Barbara Steiner (1)

This story takes place the summer directly following the previous Samantha mystery, The Curse of Ravenscourt. If you haven't read that one, you WILL be spoiled for certain plot points by this book. It won't ruin the primary mystery of Ravenscourt, but there's a secondary mystery that crops up a few times, and knowing the details from the beginning of Loon will make it completely obvious.

I'll start off by saying that Nellie's characterisation is probably my favorite part of the book. Usually show more in Samantha books written after 2004, I feel like Nellie is way too whiney and annoying to be likeable, rather like a Debbie Downer, though I did like her in the original six books. That Negative Nellie (pardon the pun) is gone here, and instead we have a girl who actually manages to be happy and to play and have fun, even while maintaining the cautious and somewhat quiet personality traits she has always had. Nellie is a good foil to Samantha's overwhelming optimism and bossiness, rather than sitting around and wringing her hands all the time.

The basic plot of the book is this: Grandmary and the Admiral take Samantha, Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny to their property in the Adirondack Mountains for the summer. But when they get to Piney Point, things seem to keep going wrong. Not only is the weather dreary at first, but accidents keep happening, and Samantha overhears Grandmary and the Admiral talking about selling Piney Point! Samantha thinks Grandmary seems quite sad, and she suspects that if they don't figure out who is causing the trouble around the place, Grandmary will give in and sell it. It surely doesn't help matters that strange people are spotted wandering around, nor that some of the people who work at Piney Point don't seem very trustworthy.

There are a lot of fun descriptions of the area around Goose Lake where Piney Point is, which brings to mind Samantha Saves the Day, which was also set at Piney Point. There are adventures, too: one day, the girls and the Admiral go to a carnival across the lake; another day, they hike up the mountain and almost get lost; Samantha teaches Nellie to swim, too, which is lucky when their canoe springs a leak in the middle of the lake (definitely not good what with bulky Edwardian bathing costumes!).

I feel as though the mystery plot is secondary to the growth of the characters and the lovely scenery, if I'm honest. But I like that. Samantha is a pre-teen now, and this book shows her growing up a little bit, especially with regards to her relationship with her grandmother. Of course, we're reminded that she's still very much a stubborn kid when she and Nellie chase after the villain and get locked in the ice house! I also really like the care that Grandmary and her (relatively) new husband the Admiral receive. I grew to really like them by the end of the book, whereas in other Samantha stories, they were flat and not very interesting. Finally, I very much like the themes that run through the story, such as the loons. I don't suppose that having loons appear at certain points was precisely necessary to the plot or anything, but they helped bring a lovely texture to the story.

I think this is my favorite of the Samantha mysteries, and it's among my favorite of all the American Girl Mysteries. show less

This is one of those books I picked up years ago at a middle school book fair. Also, I'll freely admit that I chose this particular book solely on the cover. The thing is, I don't remember if I ever actually read it back then. So, I'm taking a crack at it now.

Cute story, classic tale of girl has singular interest (tennis in this case) and has no time for anything else. Her mother has definite plans for her, but she isn't on board with them. Then, enter "The Boy," who at first holds no show more interest for our heroine, but things can change...

While I enjoyed the story, I feel like it just ends too abruptly. There is so much left unresolved that this feels much more like a part one of at least two, if not three. show less

Oliver Dibbs, with the aid of his fifth-grade classmates, spearheads a successful movement to have Stegosaurus declared the state fossil of Colorado. Stegosaurus really was discovered in Colorado by high-school students in the early 20th century, and really was declared the state dinosaur in 1982 at the instigation of a primary-school class. The author credits them and their teacher as her inspiration in the dedication of the book.

Based on fact as it is, it's a pretty good primer for show more community action. (Contact your representative! Do interesting things that look good in the news media! Call the governor!) There's also a subplot in which Oliver deals with a bully. The book is not complex but it is interesting enough to hold the attention of middle schoolers and they'll learn a few things about fossils, politics, and dealing with difficult classmates. show less

Young-adult mystery thriller about a group of school friends staying at a house on the beach (that is said to be haunted) during Spring Break (because all the hotels are full.) While they stay at the beach house they hear noises upstairs…music, a child crying. They investigate to see where the noises are coming from and discover a hidden old ballroom which appears to still be set up for a party (streamers, decorations). And one by one the friends start mysteriously disappearing…

At first, show more I found the book slow, not very scary, and not much seemed to be happening. But things picked up in the second half of the book, especially the last fifty pages.

An enjoyable young-adult mystery-suspense from the 90’s. show less