Family movie night? There's an app for that
Download our new mobile app on iOS and Android.
Carly Keene, Literary Detective: Braving the Brontes
By Barbara Schultz,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Mysterious time-travel story for adventurous book lovers.
Add your rating
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
Where to Read
Community Reviews
There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What's the Story?
CARLY KEENE LITERARY DETECTIVE: BRAVING THE BRONTES is the first in a planned series of Carly adventures in literary worlds. Carly's a book-loving, imaginative 12-year-old who loves inventing fantasy adventure scenarios with her best friend, Francesca. While on a camping trip in her native Alaska, Carly begins to get the feeling she's being watched. Days later, she and Francesca visit a bookshop, where an old bookseller lets Carly hold a first edition of Charlotte Bronte's classic novel Jane Eyre. Carly curls up in a chair to examine the book and dozes off. When she awakes, she discovers she's been transported back to 19th-century England, and Charlotte Bronte is her governess while her parents are supposedly traveling to India. Carly struggles to fit in to the Victorian era -- where her usual attitudes and ways of speaking are shocking -- and tries to figure out how she can return home. A ghost guide lets her know what tasks she must complete to get back to where she belongs.
Is It Any Good?
Carly Keene Literary Detective: Braving the Brontes will appeal to young readers with literary tastes. Not only will this suspenseful story engage readers in its own right, it also will inspire tweens to read the Brontes' classic novels and to examine the differences in gender roles, attitudes, and ways of life between the 19th century and today.
Literary adults will pick up on some of the Jane Eyre plot hints in the text, but readers don't need to have read the Brontes to understand what happens to Carly or to appreciate what she learns about the differences between her culture and that of the famous authors. Illustrations by Nick Guarracino help move things along.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about time-travel books. Have you read others? What are some common elements and lessons of this type of adventure?
What does Carly learn about the ways in which girls and women were treated during the Victorian era versus how they're treated today?
Do you think Carly's adventure is real?
Book Details
- Author: Katherine Rue
- Illustrator: Nick Guarracino
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Topics: Book Characters , Brothers and Sisters , History
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: In This Together
- Publication date: May 29, 2014
- Number of pages: 262
- Available on: Paperback, Kindle
- Last updated: July 8, 2015
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Read
Our Editors Recommend
Science Fiction Books
Books with Strong Female Characters
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate