Mystery of the Scowling Boy
by Phyllis A. Whitney
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While staying with her grandparents in the Poconos, a young girl becomes involved in the mysterious events taking place in the nearby home of a famous movie actress.Tags
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If Jan Sutton, the heroine of Mystery of the Scowling Boy, were in her later teens instead of being twelve, I'd recommend she read Trouble in the Brasses by Alisa Craig (Charlotte MacLeod). I'm sure she could relate to Madoc Rhys, a Detective Inspector with the Royal Canadian Mounties. He's the tone-deaf member of a famous musical family.
Jan Sutton is the only member of her immediate family without a talent. Her maternal grandfather isn't musically inclined, but he is a famous woodcarver.
Mr. & Mrs. Sutton are both performing over Christmas -- and not even in the same place. Jan and her older brother Mike, would be stuck in New York with Mrs. Abbey, the housekeeper, but they're getting to stay with their Clausen grandparents in their show more Poconos Mountains home. Gram gave up being a singer to be Mrs. Clausen, but she's a very talented cook, so we know the grandkids will be eating well.
What luck! Jan wants to become an actress and her absolute favorite actress, Alanna Graham, happens to be Anna Oliver Nelson, the granddaughter of Burton Oliver, the man who owns the mansion below the Clausen house. If Alanna Graham thinks she has talent, perhaps Jan's parents will stop thinking her ambition is foolish.
The scowling boy of the title is Alanna's son. One of his legs is shorter than the other, but he has two talents in which that's no handicap. When he's not scowling, he's handsome. His parents are separated because his father, Bruce, was on drugs. Steven is furious because his mother won't let him see his father.
Jan is only twelve, so it's not surprising that she's eager to meet Alanna to get her help. She doesn't meet Alanna on her first walk to the mansion, but she does meet Steven (and his big, black Doberman, Thor). The meeting doesn't go well.
Luckily, things go better when Jan finds a way to meet Alanna when both go skiing. Jan pretends that all she wants is Alanna's autograph, which the actress graciously agrees to give to her when Jan comes to her house at 4 o'clock. show less
Jan Sutton is the only member of her immediate family without a talent. Her maternal grandfather isn't musically inclined, but he is a famous woodcarver.
Mr. & Mrs. Sutton are both performing over Christmas -- and not even in the same place. Jan and her older brother Mike, would be stuck in New York with Mrs. Abbey, the housekeeper, but they're getting to stay with their Clausen grandparents in their show more Poconos Mountains home. Gram gave up being a singer to be Mrs. Clausen, but she's a very talented cook, so we know the grandkids will be eating well.
What luck! Jan wants to become an actress and her absolute favorite actress, Alanna Graham, happens to be Anna Oliver Nelson, the granddaughter of Burton Oliver, the man who owns the mansion below the Clausen house. If Alanna Graham thinks she has talent, perhaps Jan's parents will stop thinking her ambition is foolish.
The scowling boy of the title is Alanna's son. One of his legs is shorter than the other, but he has two talents in which that's no handicap. When he's not scowling, he's handsome. His parents are separated because his father, Bruce, was on drugs. Steven is furious because his mother won't let him see his father.
Jan is only twelve, so it's not surprising that she's eager to meet Alanna to get her help. She doesn't meet Alanna on her first walk to the mansion, but she does meet Steven (and his big, black Doberman, Thor). The meeting doesn't go well.
Luckily, things go better when Jan finds a way to meet Alanna when both go skiing. Jan pretends that all she wants is Alanna's autograph, which the actress graciously agrees to give to her when Jan comes to her house at 4 o'clock. show less
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ThingScore 25
Whitney does manage to tie together most of these elements, leaving a few loose ends strewn around presumably for effect; and if the characters have as much dimension as so many pieces of shirt cardboard, it's impossible to imagine real people involving themselves with such ersatz stage business.
added by JalenV
Author Information
108+ Works 11,699 Members
Mystery author Phyllis A. Whitney was born in Yokohama, Japan to American parents on September 9, 1903. After her father's death in 1918, she and her mother traveled from Japan to San Francisco, California on an ocean liner. In 1924, she graduated from McKinley High School in Chicago and sold short stories to newspapers, church papers, and pulp show more magazines as well as worked in bookstores and libraries. She was a Children's Book Editor of the Chicago Sun's Book Week from 1942 to 1946 and the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1947 to 1948. She also taught juvenile fiction writing courses at Northwestern University in 1945 and at New York University from 1947 to 1958. She writes both juvenile and adult mysteries, many set in an exotic location. Her first juvenile book was published in 1941 and her first adult novel was published in 1943. Since then, she has written over 75 books. She has won numerous awards including the Edgar Allen Poe Award in 1961 and 1964, the Sequoyah Award of Oklahoma, and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1988. Phyllis A. Whitney passed away on February 8, 2008 at the age of 104. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards and Honors
Awards
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Mystery of the Scowling Boy
- Original title
- Mystery of the Scowling Boy
- Original publication date
- 1973-04-02
- People/Characters
- Jan Sutton (12-yr-old who wants to be an actress); Mike Sutton (Jan's 13-yr-old brother, talented singer, guitar player, & song writer); Sutton (symphony orchestra violinist, Mike & Jan's father); Clausen Sutton (concert pianist, Mike & Jan's mother); Clausen (famous woodcarver, Norwegian immigrant, 'Gramp' to Mike & Jan); Mrs. Clausen (former singer, excellent cook, 'Gram' to Mike & Jan) (show all 12); Burton Oliver (famous sculptor, owns the mansion below the Clausens); Daphne Price (Mr. Price deserted her, looks after her grandfather Burton Oliver); Alanna Graham (Anna Oliver Nelson, famous movie star, Burton's other granddaughter); Steven Nelson (son of Bruce & Anna, talented painter); Bruce Nelson (painter, Anna's husband & Steven's father); Joe Reed (the Clausens' current handyman)
- Important places
- Poconos Mountains, Pennsylvania, USA; the Clausens' Swiss Chalet-style home, Poconos Mountains, Pennsylvania, USA; Burton Oliver's mansion below the Clausens' house, Poconos Mountains, Pennsylvania, USA; ski resort near the Clausens, Poconos Mountains, Pennsylvania, USA
- First words
- I stood on the balcony outside my room at Gramp's house and stared at the snow-roofed mansion in the valley below our mountainside.
- Quotations
- [Mike and Jan see Mr. Oliver's sculptures for the first time.]
I found myself standing beside a larger-than-life lady in a long, flowing robe. Her head was titled sideways and she wore on her face a sly, wicked look. In ... (show all)one uplifted hand she grasped a small demon in the shape of a baby dragon. She was not afraid of the demon, but it was clearly afraid of her, and its cheeks were puffed out with the effort it was making to escape her grasping hand. ... (chapter 4) - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I knew one thing -- it was going to be a beautiful Christmas.
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- Languages
- English
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- ISBNs
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