher. It is this assignment that her fellow FAD students later find, read, and decide is evidence that someone is trying to murder Bindy. (The evidence: she's tired, she can't concentrate, those plummeting grades, a strange mania for the word Cincinnati). After all, they reason, a lot of people have reason to want her out of their lives, including 1) the student she ratted out for drug use, 2) the students who can no longer use the school's intranet to share files because Bindy ratted them out, 3) the teachers she overheard having an argument that turns physical, 4) the principal, because he's tired of all the messages she sends him, or 5) her aunt and uncle, who need her room for the new baby. Is Bindy's life really in danger? Is she really being poisoned? It could be.

But this book isn't really a mystery, let alone a murder mystery. In Australia, where it was first published, the book is titled Becoming Bindy, and that really is what the book is about. Bindy understands so little about herself at the beginning of the school year, and she learns so much about herself (and other people!) by the end of it. She has become a new person.

Does this book have the same trademark humor that marked Moriarty's previous two books? I didn't think so. But reviews on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com disagree with me. They found a lot more humor in it than I did (I did find some, though!). Overall, they like it more than I did. I'm really interested to hear what other people thought about this book, especially teens. In the meantime, I want to go back and read the other two books again, and I will still wait impatiently for the next Jaclyn Moriarty book!

23 comments:

  1. Sorry, but I completely disagree with you. The way Bindy is portrayed as so intelligent yet so ignorant is one of the most beautiful things about this book. Yes, Bindy's nerdiness is overexaggerated, but this does not mean the book is poor quality. The characters are explored more deeply in this book than in many others, and I for one believe it truly exhibits what a teen novel should be: humourous (yes, there was humour), interesting and detailed with a- yes, a believable storyline. In fact, my friend has just been round to my house for a sleepove, and she has been reading Becoming Bindy Mackenzie all night, almost. And now she has left with it. So there.

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  2. Thanks for the comment. Anyone else want to weigh in on this book? I know a lot of people who find this blog find it after doing a search on "Bindy Mackenzie" or "Jaclyn Moriarty".

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  3. i agree with you completely it was slow torturing reading that i couldn't wait to finish.

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  4. I didn't think the book was as fast paced and interesting as Moriarty's previous books, however I still did enjoy it. The slower pace seemed to be more reflective of Feeling Sorry For Celia, and is really because of the voice behind it; Em, Lyd and Cassie ARE crazy and breakneck, you have to remember that.

    I actually go to an academically selective school, and there are a lot of Bindy MacKenzie's and worse here. Many have mild (and even severe) forms of autism; they're brilliant, but socially inept. I guess I understood this book because of my own experiences with people like her, though I can see why other's would think she's overexagerated and dim... I just see people like this every day, they exist. She's not an exaggeration.

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  5. I'm currently on page 376 and I started yesterday. I'm loving this book like anything but probably due to the fact I see elements of myself in her. I see how one can find her annoying but I feel personally that as the story progresses I see her character change and evolve. This book has even brought me close to tears and made my reflect on the pressure I put myself under at school. I shall be sad when it ends.

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  6. I loved this book. As a matter of fact at my school we have a book group and this is the book we are reading. I do have to admit I did not like this book at all in the begging, it was slow-paced, and Bindy's know-it-all atitude got on my nerves, but twards the end I just couldn't put it down. I started to really relate to Bindy when she stopped doing her work (as sad as that sounds), and I stared to care about what was happing to her. I mostly do not like how books end but I love this book, even if it was a bit dull to beggin with.

    And I remain:
    Samantha

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  7. omg Sam i totally agree with you! Bindy is awsome even though she is a bit annoying

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  8. This book is amazing. Actually my school has this book club, every Monday. To me, it is mysterious because I wonder everytime what is going to happen next time.

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  9. I think Bindy is meant to have Asperger Syndrome.

    I found it intriguing, funny, and most enjoyable.

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  10. I beg to differ. Becoming Bindy Mackenzie (a.k.a The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie) was a great book for me. I picked it up a few days ago whilst on holidays, and it's the first Jaclyn Moriarty book I've read. Within a day I'd finished the book, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. Two days ago I picked up Jaclyn Moriarty's first book, Feeling Sorry for Celia, and I must say: it wasn't as good as Becoming Bindy Mackenzie (but I think this is a personal thing though; I don't go looking for funny books all of the time). I will not say that Moriarty's style in her previous books isn't as good as it was in Becoming Bindy Mackenzie, but I do think that she has managed to use the narrative style she uses in a better and more natural way.

    One of the reasons why I enjoyed this book so much was because I could recognize myself in Bindy (though more in Briony), which made me so happy. Reading about people like you, who turn out well, gives you hope, in a way.

    I also disagree with you on the point that Bindy should be smart enough to realize how her life is going completely in the wrong direction. Just because you write about something in your journal, doesn't make the truth of it more obvious. Bindy's proud/arrogant personality will not allow her to see the entire truth, which led to the things that happened in the book.

    You also commented on the lack of humor in the book. I agree with you there: there isn't much humor (I don't see why everybody is saying that this is a book to laugh about: it's an extremely troubled girl who is poisoned with arsenic!)... but why should there be humor in a book that is supposed to be a bit more serious than the usual teenage book? Becoming Bindy Mackenzie is about Bindy coming to terms with her personality, improving it, and letting her life improve itself. It is not there to let the reader roll around on the floor laughing (whereas Moriarty's previous books were less serious, and much funnier). Just because an author writes in a particular way in one book, doesn't necessarily mean that you will find it another of their books. Though I do understand that it could be disappointing for long-term fans of Moriarty, who were expecting something else than a book like this.

    I also wonder why the American publishers (I read the UK version, and myself am half-Australian) decided to choose the title 'The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie'... it doesn't fit that well, but I do understand that they most likely chose it for the American readers out there that want big explosions and lots of thrills. I just wish they wouldn't do it...

    Finally: just because a book is fat, like this book, doesn't mean you can zip through it. It mostly depends on how much you want to finish the book... so it's a personal thing. Also, when I picked up this book, I had no idea it was a (murder) mystery; I just thought that it was one of those tales of personal growth, etc., etc... So it was a nice surprise at the end when it suddenly turned into a mystery.

    So all in all: Bindy Mackenzie was a wonderful book for me - though not a classic, it was well-written, easily recognizable characters, and well worth reading.

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  11. I agree with you both, kind of. It was really slow and there were a lot of unnecessary parts, but I liked it overall. Emily RULES! :)

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  12. I disagree too...from very early on I found Bindy to be a very agreeable character, in fact, she is one of my favourite characters from all the books I've read. This is one of my favourite books, as it is hilarious, moving, and has a great storyline.

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  13. Although not as good as The Year of Secret Assignments, I really enjoyed this book, and found Bindy a highly relatable character. The murder mystery part was rather unrealistic, but that is trademark of Moriarty's books. I was relieved that Bindy didn't totally change by the end of the book... she remained quirky, intelligent and true to herself. And what is everyone talking about? I thought this book was at least as funny as Feeling Sorry for Celia. Overall, I loved this book- it is on my bookshelf and shall stay there.

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  14. i didnt hate the book. its just that it took over 200 pages to reel me in. it thought the period when she was a monster should have been shorter and the period when she was changing longer. im 13 and thought "If bindy mackenzie was in my class, i wouldnt speak to her.she is really inconsiderate." and you are suppose to like the main characters of a book

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  15. i completely agree with you. it was so hard for me to get through the book becasue i found i didn't want to read it. Bindy was extremely irritating and annoying to me which may be the reason i didn't like this book too much.

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  16. The title of the book is indeed misleading. My version is The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie. The story sounded innocent and it didn't cross my mind that there'll actually be murder in it!

    I came to your blog because I typed in the book's title in Google! :)

    I'm sorry you didn't really like the book. But since reading this book, I'm interested in reading Moriarty's other works!

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  17. BINDY MACKENZIE ROX MY SOX!!!!!!!! DO NOT TALK ABOUT THAT BOOK LIKE THAT! I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!!!!!!

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  18. I've read this book twice, and I love it. Yes Bindi is strange, but that's what makes the book so interesting. You're right that usually you are supposed to like the main character of a book, but in this case, for me, that didn't need to be true in order for me to enjoy it. It was entertaining to read what was going on through Bindi's eyes, instead of a typical teenager's. If you say that the other Jaclyn Moriarty books are better than The Murder of Bindi Mackenzie, I can't wait to read them!

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  19. I love reading all the opinions I've gotten about this book. I think I've gotten more comments on this post than I have on all my other posts combined! It just goes to prove that sometimes disagreeing about something can lead to a really interesting discussion. I've certainly gotten several new ways to think about this book and about Bindy. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts!

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  20. Nope, I loved this book, too. Every minute/page of it. I really liked the character of Bindy; she IS socially inept, but she's still likeable in that, I think.

    And I definitely liked it better than Feeling Sorry for Celia. :)

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  21. I also disagree with you, this book was the best book i've ever read!! I borrowed it from a friend and it was the only book from the series that i've read, and now, its made me eager to read all of jaclyn's other books! Though I'm not finished reading it yet, I already know that it's become my new favourite book

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  22. I love Becoming Bindy Mackenzie - I don't expect it to work for everyone, but it clicked for me. It changed the way I thought about others and myself for the better, and was a really interesting read. One of the oddest books I've read, it's also one of the most enjoyable.

    People say the funniest things - www.abbrightman.blogspot.com

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  23. i couldnt believe that you' all thought so badly of bindy meckenzie, for i loved her when first reading about her. maybe that's because we are so similiar. its kind of strange how similiar we are. and it kind of hurts to know you all think that way about her. its a bit discouraging. you see since like jonior high i've been socially inadequatwe and i've struggled in that department and because my unique, strange demeanor, and my academic success i've been all but shunned from my peers.i read this book last year in my eighth year and didnt want to really aknoweldge that we were so similar. but.. you know its true. and this year, my ninth year its become even more awful, like i find myself in these sitiuations that are hard to get out of. and the strangest thing is that i like to write too, i keep a personal journal. and i am so much like her because if my peers were to write to me they would no doubt say the things that bindy recieved. and its like i cant change, i'm sorry but i cant. i dont know why you all dont like bindy it might be from my own personal greed but i loved her, and knowing that someone is out there like me signals that i'm not alone. not entirely....

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Agree? Disagree? Something you'd like to say in response? Feedback is welcome! Just keep it on topic, please. And if you found one of my booktalks and used it, I'd love to know how it worked for you.