Leanne Lucas

Overall, this is a simple adventure story with a somewhat unique resolution. Throughout the story, though, there's the addition of Addie, whose father was once a preacher and has recently started working at a local Christian radio station, trying to figure out how to tell her new friends about the God that her parents have helped her to know, without pushing those friends away. This conundrum is near and dear to my heart, because my own daughter has struggled with this in the past as well. show more And Addie living out in the country, far from her friends, brings back memories of my own childhood.

I read a few of the books in this series when I was a kid and still own #7 in the series. Reading this book again after all these years has made me wonder if this series might have provided some inspiration for my own attempts at writing when I was around 10-12 years old. I can't say for certain, but one story I started and never finished bears some remarkable similarities to this book (not that I was plagiarizing, mind you). All of these connections I have to the story may have led me to be a bit more biased than normal, but I enjoyed this quick read. Though these books may not be easy to find anymore, if you do have the chance to read this book or procure it for a 10-12-year-old child, I recommend it. show less

The first book in the series was good, but this one was on a different level. These aren't simple, predictable kids' mysteries. I really appreciated the little bit of history about how Japanese-Americans were treated in America during WWII, as well as a touch on Japanese culture. This book introduces a few new kid characters, one of which I particularly liked. While I don't know how realistic it is for a pre-teen kid to be as self-assured as Brian is, I suppose given the right circumstances, show more it would be possible. And since he was my favorite, after all, it clearly didn't bother me. The conclusion was satisfying, and in the end, I liked this one more than the previous. I'm just sad that I won't be able to read the rest of the series (except #7), because they're hard to find. Still, if you do have the chance to read this book or procure it for a 10-12-year-old child, I recommend it.

Side note: What is up with the synopsis and new title here and on other sites (like Amazon)? The book I read, the original version, was called Addie McCormick and the Mystery of the Missing Scrapbook, Brian was not Mexican-American, and there was no racial intolerance involved. I can only guess the book was re-released with some changes at some point, but there's no indication of that happening that I can find. I just don't get it. show less