“CLUELESS McGEE,” by Jeff Mack, Philomel Books, August 2012, Hardcover, $11.98 (Ages 8-12)

In my house, we have readers of every sort of book imaginable. When I saw the cover (and read the “plea to book reviewers” cleverly inserted as a loose sheet in the middle of the book), I thought “Clueless McGee” by Jeff Mack would be an instant hit.

Almost. Not quite.

Clueless revolves around the exploits of Ninja Warz video-game enthusiast PJ McGee, an elementary-school private eye that stumbles on a mystery when the school’s macaroni and cheese is stolen. Ever on the lookout for a clue — and never able to see one when it’s right in front of him — PJ gets into some funny scrapes trying to identify the culprit.

As our child reviewer, we had a 9-year-old veteran of the “Captain Underpants” series and a lover of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” (two series this book calls to mind immediately), and we had him read “Clueless” with more than a little enthusiasm, being as there is no potty humor here, nothing more than a wedgie or two.

But he didn’t really like the book. He read it, which is a good sign, but he never raved about it the way he has with others aimed at that age. So I also had my daughters (10 and 13) read the book, and one of my older sons. Our reactions were unanimous. It’s pretty good. It’s fun, and it moves fast. The drawings are entertaining and often hilarious. But there’s something missing.

Maybe it’s PJ’s father. The book is written as a series of letters from PJ to his dad, who PJ has been told is a private eye away in the Dakotas on a secret mission. It’s pretty clear to an adult that this isn’t true, however. PJ misses his father, whom he idolizes. He begs him to come home. In response PJ gets postcards from him occasionally. Is this not a bit too heavy for such a cotton-candy tale?

Still, the book held enough of our interest that all of us finished it and none of us regretted doing so. There are worse things one can say about a book these days.

Chris Jones is a guest reviewer for Cracking the Cover. He is a battle-scarred veteran of children’s lit and YA, having with his wife Jeanette eight children of his own. An author in his own right, Chris has a large stack of books on his nightstand, his end table, his bookshelves and his floor, and spends practically every waking moment either reading or writing, and absolutely every waking moment wishing he were. His musings show up here and at iamchrisjones.com.

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