Review by Georgia Lyonhyde -- The Mystery of the Hidden ...

[Georgia Lyonhyde]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Mystery of the Hidden Cabin" by M.E. Hembroff.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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I chose to read The Mystery of the Hidden Cabin for a couple of reasons. I was drawn to the old-fashioned front cover. I found the stark contrast of the young girl against the vibrant green to be enticing. I also liked that it was written recently but set in the 1950s. As soon as I started reading, I found the town of Pineview conjured up images of Little House on the Prairie, particularly the scenes unfolding in the schoolhouse.

The author claims that this book is aimed at Middle-Grade children. I would probably target a slightly older audience. I found the language to be relatively simple, as was the plot. That said, the main characters are aged twelve and compared to the children of today, have a more mature way of speaking.

The Mystery of the Hidden Cabin focusses on the characters of Bess and her cousin Megan. They find a journal in a secret cabin and attempt to trace the identity of the writer. Their starting clue is the name ‘Abigail Morgan.’ Within the last year, Bess has moved from the city to the country. Over the course of the summer of 1954, she has learned to walk without aid since contracting polio. Megan and her family moved shortly after and it is their house that is attached to the mystery cabin being investigated. With her newfound walking ability and trusted cousin, the pair set out to speak with an array of locals to solve their mystery.

The first five words of each paragraph are formatted in capitals. I didn’t like this because I found it to be a distraction from the rest of the page. This is a personal preference, and I am aware that others may not be phased by it.

I rate this story 2 out of 4 stars. There were a few errors (spellings and missing apostrophes) in the book but not so much as to make the book difficult to read. The hardest part about reading the book was all the characters. I found myself forgetting who a lot of them were as they didn’t add any real value or insight. Many of the characters weren’t developed. I also thought we could have lost whole chapters because they served no real purpose e.g. joining a new school is the focus of the first chapter and is irrelevant, as is finding the puppies later on and the school sports day.

I liked that Bess had to consult many of the older generations with her findings to get to the bottom of the mystery. Despite this, I didn’t find the story very mysterious. There was no major drama or build-up. I wonder if the book would be better placed in a historical fiction or historical drama genre.

I think this story would appeal to pre-teens and young adults that enjoy reading the classics. As I mentioned before, the characters have a mature way of thinking and speaking and I think the audience will have to be of similar character. It has a similar tone to nineteenth-century novels whilst having the advantage of being produced more recently. Teachers and parents might appreciate their children reading this book aloud to them for reading and comprehension practice because the characters avoid colloquial language and poor grammar. Most of all, I think this book would appeal to the generation born around the 1950s. It stirs feelings of nostalgia for a sedate childhood. Although I was born a couple of generations later, I found myself smiling along as they talked of the recipes instructing things like, ‘They all say a dash of this and a pinch of that.’ It reminded me of my late grandma and her makeshift cookbooks. I did struggle to stay focused for the most of the book as I found the telling of the story rather bland.

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The Mystery of the Hidden Cabin
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[Connie Otwani]

It is a pity the plot didn't pan out because I remember how uptaken I was with Hardy boys and Nancy Drew mysteries in my young years. I hope the author will work on major drama and build-up, in order to capture the intended audience's attention. Thanks for the honest review.

[HollandBlue]

The title makes the book sound like a good old-fashioned mystery, but it sounds like the content is less of a mystery and more of a story about ordinary life experiences like moving, etc. Thanks for your review!

[Georgia Lyonhyde]

The title makes the book sound like a good old-fashioned mystery, but it sounds like the content is less of a mystery and more of a story about ordinary life experiences like moving, etc. Thanks for your review!

Yes, that's exactly it. It is just very ordinary. For someone that despises reading, this book would be a chore, but for children that love to devour knowledge, this could take them back through modern history to learn the routines of their grandparents perhaps, when they were younger.

[Georgia Lyonhyde]

It is a pity the plot didn't pan out [...] I hope the author will work on major drama and build-up, in order to capture the intended audience's attention. Thanks for the honest review.

Yeah, it really is. There was so much potential for a famous 5 or magnificent 7 like plot and it started quite well but nosedive quite drastically in that sense. That said, it does have some good qualities. I suppose it depends what you are looking for.

[Kajori Sheryl Paul]

The title and the cover reminds me of the good old Secret Seven and Famous Five. It would have been good if the story involved more mystery.

Thank you for the great review.

[Georgia Lyonhyde]

The title and the cover reminds me of the good old Secret Seven and Famous Five. It would have been good if the story involved more mystery.

Thank you for the great review.

Thanks for your comment. I think this is why I was attracted to the book. I loved the famous five growing up. I do believe I gave an objective review though.

[Kajori Sheryl Paul]

The title and the cover reminds me of the good old Secret Seven and Famous Five. It would have been good if the story involved more mystery.

Thank you for the great review.

Thanks for your comment. I think this is why I was attracted to the book. I loved the famous five growing up. I do believe I gave an objective review though.

Yes, the review was very objective . It gave me a good idea of what I will get if I decide to read the book.

[topdan30]

Thanks for the review i love it. I think the author should have added real value to characters mentioned so as for readers to stay connected to each.

[Georgia Lyonhyde]

Thanks for the review i love it. I think the author should have added real value to characters mentioned so as for readers to stay connected to each.

Definitely. I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters including the main one. There was some examples of wonderful writing but the plot and characters were disconnected.

[Espie]

It is a pity the plot didn't pan out because I remember how uptaken I was with Hardy boys and Nancy Drew mysteries in my young years. I hope the author will work on major drama and build-up, in order to capture the intended audience's attention. Thanks for the honest review.

Before I got to read the author's name and like Cotwani, I also thought this could be a Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew or Bobbsey Twins new release or old piece I've missed out on. The lesser complexity yet more formal language could've been meant to cater to the expressed intended audience demographics. Indeed, the ability of a piece to disappoint or please a reader could also significantly depend on what the pre-reading expectations initially had been. Thank you for your honest review.

[Georgia Lyonhyde]

Thanks for the review i love it. I think the author should have added real value to characters mentioned so as for readers to stay connected to each.

Yes, I agree. I think that no matter how simple a plot, it still needs to have some character and world building in the content. It helps to place the reader and lends itself to escapism.

[Georgia Lyonhyde]

The lesser complexity yet more formal language could've been meant to cater to the expressed intended audience demographics. Indeed, the ability of a piece to disappoint or please a reader could also significantly depend on what the pre-reading expectations initially had been. Thank you for your honest review.

You make an interesting point Espie about intended expectations. I agree that the language was pitched right for the age range. I don't have educated knowledge of the demographics so I cannot comment on that.

I think the pre-reading expectations definitely play a huge part. I expected something reminiscent of The Famous Five, and it couldn't have been further from this style. That said, I think for the target audience, there still needed to be something more to hold their interest. It has a classic style which I appreciated because they're the types of books that I practised early reading skills with. However, I doubt I would select this book for a child to tempt them into a love of books.

I definitely think older generations would appreciate the book more.

[Debjani Ghosh]

I too was drawn to the book by its old-fashioned cover but the lack of a solid plot will deter me from picking up this book. Thanks for the honest review.

[Georgia Lyonhyde]

I too was drawn to the book by its old-fashioned cover but the lack of a solid plot will deter me from picking up this book. Thanks for the honest review.

No worries, I think it does depend on what you want from a book. I personally love a good plot, with a twist if it's a slow tale, and the writing itself must be simple but descriptive. This book satisfies the descriptive need and I liked the formal English use but I just needed that little something more. HAd the characters been interesting, maybe I could have forgiven the plot.