Secret Seven Fireworks

The Secret Seven are a group of children in mid-20th century England, who have a secret club and investigate mysteries in their village. The books are written with Blyton's usual storytelling virtues, although this particular series is for even younger readers, and it features shorter and simpler stories, compared to other series by the same author.

Eleventh book in the series, this one goes back to the random group of thieves as villains, as opposed to the more relatable villains in the last few books. However, the main focus here is not the children's investigations, but their preparations for Guy Fawkes' Day (a bonfire and fireworks), and their rivalry with Susie.

Susie is probably the more interesting antagonist in the series, and show more while in recent books her behavior and fixation with the Seven had become more over the top, here she is a more ambiguous figure, at the same time victim and tormentor of the Secret Seven. The book even ends in an unusual moment of peace and friendship between the Seven and Susie, which seems to confirm the theory that she is only acting up out of spite because the Seven do not let her into their club. Not that she is blameless, mind you. She goes too far, and at some point she just needs to move on and stop being obsessed with the Seven.

Another reasonable entry in the series, as long as you don't mind the focus not being in the investigation (I do not, since I find the slice-of-life descriptions of the children's activities entertaining on their own). show less

A CLASSIC CHILDREN'S SERIES FEATURING A SECRET CLUB OF SEVEN FRIENDS SOLVING LOCAL MYSTERIES. THIS VOLUME INCLUDES THREE THRILLING ADVENTURES, FILLED WITH FRIENDSHIP, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND EXCITEMENT.

Novels/novelettes