Mandie and the Secret Tunnel

Definitely a book (and series) that I am leaving in the past to slowly romanticise more as time goes on. I loved this as a kid, and was obsessed with Mandie and her adventures, but after a reread I am really not a fan. I'll keep on remembering with fond memories, but that is it.

Oh man, I must have read a dozen or two of this YA series when I was younger, and had COMPLETELY forgotten about them, but I saw this cover and they all came rushing back. I used to love them so much, but I remember the oddest detail: I disliked the font used for the story, because the first and last strokes of the capital M (as in Mandie, so it occurred frequently) were angled, so the M looked clunky. Yes, I was a strange seven- or eight-year-old...

• 141 pages
• Mystery/1st in a series

Mandie is a 12-year-old-girl living in the early 1900’s whose father has died. Her mother remarries and sends Mandie to live with another family. Through the help of “Uncle Ned,” her father’s Indian friend, she finds her way to the home of her father’s brother. As she waits for his return, she and her new best friend uncover a mystery in the old home.

A very sweet book with a linear story line. An easy read for a 4th grader with an inspiring heroine who chooses good in the face of unkindness and abandonment.

I can't really rate these books, because I grew up reading them so they hold a certain fondness. They are fairly good mysteries for young reader's, but since I'm hardly a young reader anymore, there were plenty of things that annoyed me (nothing that the average ten-year-old would notice of course)
For one thing, it seems like the only reason Mandie and Elizabeth like Uncle John is that he looks just like Jim. It makes me feel very, very sorry for Uncle John.

Mandie Shaw, almost a teenager, is certain God no longer loves her as she watches her father being lowered into his grave. Mandie's move into a neighbor family's home, when her mother remarries, does not soften her grief. Her only comfort is the promise from her father's faithful Cherokee friend, Uncle Ned, to watch out for her and be a friend. Will Mandie be able to escape her new and nearly intolerable home situation? Will she find her long-lost family? Will the mysterious key unlock the door to the secret tunnel and her own family's history?

In 1900, Mandie is searching her dead uncle's mansion for a missing will when she finds a secret tunnel and strangers who claim to be her relatives.

Awesome mystery for beginning readers nine to twelve juvenile series!