Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake
Encyclopedia
Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake is a mystery novel written by Jennifer Allison
, published by Dutton Children's Books.
to attend Our Ladies of the Sorrows, a private high school
for Catholic
girls, she discovers that a girl named Dolores Lambert had drowned in the lake near the school a few years ago. In this novel
, self-proclaimed psychic
investigator
Gilda Joyce investigates the mysterious happenings that seems to connect with the drowning of Dolores. Some people say that Dolores walked onto a sheet of cracked ice blindfolded that was overlapping the lake on the eve of Thanksgiving while heading home and drowned. However, Gilda suspects that someone might have intentionally pushed Dolores into the depths of the lake or made her walk on it. In this novel, Gilda investigates the drowning of Dolores, and approaches to the truth after eavesdropping, and sneaking into places she was not supposed to be. Eventually, she discovers that Danielle Menory, Priscilla Barkley, and Nikki Grimaldi, were members of The Ladies of the Lake, a secret society. In her initiation ceremony, Dolores had to walk across the lake and drowned. The girls are eventually punished and Gilda's mother breaks up with her boyfriend Brad. The only downfall is that Gilda was expelled from Our Lady of Sorrows for having failing grades (although it is implied that she is kicked out for revealing that three of the school's most prized citizens were involved in murder, even if it was an accident).
The author is Jennifer Allison.
2006 VOYA Top Shelf Fiction Selection for Middle School Readers
Characters:
Gilda Joyce
Mrs.Joyce
Catholic girls
Dolores P. Lambert
Mrs.McCracken
Miss Underhill
Marcie
Wendy Choy
Brad Squib
Velma
Master Psychic
Mr.Joyce
Jennifer Allison
Jennifer Allison is an American author of mystery novels who is best known as the author of the Gilda Joyce children's series of books.Born Jennifer Allison Brostrom, she grew up in Saline, Michigan and is a 1984 graduate from Saline High School. Jennifer holds a B.A...
, published by Dutton Children's Books.
Plot summary
When Gilda Joyce earns a scholarshipScholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to attend Our Ladies of the Sorrows, a private high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
for Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
girls, she discovers that a girl named Dolores Lambert had drowned in the lake near the school a few years ago. In this novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, self-proclaimed psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
investigator
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
Gilda Joyce investigates the mysterious happenings that seems to connect with the drowning of Dolores. Some people say that Dolores walked onto a sheet of cracked ice blindfolded that was overlapping the lake on the eve of Thanksgiving while heading home and drowned. However, Gilda suspects that someone might have intentionally pushed Dolores into the depths of the lake or made her walk on it. In this novel, Gilda investigates the drowning of Dolores, and approaches to the truth after eavesdropping, and sneaking into places she was not supposed to be. Eventually, she discovers that Danielle Menory, Priscilla Barkley, and Nikki Grimaldi, were members of The Ladies of the Lake, a secret society. In her initiation ceremony, Dolores had to walk across the lake and drowned. The girls are eventually punished and Gilda's mother breaks up with her boyfriend Brad. The only downfall is that Gilda was expelled from Our Lady of Sorrows for having failing grades (although it is implied that she is kicked out for revealing that three of the school's most prized citizens were involved in murder, even if it was an accident).
Characters
- Gilda Joyce - PsychicPsychicA psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
Investigator (Self-Proclaimed), StudentStudentA student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
, exceptional writer, determined, short, red hair. - Wendy Choy -A BFFBFFBFF may stand for:* Backup-file Format, a data archive format used by IBM AIX* Bangladesh Football Federation, the governing body of football in Bangladesh* Ben Folds Five, a now defunct American rock band* Best friends forever, a close friendship...
of Gilda Joyce, Student (attending a different school) - Dolores Lambert - A girl who drowned in Our Ladies of Sorrows a few years ago. In the end it is revealed she is a ghost.
- Mrs. Joyce - Gilda's motherMotherA mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
, nurse - Shirley McCraken - Headmistress of Our Ladies of Sorrows
- Priscilla Barkley- A studentStudentA student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
of Our Ladies of Sorrows also President of Ladies of the Lake. Involved in the killing of Dolores Lambert. She's the "captain" of the Ladies of the Lake club. - Danielle Menory- Another student of Our Ladies of Sorrows also Secretary of Ladies of the Lake. Involved in the killing of Dolores Lambert. Of the members of the group, she feels the most guilty about the death of Dolores.
- Tiara a dumb persont Our Ladies of Sorrows, who tries to act like Gilda's mother-at-school
- Velma Underhill - A secretarySecretaryA secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
at Our Ladies of Sorrows - Mr. Pante - A teacher at Our Ladies of Sorrows, often mispronounced as "Mr. Panty". Many girls in his class have crushes on him.
- Nikki Grimaldi - A student from Our Ladies of Sorrows also Activities Director of Ladies of the Lake. Involved in the killing of Dolores Lambert.
- Brad Squib - Mrs. Joyce's obnoxious boyfriend (later becomes ex-boyfriend)
- Stephen Joyce - Gilda's geeky brother
The author is Jennifer Allison.
Awards
2007 Edgar Awards Nominee2006 VOYA Top Shelf Fiction Selection for Middle School Readers
Characters:
Gilda Joyce
Mrs.Joyce
Catholic girls
Dolores P. Lambert
Mrs.McCracken
Miss Underhill
Marcie
Wendy Choy
Brad Squib
Velma
Master Psychic
Mr.Joyce