Owl's Outstanding Donuts is a cute middle school mystery. Great characters and well written. Great for middle school characters.

Mattie has been living with her Aunt Molly in her airstream trailer ever since her mother died in a car accident. Her aunt runs a popular donut shop. One night Mattie is awakened by an owl and she witnesses two guys in a white truck dumping something in the ditch beside the highway. The next morning she investigates with her two friends, Sasha and Beanie, and they find a stinky, gloopy substance running into the drainpipe. She is sure the owl intentionally woke her up. Sasha thinks she's crazy. Beanie helps her look for a white truck and possible suspects. Before it's all over, she will have to face her fear about riding buses.

This is a short, sweet book about friendship, family, donuts, owls and letting go of sadness. I love Alfred the owl. He lives in an abandoned eagle's nest beside the donut shop and lives for the donuts thrown out each night. His character is personified and some of the chapters are from his perspective. I love the setting. A summer campground beside a busy highway with a donut shop right next door. My only criticism is the ending. Every part of the story is unique and fun until the ending. The reason for the crime ends up being ordinary, dull, and completely unoriginal. A big letdown after such a cute story. I had to remove a star for that. I need more middle grade mysteries, so I'll consider purchasing.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. It was cute! An intriguing mystery for early middle grade readers. I wasn’t particularly keen on how Sasha treated Mattie, but I did love Alfred the Owl. I actually wish he had more page time because he was my favorite!

This wonderful new middle grade novel by Robin Yardi drops the reader right into the mystery when Alfred spots shadowy figures dumping mysterious gloop into the creek near Owl’s Outstanding Donuts. He attempts to alert a girl, Mattie Waters, but it isn’t everyday that an owl taps on your window in the middle of the night. Mattie is new to Big Sur, having moved to live with her Aunt Molly after the recent death of her mum, but she eventually catches onto Alfred’s warnings. Together with Beanie and Sahsa, Mattie works to unveil the wrongdoers that are making trouble for her aunt and polluting the environment. This is a lovely story about family and overcoming grief told with a hint of magical realism that will delight young readers. Nobody will escape the charms of Alfred and his “sweet” ways.
Impression: Great read aloud for younger grades and sure to delight older elementary readers

Owl’s Outstanding Donuts written by Robin Yardi is an enjoyable and sweet middle grade read. Mattie is an amiable and sympathetic protagonist who lives in Big Sur with her donut-making aunt following the death of her mother. After being awoken by an owl trying to alert her to the presence of a white truck, Mattie becomes determined to figure out what the mysterious vehicle’s occupants are dumping into an adjacent creek bed. While she’s pretty sure no one believes that an owl is communicating with her, it’s impossible for them to ignore the presence of the gloop. Her perseverance and the help of her two best friends will be worthwhile, right?

The good: The style reminded me (in a good way) of Scooby-Doo, due to the memorable and fitting character names, the diverse traits of the mystery-solving main characters, and the ways in which they run into trouble.
The not-so-good: I found myself craving Scooby-Snacks... Oops, I mean donuts, more and more as I read, but I didn’t have any.

Thanks to Lerner Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. My review is honest and unbiased. #NetGalley #OwlsOutstandingDonuts

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I received this ARC via Netgalley and the publisher, in return for an honest review. This is a YA mystery about a 5th grade girl who, awakened by an owl one night, sees someone doing something strange at their truck on the road outside her Aunt's doughnut shop. Alfred is a very kind owl who loves doughnuts (who doesn't!) and believes Mattie can solve the problem that he discovers. Turns out, there's illegal dumping of toxic fluids that must be solved. The story also addresses the loss of parents and coping with that grief and the displacement of relocating to live with relatives. Ms. Yardi does a delicate job of handling that difficult task; the characters are engaging and I do like Alfred, the owl. It's a nice story to share with a child in the 8-10 year range.

A sweet, charming mystery - a 5th grade girl has to figure out who is dumping on her aunt's property or the family donut shop may be shut down for good! Add in a realistic friendship, overcoming personal trauma, and a very helpful owl named Alfred, and you have a winner! My only complaint is that the younger sister of the friend pair - Beanie - read as much younger than 7. What 7 year old doesn't know their birthday? At times she read as a 3 year old, and then at other times she's helping belay Mattie as she climbs a Redwood.

The Right Ingredients, Properly Combined

There were lots of ways that this could have gone off the tracks, but the author avoided every potential pitfall and brought home an entertaining and engaging tale.

Mattie's Mom has recently passed away, so Mattie's living with her Aunt across from the Aunt's Big Sur donut shop. Something strange is being dumped across the highway, the Aunt is being framed for the dumping, and a mysterious owl turns up to help Mattie solve the mystery and break the frame-up.

Mattie could have been a sulker, but she's made of sterner stuff. The Aunt's donut shop might have gone too sweetzy/cutesy, but the Aunt is a tougher old bird than that and this isn't a kiddie-cozy. The owl angle could have been twee or a little too magiky, but darned if old Alfred isn't an engaging and surprisingly believable character. The villains are pretty obvious, but there are a few red herrings to keep the mystery going, and this trended more to a Hardy Boys actioner, (lurking, skulking, spying, photographing, hiding, escaping), than a clue based mystery anyway. Even the adults' dismissing of Mattie's suspicions wasn't too heavy-handed.

So, what you get is an appealing heroine, with two equally feisty buddy cohorts, righting wrongs and saving the day. Along the way you get a mellow bit of family and friendship bonding, some thrills, a few edgy little throwaway lines, a bunch of competent and reliable adults, and a hopeful and upbeat resolution to the various story threads. You even get some nice Big Sur vibes. I'm not sure what else you could ask for in a middle grade mystery.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)