Fight or Flight: Double O’Two Mysteries
Double Blessing
West Bow Press (2022)
ISBN: 978-1664267763
Reviewed by Lily Andrews for Reader Views (11/2022)
“Fight or Flight: Double O’Two Mysteries” by twin sisters Ja’Naya and Jay’Den-Alexis, otherwise known as Double Blessing, is a beguiling children’s mystery chock-full of witty dialogue, drama, and action. The authors carve out the storyline in such a professional but comic manner that leaves a longing for the next chapter in anticipation and advent.
The passage revolves around a rescue operation by three fictional characters, the Twins and the Deputy, who intend to solve a missing/murder case of a man known as Pizza man and whose perpetrator is aggressive, intimidating, and ruthless. The twins had witnessed the culprit’s evil, hideous act on the Pizza man when he stole a video game. Why would the villain retain/kill the Pizza man even after taking the video game from him? Curiosity and a deep desire to “save the world” from such evil men lead the three to recruit the Deputy who plays the cop in this storyline. The trio are still rookies in real-life crime-solving but won’t stop until the mysterious disappearance of the Pizza man is uncovered. The plot takes a captivating twist when a well-kept secret is further uncovered.
The co-authors deftly bring to life culinary characters like Chicken Man, a Cookie, a Soda, a Breadstick, an Ice Cream Scoop, a Garbage Man, and a Salt and Pepper Shaker. This is so uniquely derived and interacting with them leaves one in stitches and astonished from beginning to end. The character creation is quirky but peculiar at the same time and bound to intrigue even an attention-wandering child. The language too is easy to understand and neatly polished as well.
The authors’ playful writing style is further paired with the bustling illustrations at the start of each chapter, resulting in a gem with an amiable lush. Their prose is breathlessly beautiful and the lines are clean and vibrant. Lyrical and nonlinear, with sentences that feel like carved magma, each scene is characterized by sharp emotions oozing from the protagonists which are perhaps encapsulated by the impressive world-building jumping from the pages.
The conclusion is, however, a bit humdrum, which creates a slight asymmetrical comparison with the action and intrigue in the book. inter That notwithstanding, this heartwarming read is not to be missed, as it offers a chiseled outlook on key themes that are presented adroitly to a young reader’s mind.
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