REVIEW: Smart by Kim Slater

Smart by Kim Slater
Published by Macmillan Children's Books
Pages: 240
Source: *Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I found Jean’s friend dead in the river. His name was Colin Kirk. He was a homeless man, but he still wanted to live.

There’s been a murder, but the police don’t care. It was only a homeless old man after all.

Kieran cares. He’s made a promise, and when you say something out loud, that means you’re going to do it, for real. He’s going to find out what really happened. To Colin. And to his grandma, who just stopped coming round one day. It’s a good job Kieran’s a master of observation, and knows all the detective tricks of the trade.

But being a detective is difficult when you’re Kieran Woods. When you’re amazing at drawing but terrible at fitting in. And when there are dangerous secrets everywhere, not just outside, but under your own roof.

This was one of my most anticipated reads when I first heard about it, and then it was on NetGalley and I clicked the request button so quickly. I was so excited to read a new murder mystery for Young Adults, but I didn't finish it. I just could not. I got to one hundred pages and could read no more. This was initially a cover love, so detailed and intricate this beautiful cover highlights the mystery behind this novel.

Kieren is a young boy living with his mother and evil step-father and step-brother. He has no-one to go talk to now his grandmother stepped out of his life, however he has Jean. But when Jean's friend Colin is found washed up in the river, Kieran's detective skills soon come into play and he finds himself at the centre of a mystery. Will Kieran find out?

Kieren was a peculiar character, I could never figure him out; I could not connect with him in any way. I felt the plot was sadly bland, I was not at all engaged in the novel at any stage and I had no drive to continue reading as nothing, in my eyes, was happening.

Sadly I had to put Smart down at one hundred pages as I was unable to connect with the character and I was not able to become engaged with the plot. I may try and reread this someday.