Coop Knows the Scoop
Coop Knows the Scoop by Taryn Sounders is a middle grade mystery series set in a small community outside Atlanta, Georgia. Coop, the main character, lives with his paternal grandfather and mother. Coop and his mother moved in with Gramps after his father, a US Marine, passed away. Gramps and Coop have a special relationship and Coop acknowledges how much his Gramps has stepped in to fulfill the fatherly shoes after his father’s death. In addition to Gramps, Tick, the local sheriff and dear friend of his father’s, offers mentorship and guidance, but is also in a romantic relationship with Coop’s mother.
As the story opens, Coop is working in the family business - a combined book store and coffee shop that is co-owned by the Gordon family. Twins, Justice and Liberty Gordon are also Coop’s best friends. The community, in planning to upgrade the local playground, has begun demolition, but everything is halted when the remains of a woman are found under the slide. Coop and his friends are eager to join in the town gossip, but his mother refuses his interference. It isn’t long before Coop is able to escape the store for a coffee delivery to the police conducting the investigation. As intrigue builds, it quickly becomes discovered that the remains belong to Gramp’s wife, Coop’s Grandmother, who disappeared when Coop’s father, Steven, was just an infant. Gramps attempted to look for his missing wife despite a typed letter that claims she just couldn’t live a small town life and needed to leave.
Sounder’s does a great job of writing a mystery that readers will not want to put down. Especially as Coop begins to build his own investigation board to piece together all the clues and possible suspects. With Justice and Liberty’s help, Coop conducts his own investigation that eventually leads to the discovery of his grandmother’s killer. Unfortunately, in the process more is revealed about the lives of those he loves and knows that shatters his perceptions and understandings. In particular, Coop struggles with the possibility that his Gramps is a suspect in the murder.
Justice and Liberty are also amazing side characters that are well-developed and humorous. Liberty is a tom-boy who loves baseball and is quite perceptive throughout the story as she identifies things faster than Coop and Justice. Justice is Liberty’s fraternal twin brother who struggles with vocabulary throughout the story. Due to Liberty’s precocious word choice, Justice keeps a pocket dictionary with him at all times. Throughout the story, he offers comedic relief through his attempt to use or make sense of various vocabulary words used by others.
Noteworthy quotes/mentions:
“According to Gramps, life is a journey, and what we are now is not necessarily what we will be” (3).
“Gramps stepped in where Daddy should’ve been, and, more and more, he was becoming a dad to me. I knew that I could depend on him and that he loved me” (33).
“Gramps had a third rule: You can’t leave a bad situation without finding two good things about it. Two things to be thankful for” (36).
While there is no profanity in the story, there are mentions of Liberty or others cussing. “Liberty was fluent in two languages: Cussing and Sarcasm” (47).
Coop gets into a fight with Beau, a young man whose mother died when he was young and his father is the town drunk. The fight occurs at school after Beau antagonizes Coop about the murder of his grandmother. Coop is so upset and is even proud to have made Beau bleed (101).
Coop tries to defend his actions by making a comparison to his father who was in the military. However, his Gramps responds, “Your father fought to help others, not to help himself” (105).
In a conversation with his mother about the fight, Coop reveals what Beau had said about Gramps. His mother responds, “‘That would be upsetting. But, Coop, it doesn’t matter what other people say, because you know the truth. You’re going to hear things all your life that might make you mad, and you can’t react with a punch every time’” (112).
After a confrontation at the bookstore/ cafe, Beau’s father falls and hits his head, which causes him to go into a coma. Coop begins to reflect on Beau’s life situation and experience. “Beau never knew his mom. And if his daddy died…Well, that would be like what had happened to me, but double. As much as I disliked Beau, I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. Not even him” (167).
Ruth, an elderly neighbor, addresses Beau’s negative attitude when he joins Coop at her home. Beau blames Coop’s Gramps for his mother’s death, mainly because his father does. Ruth is one of the first in the story to address Beau’s attitude, and he silently accepts what she has said.
“Holy Crap” appears on page 225.
Parents will love that this is a clean mystery that helps young readers realize that in Christ, we become a new creation, the old man is gone and the new man is established. Gramps lived a life in his early marriage that left him with shame due to gambling debts and drinking that almost destroyed his young family. Once this is revealed to Coop from others through his investigation, he ultimately also realizes that who someone once was is not who they always are and that Gramps advises Coop from a place of experience. Additionally, there are strong influences from parents and adults who seek ultimately the best for the children and answer their questions. Coop also learns to understand people who are different from him as a bad encounter with a bully begins to form into a friendship.
I really enjoyed this story and plan to read more by Taryn Sounders as a result. I look forward to bringing those reviews to you in the future.
