'The Golden Road' by Lucy Maud Montgomery

When Sara Stanley, the Story Girl, returns to Carlisle to spend the winter with the King family, she comes up with a great idea. To help them through the dreary months ahead, she and the others will publish a magazine.

From "Personals" to "Fashion Notes" to an etiquette column and stories of the most interesting happenings in Carlisle, Our Magazine quickly becomes the most entertaining publication anyone in town has ever read. But seasons pass, nothing is forever--soon it will be time for the Story Girl to leave her good friends on Prince Edward Island, friends with whom she has walked the golden road of youth.

MY THOUGHTS: 

The adolescent gang from The Story Girl are back with more of their charming domestic adventures narrated once again by Beverley. Energy keeps the story flowing, as one and all try to be particularly proactive. They start their own newspaper, make solemn New Year's Resolutions around the kitchen table, and attempt to keep the family pride shining by entertaining a daunting visitor while the adults are away. Along with these collective undertakings are personal quests such as Cecily's goal to get sponsors for her missions quilt, the Story Girl's determination to get to the bottom of the Awkward Man's romantic past, and Peter's ongoing attempts to make Felicity fall for him.

The main characters are all so lovable and well-realised, it's easy to imagine it all playing out. Felicity is as smug as ever. Although she makes one cooking mishap, I can't see it as her fault rather than Aunt Janet's. And poor Cecily's dilemma is real - ask any book blogger or reviewer. She resolves to improve her mind by reading good books, but finds it extremely hard to persevere when faced with such tedious tomes as 'History of the Reformation in France.' We've got to question if they really are mind-improving books when we dread every page. 

Dan doesn't resolve to brush his teeth more often but truly should. We learn that he brushes them without fail every Sunday, and when his sisters tip him off that Family Guide recommends every day, he scoffs that they must have nothing better to do with their time. Oh Dan! 

Poor Sara Ray is still described by Bev as a 'colourless little nonentity' which offends me on her behalf, although I'm convinced Montgomery's heavy-handed aim is always to contrast her with the other Sara; the Story Girl, whose every thought comes to her in vivid colour. Especially since they even have the same name. (The term 'synesthesia' was possibly unknown by Maud, but I believe the Story Girl had it. It's a condition in which cognitive pathways overlap so that the experience of one of the five senses stimulates another. I've known a few people who have it.)

Peg Bowen, the local 'witch' features strongly in this story. While Montgomery deliberately keeps Peg's supernatural powers ambiguous in The Story Girl, she seems to cross a line of no return in this book, as Peg makes some very remarkable prophecies that come to pass.    

If I was to describe this book, I might call it, 'The one with the Returning Fathers.' No less than three dads show up out of the blue, to break up the great camaraderie the eight kids have going. The Story Girl's wandering artist father, Uncle Blair, arrives one morning, intending to take his daughter back to Europe with him. I never really gel with this flighty guy, since he ticked off on his own for seven years, presuming on the good nature of his in-laws to care for his daughter so he could be a free spirit. But the kids all love him. 

Also, Peter's prodigal father, Newton Craig, gets converted at a tent rally and decides to drop his booze and return to the family he deserted so long ago. I wonder how that will work out. Finally Alan King, Bev and Felix's father, sends a letter announcing that he's moving back from South America to Toronto, and will be coming for them. It all turns out to be very much an 'Auld Lang Syne' sort of story, about cherishing our fleeting fun times while they last. 

What's more, there's some sad foreshadowing from the very start that Cecily is ailing and will suffer the same fate of other Montgomery girls cut off in their teens, such as Ruby Gillis and Bets Wilcox. The slow, wasting consumption has got hold of her, and although she doesn't succumb in this book, Bev's hindsight from the future leaves us in no doubt that Cecily's days are numbered. (He also hints that Felicity and Peter will eventually be married, which gives me a buzz.) 

I tried using my book sleuth skills to pin an accurate time frame on this story. We're clearly in Queen Victoria's reign, but the Story Girl remarks that Prince Albert is already dead, which sets us somewhere within the broad forty year gap between 1861 and 1901. This book itself was published in 1913 but evidently set way earlier, which makes sense since Montgomery's grown up Beverley King is looking back on his early youth. And he must be at least 55, because his cousin Sara sends him a copy of the Awkward Man's tale 40 years after the events take place (when he was almost 15). Maud is making allowances for that passage of time. 

Still, she gets her own wires crossed at times. When Uncle Blair sketches all their portraits, Beverley describes how delightful that was, because 'the days of the camera were just dawning' and none of them had ever had their photographs taken. Oh yeah? How about the family album Cecily drags out to show Great Aunt Eliza earlier in the story, which was supposedly crammed with photos of former generations of Kings from way back? Maud does make occasional continuity glitches. (As we know from Shirley Blythe's fluctuating age in the latter books of the Anne series.) That just makes me laugh. 

There are other minor contradictions too. I'm not convinced that Jasper Dale, aka the Awkward Man, would ever ask a local woman in to scrub and clean for him, since he's always super neat and fastidious anyway, and women supposedly make him break out in stress hives. But since the plot hinges on Mrs Griggs' testimony about his secret room dedicated to 'Alice', we have to take this in stride too. 

Overall, Montgomery has done another cracking job, and it's easy to overlook her occasional inconsistencies since her power of evoking great fun and bitter sweet nostalgia in the same story is awesome. And although I wasn't Uncle Blair's greatest fan, his comforting quote sums up this book's theme. 'Nothing is really lost to us, as long as we remember it.' 

🌟🌟🌟🌟  

Trixie Belden Series 34 - 36

34) The Mystery of the Missing Millionaire

Trixie and Honey discover a lost wallet near Mr Lytell's store, which turns out to belong to Anthony Ramsey, a wealthy man who owns a chain of grocery stores. He has disappeared and his daughter, Laura, is worried sick about him. She borrows money from Mr Lytell to hire a private detective, leaving her flashy car as collateral. But will the Bob Whites trump the professional, Mark McGraw, when it comes to getting to the bottom of Anthony's disappearance?

* Mr Lytell is at his cantankerous worst in this book. His caustic nature is given free reign. Trixie is terrified to even enter his shop for fear of a harsh rebuke, and sure enough, that's just what she gets. He's the sort of adult who assumes he can treat kids and teens like dirt, just because they're young. Would his snappy behaviour extend to adults? Would he bark at Peter or Helen Belden for stirring his irritation? I doubt it. A man of character would make up his mind to treat everyone who crosses his path with courtesy and composure. 

* Having said that, I wouldn't say that he has no cause for being grumpy at all. Trixie finds orange, grape and cola soft drinks in his display fridge, and asks, 'Do you have any strawberry, Mr Lytell?' Perhaps she should use a bit of the deduction she prides herself on. If he did, wouldn't she expect to see a few cans out there for sale? In his place, I might fight the impulse to roll my eyes and reply, 'Does it look like it?' But I wouldn't pay her out in such a nasty manner. 

* Mr Lytell does his business on an old typewriter with a slip of carbon paper between the two documents he wants copies of. 

* Brian expresses his belief that Mart usually can't wait to spill all his secrets to him, but this time he's keeping quiet about whatever is exciting him. Hmm, does Brian really think that extends to everything? I suspect there's a bit of older brother naivety occurring here.

* Bobby likens Snow White's Seven Dwarfs to the Bob Whites. As well as having the same number in their group, they share a similar agenda. The Bob Whites aim to help people, just as the dwarfs helped Snow White. I like the analogy. I guess Trixie and Honey could be re-named Nosy and Tactful. And how about Muscly, Doc, Smarty, Busy and Pretty for Jim, Brian, Mart, Dan and Di respectively.   

* When Laura Ramsey describes how much she loves to read, Di remarks, 'I wish I did.' And she goes on to say that she'd sooner sit in a shady spot without a book than with one. If all this is true, is she really the girl for Mart then? I get the feeling Di is misrepresented in this passage. Although she struggles with her grades in school, I never before had the impression that she hates reading in general. How about the occasional romance novel or Lucy Radcliffe book?

* Having studied an English major myself, I think Trixie's reasons for suspecting Laura's credibility are unreasonably stringent. She finds it strange that Laura, an English major at Columbia University, doesn't recognise a line from Shakespeare when she hears it. Well, I didn't recognise it either! It's far more remarkable that Mart, a fifteen-old-year High School boy, can quote from Shakespeare's Henry V off the cuff to suit the occasion, than it is that Laura Ramsey, an English major, doesn't recognise it. 

* The name of Uncle Mart, who had to go into hospital for tests at the end of The Mystery at Bob White Cave pops up again. It seems he always gives his namesake Mart a subscription for a boys' magazine which he's long since outgrown. I get the impression of a clueless but well-meaning elderly relative who just goes on his merry way, and nobody wants to offend. Ah well, the magazines might suit Bobby down the track.   

* We are back to Mart having a room of his own and not sharing with Brian. He retreats to do his secret business there, which would surely be impossible to hide if it was common ground for the pair of them.  

* Trixie is very formal with the census taker who comes knocking. She reports that Peter is 39, Helen is 37, Brian is 17, Martin is 15, she, Beatrix is 14 and Robert is 6. She doesn't add that they've somehow plunged into a time warp, since they've all been stuck at these same ages for two or three years worth of events, haha.

* Trixie and Honey are excited about having the chance to work with a real private detective, Mark McGraw. Sadly, he's brusque and businesslike and criticises their novice methods of handling the wallet they picked up. This does nothing for Trixie's self-confidence.

* Trixie's insecurities are stirred up again. She's jealous of Laura Ramsey partly because Jim seems to be attracted to her. That lonely, vulnerable voice she sometimes grapples with demands, 'What about me?' Whenever she's in this sort of mood, proving her own importance through mystery solving seems to gain huge significance. She claims her dislike of Laura runs deeper than possessiveness over Jim, but I'm not convinced that's true. 

* Mart's insecurities are stirred in this story too. Since his plight turns out to be a smaller echo of the main mystery, I'll just brush over the details, except that he's taken advantage by unscrupulous people who play on his enthusiasm and vulnerability. And his dad says that since those crooks might be more cluey than Mart when it comes to deception, he has nothing to be ashamed of.  

* Trixie actually gives Mart an apology. 'I'm sorry for bursting in like that. I really am.' (Yet as she obviously isn't sorry at all, I'm not sure we can take that one.)  

* All the crooks who appear in this story are class acts. Their devious activity is sneaky all round.

* A suitable quote of the book was hard to choose. The boys keep saying noble things. For example, Mart tells Trixie, 'I don't want to just go to school and study agriculture on Dad's money and then become a teacher using Jim's. I want to contribute something too.' And later Jim declares, 'I'm not going to let what someone else is change what I am. I hope I'm nice to everybody.' These are both worthy contenders.

* But the quote of the book is this exchange between Trixie and Burt, the census man, because it made me laugh. Trixie: My mother's name is Helen. She's thirty-seven. Burt: Does she work outside the home? Trixie (uncertainly): Well, she has a big garden. 

35) The Mystery of the Memorial Day Fire

The whole of Sleepyside is out enjoying the festivities of Memorial Day evening when a deafening explosion rips through town. It was set in the basement of Mr Roberts' trophy shop and discovered to be the work of an arsonist. Poor Mr Roberts is accused of the heinous crime for the purpose of collecting insurance. But what other mischief is afoot? Is the presence of Jane Dix-Strauss, a journalist who specialises in arson, at all coincidental? Can Trixie and the Bob Whites figure out who really started the fire? 

* From here on out, I've read none of these remaining books of the series. In my teens I collected and devoured the first thirty-four and went for years thinking that was it. Then suddenly in my twenties, I saw these extra ones at the bookshop which had been published in the mid eighties. I couldn't believe it! I grabbed them of course, but since I was busy with babies and other stuff, I put them aside and never got around to reading them. Until now! 

* I've got to admit I started this with a bit of trepidation. After such a big gap, I had no idea how many inconsistencies might pop up. Quite early on, Regan was referred to as the Wheelers' chaffeur, which didn't augur well. 

* The Bob Whites are enjoying the 117th annual Memorial Day parade together. It sounds like a pageant in which local businesses can observe the season, promoting themselves in the process. 

* Jane Dix-Strauss is the newest addition to the staff at the Sleepyside Sun, keeping up the tradition started by Paul Trent of rubbing Trixie up the wrong way. She starts by snapping a surprise photo of the Bob Whites at the parade, then pokes fun at Trixie's startled reaction. That wouldn't be a problem in our era. Journalists like Jane would be required to ask subjects' permission first. No way could she simply blind subjects with her flash and then demand their personal details for her feature article.  

* The sheep mentality of the crowd in the wake of the explosion disgusts the Bob Whites. People are so curious to find out what happened that they surge forward en masse, blocking the fire vehicles from getting to the scene. 

* The Bob Whites have another clubhouse crisis. Urgent repairs are needed but their treasury is empty. 

* Honey complains about her bad grades and says that she needs to study, or she'll have to do summer school during the holidays. Now that's an inconsistency. She's always been the smart, conscientious one. Trixie and Di are the only strugglers when it comes to school grades. 

* Oh dear, Sergeant Molinson has done it again. He's jumped the gun, interrogating somebody who should be above reproach with insufficient evidence. In The Midnight Marauder it was Mart. In this instance, it's Mr Roberts.  

* It doesn't ring true for me that Trixie (and others) would be able to snoop around the grounds of the explosion site a mere day or two after it happened. Surely it should be cordoned off with tape and KEEP OUT notices for safety reasons! Even back in the eighties. 

* We're told the action takes place in the first week of June. In that case, Mart should have just celebrated his 16th birthday on the first day of the month. Kathryn Kenny doesn't mention it, so I thought I would. It appears he has a learner driver's permit. You need to be 16 for that where I come from, so I hoped this was an indication that time has started ticking again at last. But nope, Trixie and Honey are still apparently 14, so my theory falls flat.

* Mr Roberts comes across as his usual taciturn, uncommunicative self, although in all fairness, we only ever see him in the pages of these books when his business and family life are under great stress. Perhaps he's quite a jolly guy at other times.

* Helen Belden says, 'I think I have the four best children in the whole wide world.' Well, since the older three carry the weight of all those chores on their shoulders, she has a fair case. And Bobby, stuck in his perpetual six-year-old mindset, is still oblivious that he doesn't have a chore, he is one. 

* My biggest question is where the heck was Regan the night the Wheelers' stables were set on fire?!! His personal digs are practically right on the spot. And he's always been super vigilant about his equine friends. So when an arsonist sets the stables ablaze, those beloved horses are threshing and neighing with terror, and the fire department arrives on the scene, are we meant to assume that he just sleeps through it all? No way, Jose!

* Quote of the book goes to Jim. 'Trixie has enough energy to power a locomotive, if there were only some way to harness it.' 

36) The Mystery of the Antique Doll

When Dr Ferris asks Trixie and Honey to do some light housework for Mrs De Keyser, they jump at the chance. She lives next door to a mysterious Antique Barn they've been anxious to check out. Its proprietor, Mr Carl Reid, seems impatient and preoccupied. But when he discovers the girls are off on a long-weekend to Paris, he asks them to pick up a special antique doll for him. The beautiful treasure causes loads of strife, especially when they return to Sleepyside. The doll disappears and Mr Reid accuses the girls of stealing her. What really happened, and are there more secrets to the doll than he is letting on? 

* We're told that Dan is the only Bob White who doesn't attend Sleepyside Junior Senior High School. Huh, since when? He has always been there with them before, and we never heard he'd stopped. In fact, I'd assume he'd have to be there still, if he aims to be a New York City cop. Surely you need to graduate from school to get into police academy. Kathryn Kenny, more information please.

* Dr Ferris asks Trixie and Honey if they'd mind doing some light housework after school some nights for Mrs De Keyser, who has fallen over and broken her arm. They're happy to, since she lives next door to the new antique barn they've been anxious to check out. In fact it's her property, and she's Mr Reid's landlord.

* Mrs De Keyser teaches the girls to make a terrific stew which sounds like it could rival Mr Maypenny's legendary stew, the way they rave on about it. I'd like both recipes in my dream series cookbook, of course. 

* She has a mischievous dog named Willy who seems to be even more of a handful than Reddy. For at least Reddy doesn't attempt to bolt from the door the moment he sees an opening. 

* Trixie originally thinks Mr Reid, the proprietor of the antique barn, seems a bit fishy because he obviously knows zilch about the antique business. Her father tells her that in his line of work, he sees people who know nothing about their products go into business all the time. But come on Pete, do they really know absolutely nothing, as this guy seems to? 

* This story takes place the week after Halloween. If we are splitting hairs then, Brian should have just turned nineteen by now. Just saying. (Of course he's no doubt still seventeen in Bob White time.)

* Trixie and Honey are finalists in the regional spelling bee. It gives them quite a bit of stress.

* The narrator tells us that although Mart is the smartest of all the Belden children, he has a lot of trouble with spelling. Hmm, that's a bit of a blanket statement for something that's highly relative. How about Brian? While Mart is clearly our most creative humanities and literary guy, Brian always takes first place in mathematics and science. And arguably their sister may surpass them both with sixth sense and intuition. ('I don't think up things that are fishy, Honey Wheeler. I only notice them.')

* Jim, Brian and Mart will be taking over cooking for Mrs De Keyser while Trixie and Honey are in Paris, and the two girls wonder if they can even cook. Honey says (sort of disparagingly, I think) 'Jim is actually a pretty good cook. There's no reason why Brian and Mart can't learn something useful too.' Then Trixie agrees, 'You're absolutely right. This will be a broadening experience for them.' That's a bit of a continuity glitch, since the boys are actually excellent cooks. Way back in Mystery in Arizona, they were the only ones Maria the chef would trust to take over her kitchen when she got ready to go AWOL. In fact at the time, she groomed Brian, Mart and Jim to roll out top quality cuisine on demand. 

* Trixie's not above a bit of boasting to Mr Reid, who rubs her up the wrong way. 'We happen to be flying to Paris in Mr Wheeler's private jet, Mr Reid,' as she holds her nose at a lofty angle. Well, la-di-da, Miss Belden. I doubt her parents would approve of her boastful behaviour. Oh well, it comes back to bite her, when he asks them to do him a special favour.

* This story introduces a stereotypical bumbling detective, Marcel Patou from Paris. With his awkward, fumbling fingers, I don't know how he ever made it as far as he did. 

* (Slight spoiler alert) Bobby's role in the disappearance of you-know-what is unbelievably far-fetched to me. We're expected to believe that little Willy, a dog he's never seen before, carries it all the way from his own house to Crabapple Farm, where he's never been! What are the odds? 

* Quote of the book goes to Mrs De Keyser. 'When you get to be my age, an antique is just something that used to be brand new when you were young.' (Her comment is ironic since my set of Trixie Beldens were brand new books when I bought them in my teens, and now I've seen some appear on the shelves of antique shops themselves.)  

Catch up on Series 31 to 33

Stay tuned for 37 - Finish               

The Borrowers Series (Books 1 & 2)

1) The Borrowers

'We are part of the House. You might as well say the fire-grate steals coal from the coal scuttle... Human beans are for Borrowers, as bread is for butter.'

This beautiful series begins when elderly Mrs May tells her young friend Kate the long but logical tale of why small household objects inexplicably disappear. They are pilfered by a hidden race of tiny people, of course, who can put them to good use. She re-tells her younger brother's story about his brief run-in with such a family, decades earlier.  

They lived beneath the floorboards of a stately British manor. There was a father, methodical Pod, the most skillful borrower of his generation, and a mother, houseproud Homily, who created a cosy home from odd scraps he'd managed to glean over the years. Their only child was Arrietty, a restless sprite of a girl who pined for the great outdoors and company her own age. But the tragedy of their niece Eggletina's demise at the claws of a cat makes Pod and Homily inclined to keep their precious daughter close. In fact traditionally girls don't 'borrow' at all. They stay home doing household chores while boys are taught to go out with their dads and learn the family survival skills. Arrietty finds that hard to swallow. 

This is one of those kids' books which is even more richly nuanced for adults. There are some gorgeous details, such as their memories of the snooty Overmantel family, who are now nowhere. In fact Homily retains a detailed social strata in her head, even though all of the other minuscule families have long since packed up and moved on, for various reasons. I love how the 'human bean' cook, Mrs Driver, and gardener, Crampfurl, surreptitiously sneak their employer's bottles of Fine Old Pale Madeira, because they trust she'll never venture downstairs and catch them red-handed. And how Pod has befriended the invalid Great Aunt Sophy herself, because he knows she never believes what she sees after her third glass.

Life changes when a nine-year-old boy (Mrs May's brother) arrives for a stay in the countryside with his great aunt, and spies the borrowers when they are taken off guard. He commences an unlikely kindred spirit relationship with Arrietty which triggers her great epiphany. Arrietty had assumed that the existence of too many giant people would take a fatal toll on the world's resources, but learns that her concept of the world had been far too limited. Of course eventual danger from the human adults is inevitable, since the boy's very presence sets everyone's predictable lifestyles off kilter.  

There is always a whimsical suspension of disbelief. We are invited by Mrs May to consider this tale a secret history rather than a fantasy, even though her brother was a tease with a brilliant imagination. It makes cool reading, as Arrietty discovers the world doesn't really revolve around little folk like themselves, as she'd always been taught. Meanwhile, Pod deplores the sudden gift of ostentatious luxuries without any real point, and Homily's weakness for grandiosity proves to be her downfall. 

There is a lovely, slightly melancholic tone provided by the passing of time that I appreciate too. I'm ready to move straight on to the next book. C. S. Lewis said, 'No book is worth reading at ten that is not worth reading even more at 50,' and he is quite right. 

2) The Borrowers Afield

'What if it were only a story, so long as it was a good story? Keep your sense of wonder, child, and don't be so literal. And anything we haven't experienced for ourselves sounds like a story.' 

Mrs May and Kate provide the framework of this tale again. When Mrs May inherits a small cottage at Leighton Buzzard, Kate goes along with her to do some sleuthing regarding the borrowers. She meets Tom Goodenough, an elderly tenant who was once the gamekeeper's young grandson. He was also the boy with the ferret who visited the day Firbank Hall was fumigated. To Kate's delight, Tom is able to continue the tale of the little Clock family where Mrs May's brother left off, for he became the next human friend of Arrietty, who told him, 'It's so awful and sad to belong to a race which no sane person believes in.'  

This is a survival tale in the great outdoors.We all know Pod, Homily and Arrietty were forced to flee their home beneath the floorboards at Firbank Hall because their cover had been busted. 'Migration' is their only option, so they seek Uncle Hendreary's badger's set in Perkin's Beck, the nearby field; a tremendous trek for them. But Hendreary's home proves to be elusive, bitter winter is approaching, and the discovery of an abandoned boot appears to be a godsend. It's a modest temporary home but they have no other choice. Pod identifies it as a gentleman's boot which mollifies Homily. She might be living in some old boot, but at least it didn't belong to riff raff (as far as she knows, but the truth will out!). I love and admire these little dudes for their gumption, ingenuity and resourcefulness. 

The highlight of this story is the introduction of Spiller, the scruffy urchin lad who helps himself to a few of their tools while they're out. Spiller represents everything Homily feared about living outdoors. 'Uncouth, unwashed, dishonest and ill-bred,' is how she describes him, for you don't 'borrow' from other borrowers. He's a product of a life spent alone in the wilderness, having brought himself up. (For any readers of Wuthering Heights, this borrower boy has strong Hareton Earnshaw vibes.) Yet the very qualities Homily deplores are those which provide his edge, enabling him to camouflage excellently and develop his field-smarts. By the end, they all benefit hugely from Spiller's acquaintance, which extends to saving their lives. He's a legend who is always in his element.

It's quite intriguing, as Arrietty wonders if enterprise and curiosity will always meet with disaster, for she seems to have both in spades. She wonders if it will really be necessary to keep a lid on it all forever. Poor Homily has her fair share of Children of Israel moments, and feels tempted to turn around and go home to Firbank Hall where she knows Mrs Driver will now be ever alert, but Pod reminds her that burning one's bridges is part of a borrower's philosophy. It's fun to see Homily adapt to the more rudimentary lifestyle to the extent of tucking into Spiller's hot meat, being super cautious not to ask him what it is!  

There is some superb nature writing from Arrietty's delightfully limited viewpoint. Yet as this book ends, her prospects appear as grimly safe as they were beneath the floor at Firbank. She's holed up again, this time in a high, narrow wall as part of an extended family, which we already sense will become strained before long. Arrietty pines for Spiller, and I don't blame her. Something will have to give, which will be the focus of the next few books. Bring them on!

Stay tuned for Books 3 & 4 (Borrowers Afloat and Aloft)

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (for both books)

'The Story Girl' by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Sara Stanley is only fourteen, but she can weave tales that are impossible to resist. In the charming town of Carlisle, children and grown-ups alike flock from miles around to hear her spellbinding tales. And when Bev King and his younger brother Felix arrive for the summer, they, too, are captivated by the Story Girl. Whether she's leading them on exciting misadventure or narrating timeless stories--from the scary "Tale of the Family Ghost" to the fanciful "How Kissing Was Discovered" to the bittersweet "The Blue Chest of Rachel Ward"--the Story Girl has her audience hanging on every word.

MY THOUGHTS: 

Pure nostalgia can be beautifully compelling. This is a tale of eight youngsters between the ages of 11 and 14 who hang out together in a breathtaking part of Prince Edward Island. A grown man named Beverley King narrates the story of how he and his brother Felix were sent to stay for an indeterminate length of time with relatives at the family homestead where their dad was brought up many years earlier. It's clearly one of the best times of his life, and he describes their shenanigans, fun and occasional angst as if he were back on the spot, adding occasional comments from his older self about how naive, credulous but essentially merry they all were.

Bev and Felix already possess a great sense of home from the moment of their arrival, since their father has described the folklore and features of the ancestral stamping ground to them. I love their deep sense of rootedness, and the idea that a long, quirky lineage on the same patch of land has helped shape them into the boys they already are. Not everyone is so grounded, and it's a true blessing.

They live under the same roof with their cousins; pragmatic, irreverent Dan, beautiful and conventional Felicity and gentle Cecily. A stone's throw away lives another cousin, Sara Stanley (the Story Girl) who has a fascinating gift of the gab. Rounding off their little gang is the hired boy Peter Craig, who is inquisitive and hard-working, and Sara Ray, whose controlling mother makes her wistful and anxious. The adventures and personality clashes of such a disparate group are great fun to read about.

The Story Girl gains Beverley's fascination at the outset. She has a genius for sniffing out ripping yarns from modest raw material that comes to her from everywhere. These leads slide past others as ordinary and mundane until Sara gets hold of them and forms them into her own personal style of live theatre. She has excellent recall, a great appreciation of the power of words, and quick wits to come up with a perfect story for any occasion. We readers have to take Bev's word (and Montgomery's) about how spellbinding she is, since we only get to read Sara's words without hearing them. I tend to think Montgomery (and Bev) gilds the lily a bit about her magical voice, but it doesn't detract much from the overall enjoyment of the book.

I had my own memories about how refreshingly funny the collective incidents are, but it struck me this time how many of them zoom in on those curly aspects of theology that stump seasoned adults. Lots of this book is about the little gang genuinely trying to figure out how the Big Guy Upstairs works and hoping to second guess him. For example, they deal with intense fright following some fanatic's Doomsday announcement, purchase a supposed photo of God from a boy at school, hold a preaching competition between the boys, who aim to nail the 'best' delivery, try to figure out whether or not Peter has the 'right' to pray against Felix, and wonder how they can coerce God to heal poor Paddy, even though he's just a cat. The bottom line is they really want to know how they can be truly reverential when they feel they are just winging it. 

Added to all this are the trials of poor Peter, who is one of my favourite characters. He's the working class son of a single mother. And he's a genuine spiritual seeker who puts up with plenty of snobbery and flak when he decides to join his friends and start attending the local Presbyterian church. In spite of all the strokes against him,  including time constraints, Peter is the one member of their little group who aims to read the Bible from cover to cover and succeeds, although he admits lots of it baffles him.   

I think the fact that they are able to pin down no concrete answers but find themselves having to rely on faith and general revelations of the bounty they see around them is evidence of their growing up. And of course we readers must acknowledge that we share the same limitations as the King kids. Learning to live content with the mystery is a point we all must reach. The ages of all the main characters make this book dynamic, since they're all moving into adolescence and have their feet in two different stages of being, so to speak.

Overall, it's a lovely reminder that existential questions are natural, but it's ultimately okay that we don't get clear answers. I might even go so far as to recommend this as a fun, highly entertaining text theology students might enjoying pondering, even though it is essentially a feel-good novel. I'm looking forward to continuing on with The Golden Road. 

🌟🌟🌟🌟½     

Trixie Belden Series 31 - 33

 31) The Mystery at Maypenny's

Anger erupts from all corners of Sleepyside as the International Pine furniture company plans to expand their operation with land purchased from the Wheelers' game preserve. It becomes a highly flammable issue when supporters of industry go head to head with diehard environmentalists. The Bob Whites themselves are not immune from the tension. Meanwhile an estranged nephew touches base with Mr Maypenny, and poor ducks are mysteriously dying in the game preserve. How will it all pan out?

* Oh dear, we heard some ominous rumblings about the International Pine furniture company way back in The Mystery of the Missing Heiress. Now it's the name on every Sleepyside resident's lips. International Pine bought a slab of cleared swampland for their factory, and now they want even more. The parcel of land they have their eye on belongs to Matthew Wheeler's game preserve, with a fraction of Mr Maypenny's family inheritance thrown in. While Matthew Wheeler is all for the developer's plans, Maypenny won't hear a bar of it. These two are furious at each other, while others claim to see both sides.

* The heated feelings soon spreads throughout town, as the whole community will be impacted. While some people are rejoicing because International Pine will offer 200 new jobs for local residents, orhers believe the cost to local endangered species and potential pollution will be too high a price to pay. 

* A passionate young environmentalist named John Score has driven all the way from Ohio with his beat-up car full of pamphlets, on behalf of Mother Earth. He's trying to get all residents to sign a petition to stop International Pine.       

* The Beldens all claim to be neutral fence sitters on the International Pine controversy. They supposedly see both sides so clearly, all they can do is wait to see what happens. Mart's five point summary of the sticky situation gets the thumbs up from his dad. 'Point One: People need jobs. Point Two: Animals and plants need land. Point Three: These two are sometimes mutually exclusive. Point Four: It's a very emotional issue. Point Five: There are going to be a lot more quarrels before this issue is settled.' 

* If we're splitting hairs, are all the Beldens as impartial as they seem? Helen refuses to sign John Score's petition to protect the slab of land under threat. I'm sure Score might use that to deduce that she's indirectly taking the factory developer's side. It's easy for passionate zealots like himself to conclude that not committing is in effect offering support to the opposition.

* Brian makes a huge stand when he joins his debate team on the affirmative side. (In favour of letting International Pine go right ahead.) He says he merely wants all the information to get a fair hearing, and already knows the negative speakers are thorough and talented enough to do well for that side. But he's treading on committed ground. Can he really be, 'as much on the fence as ever' after spending all the hours putting together his speech? 

* Apparently Trixie's favourite novel of all time is Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. She never tires of reading it. Funny she never mentioned that during Mystery on the Mississippi when the Bob Whites got a chance to visit Hannibal, Mark Twain's own country immortalised in his novels. 

* Mart's hair is said to be cropped, again, yet he'd let it turn curly from as far back as Mystery of the Queen's Necklace. Has he gone back to his old buzz cut again, or just a scissor trim this time? Or did this KK simply forget that he'd resolved to let it curl?  

* Jim and Dan have uncomfortably set up their banners on opposite sides of the fence. The Bob Whites make a pact to keep quiet about the inflammatory topic, yet now conversation between the seven of them feels stilted and awkward. There is always a huge elephant in the room. Brian argued that letting International Pine go ahead would be preserving Sleepyside's way of life? Think again, Brian. It seems even close friendships suffer, and they've hardly even started. 

* Poor Dan's head space seems to be an interesting, teeming place of turmoil during this book. He's too reticent to say much, but we readers sense loyalty to Mr Maypenny, hurt that the old man has kept him at arm's length, and strange ambivalence toward the long lost nephew, David Maypenny. 

* This book makes the interesting point that both sides of the raging argument draw from current events to support their own views. When ducks begin dying, industrialists suggest that it's not much of a game preserve to protect, while environmentalists feel certain the poor birds are merely the first casualties of what has already been started.   

* This book subtly urges readers to consider which side we might swing towards. Even though studies of the environmental impact of industrialisation had started back in 1980, when this book was published, I can't help thinking more recent twenty-first century research might make this a more clear cut issue than it was then. Forty years ago, nothing much was known about Global Warming. Even in 1980, it seems a glib promise from International Pine, that they can confine their pollution strictly to the land they're purchasing. Personally, I'd probably be taking a stand with Mr Maypenny and signing John Score's petition. We are inhabiting the only earth we'll ever have, and once those rare species have gone extinct, we'll never get them back again.   

* Trixie and Honey half expect to find a corpse in an abandoned car. And I get the distinct feeling that Trixie is slightly disappointed not to! We readers aren't surprised, of course. The rest of the series has set no precedence for such a grisly discovery. Phew. 

* The eventual solution to the whole International Pine fiasco seems a bit of a cop-out by Kathryn Kenny, keeping one foot of the Trixie Belden series planted firmly in happily-ever-after land. Yet having said that, it also makes perfect sense. Perhaps we make 'real life' harder than it needs to be. 

* Peter Belden has some wise counsel for his kids, as always. 'Remember, the people who have their minds made up are always the loudest.' But the quote of the book is undoubtedly from Mr Maypenny. 'I'm sorry Jim, I plain forgot that Matt Wheeler was your father. You kids are so nice and reasonable that it just doesn't seem possible.' 

32) The Mystery of the Whispering Witch

This could well be the spookiest book of the series. Trixie and Honey offer to stay overnight with Fay Franklin, an anxious school friend who lives in the town's 'haunted house.' The ghost, Sarah Sligo, is rumoured to be a vicious poltergeist, seeking revenge because she was burned alive in her bedroom, suspected of witchcraft. But is Sarah really still at large? If not, who is causing trouble and playing tricks? And why?  

* For some reason, I found it extremely difficult to get my hands on this book in my teens. It never appeared on the rack of Trixie Belden books for sale, until one day, there it was, and I swooped on it. I remember starting it with extreme trepidation, since I was a suggestible 13-year-old and thought it might give me nightmares. I was frightened of ghosts and witches, and Sarah Sligo, the focus of this story, was said to be both at once. What a recipe for the jitters.  

* Rumour has it that Sarah Sligo was incinerated to death on her own birthday. Whoa, that's rough. And what's more, local legend has it that a person who dies on the day of her birth is doomed to haunt the scene forevermore. And she wears the traditional, stereotypical witch's outfit; black pointed hat and flowing cape. Ultra-creepy.  

* On the very night the spooky happenings start, Mart has been telling Bobby a bedtime story about Sarah Sligo, her haunted house, and the little boys who she turns into frogs that go, 'Ribbet, ribbet.' Trixie is furious with Mart for telling such a hair raising tale, but Bobby laps it up. 

* Sensationalism runs high from the start. The story goes that with her dying breath, Sarah Sligo cursed future residents of her house. That's pretty unfair of her, in my opinion! They aren't the culprits who trooped to her residence, locked her in and burned her alive. Talk about misplaced vengeance. (If she didn't want to attract attention, maybe she should have worn different clothes.)

* Fay Franklin and her mother have been living there as caretakers. When Mrs Franklin falls and breaks her hip, Trixie and Honey offer to spend the night at Lisgard House with Fay. And a horror show is unleashed! What's going on? 

* I wonder where Lisgard House is situated, in relation to Crabapple Farm, since the Beldens' seemed to be Fay's closest neighbours to set off on foot and ask for help. 

* In their panic to shove clothes into a small suitcase for Fay before fleeing Lisgard House, the girls discover that it's full of bathing suits. How many bathing suits could Fay possibly own? It must have been a huge pile to fill a whole suitcase.  

* When Trixie, Honey and Fay arrive at Crabapple Farm in the dead of night, they fling pebbles at Mart and Brian's bedroom window to wake them up. So now it appears the two boys do share a room after all. This chopping and changing between books is getting quite hilarious. 

* Diana is incredibly fearless and brave a little later, at Lisgard House. She tiptoes off by herself for a curious peep in the haunted study, straight after the ghost supposedly commits hostile mischief in front of everyone. Yet in The Mystery of the Emeralds, she refuses to explore a subterranean passageway unless Mart goes with her, because of a vague tapping sound. Why the infusion of courage? 

* Lewis Gregory, the current owner of Lisgard House, introduces them to Simon Hunter, a famous psychic investigator he's hired to get rid of Sarah Sligo. Hunter is a ghost buster. (According to Sleepyside fearmongers, he won't have much luck, seeing she died violently on her birthday.)

* Diana is the person who first recognises a certain lot of antiques as fakes. Even Honey doesn't twig to start off with. At first glance, this seems a bit weird, since Diana is newly rich while Honey was born to it. But perhaps not, since we know Mr Lynch is passionate about art and furniture collections, and Di herself studies art. These factors may be enough to account for her surprising penetration. 

* The boys are putting together a school play for Thanksgiving. It's The Courtship of Miles Standish. Jim is Miles, Brian is John, and Mart is the stage manager. Honey teases Mart that the play has been done to death, since even kindergarten kids are cast in those roles, and he says they will add their special flair to attract Tinseltown. Well, I have to admit that as an Aussie from way across the ocean, I'd never heard of it until now. I had to google it. Many legends go international, but apparently not all of them. 

* I find Fay Franklin to be one of the most poignant characters of the series. The poor girl feels certain she's possessed by an evil spirit, and can't even retreat home for respite from her worry, since her current dwelling is the source of her trouble. Yet she's not taken as seriously as she might have been if her problem didn't involve the supernatural. The boys are sceptical to the point of suspecting Fay herself of either mischief or craziness, and even Trixie and Honey don't really know what to make of her. How sad, when your legitimate worry alienates you from possible friends. 

* The Bob Whites go through the motions of participating in Simon Hunter's seance. Gleeps, watch out, guys. 

* Wow, Lisgard House sure has atmosphere. I got the somber vibe from the dark wood paneling and even imagined a musty odour that wasn't actually mentioned.  

* The quote of the book is from Brian. When Mart wonders what the girls could've been thinking of to pack bathing suits in late November, he responds, 'Probably witches and curses and ghoulies and ghosties and things that go bump in the night.' They were indeed.        

33) The Mystery of the Vanishing Victim

The Bob Whites receive a lovely vintage car as a donation for their rummage sale, but it breaks down in a dark and seamy district as they drive it home. A cynical stranger who helps them start it gets knocked down by a hit and run driver before their eyes. Trixie can't shake the suspicion that collision was intentional, while Sergeant Molinson digs up shady evidence about their Good Samaritan himself. Who can be trusted? And what are they to think when their victim goes AWOL from the hospital?

* The Bob Whites are preparing to host a community rummage sale to raise funds for the Sleepyside Hospital. 

* Mr Burnside offers the Bob Whites a mysterious donation, provided all seven of them come to pick it up together. It turns out to be a beautiful old Model A Ford. This book, if any, is 'one for the boys.' Enthusiasts (including Brian) wax lyrical about the inner workings of antique cars. It comes as no surprise this book was written by the only male Kathryn Kenny of the bunch; Carl Henry Rathjen.

* Mr Burnside is donating his Model A to make room for his latest acquisition, a Stanley Steamer. What a super-generous gesture. Surely any rich antique car fanatic worth his salt would want to hang on to both. But he's grateful for the care he received during a long term stay at Sleepyside Hospital, so that's his contribution. 

* Brian's so irritable during their breakdown that I'm not sure he's thinking straight. He starts off asking Mart to crank the engine for him, then to step out instead and shine his flashlight beneath the hood. The light is so helpful, Brian asks Trixie to take over cranking the engine, which she's reluctant to do, because her knowledge of old cars is zilch. Then Brian basically shouts at her to get a grip and just turn the key. Well, if she feels that nervous, how about letting her shine the flashlight while Mart gets back in and cranks the engine again? Duh!

* Trixie makes a novice assumption when she visits the mysterious stranger in hospital. He mentions his memory blank of the moments directly before his accident, and she assumes he must have total amnesia, as Juliana did in Mystery of the Missing Heiress. Yet it's surely clear to every reader during their conversation that he knows exactly who he is, and chooses to let her assume what she likes. 

* He says, 'I had a Model A once. I bought it for $50 back when they were used cars and not antiques.' Whoa, those must have been the dark ages. 

* Trixie says, 'I always thought of inventors as boring, humourless men.' (Haha, where does she get that idea from? I used to buy into the stereotype that they're wacky and eccentric.)

* We are told that the special feelings Trixie has for Jim are ones she tries to keep to herself. I'm sure he wishes she'd let them out, and is possibly unaware that she even has them. The undercurrents are strong. However, reticence seems to be no problem for Mart and Di. Without officially being called a couple, they seem to be going full steam ahead. 

* The Bob Whites go canvassing in pairs: Trixie/Honey, Mart/Di, Jim/Dan and Brian and the impressive Model A. Jim and Dan were the left-over team, and Jim said that suited him fine. Secretly, I'm sure he would have rather had Trixie as his partner, but I'm glad he and Dan have put their International Pine friction from Mystery at Maypenny's behind them. 

* Trixie and Honey come across some amusing characters during their door knocking collection for the rummage sale. I like Mrs Manning, the compulsive buyer of oddments who never gets around to following through on her grand plans for them. Mrs Manning tells the girls that washstands and wringers were being used not all that long ago. Ah well, I'm afraid that dates the series. I had a secondhand twin tub given to me in the early nineties, and even that felt ancient.

* They also visit Mrs Glenda Maurer, whose college daughter has decided to part with her collection of Lucy Radcliffe mysteries, because she's outgrown them. I feel like warning, 'Nooooo! You'll regret it if you do.' I once had ideas of doing the same thing with my Trixie Belden set, but I'm sooo glad I didn't. I'm enjoying them so much for this re-read project, and I'd never have been able to collect them over again. 

* The biggest glitch in this story is a weird remark from Honey, that Trixie helped Mr Lytell recover his money. I'm thinking, Huh!! When did that ever happen? It turns out to be a spoiler looking ahead to Book 34, The Mystery of the Missing Millionaire. (When I made it to that book, all became clear, and I revisited this review to fix that confusion.) I'm guessing the publishers hadn't yet committed which order they would be, and when they decided to place this one first, they didn't clean up that stray remark. It's a bit sad, but since I'm taking these later books as random reminiscences rather than strict chronology, I don't mind too much.  

* I think the quote of the book can be Trixie's. 'As much as I hate having Beatrix for my real name, I think it could have been a lot worse. My parents could have named me Patience.'   

Catch up on Series 28 - 30

Join me next time for Series 34 - 36