4 out of 4 stars
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The Mystery of the Hidden Cabin is a children’s book by M.E. Hembroff. The story, which is set in 1954, follows Bess Silver and her friends as they try to unravel an old mystery in their small town.
After losing her father in a car accident, and recently recovering from polio herself, Bess moves to a new town with her mother. The pair hopes to get a fresh start. At first, Bess isn’t entirely sure about Pineview, although she soon makes friends with some girls her own age. After her best friend and cousin Megan moves to town with her own family, Bess feels more secure and begins to settle into life in a new place. Adjusting to a new school and life without her father, Bess has a lot on her mind. Soon she has even more to contemplate when a mystery pops up in Megan’s home.
Renovating their new house, Megan’s father discovers a tiny cabin comprised of one room, right behind the walls of their home. Among the few items left behind is an old diary. Bess begins to spend her free time reading through the old entries, dated at the beginning of the 1900s. She becomes fascinated with the accounts of a young couple embarking on a new life together on the “wild frontier.” Soon, Bess becomes consumed with unraveling the mystery of the author of the diary. Who was she? What became of her and her young family? Bess is determined to find out.
The Mystery of the Hidden Cabin is a very charming, enjoyable book. It is aimed at middle-grade readers and seems very appropriate for that age. The story explores a lot of what life was like for Bess living in a small town. She attends school in a one-room schoolhouse, with one teacher who presides over 25 students from first to eighth grade. There are fun, simple activities that the children all attend together such as nature walks, wiener roasts, and sleigh rides. I think many children would love to read about these things and learn how school in the 50s was different from today.
As for the mystery itself, it wasn’t all that mysterious. I enjoyed reading the excerpts from the pioneer family’s diary, which were nicely paralleled with the diary that Bess kept about her own life. Although Bess has many dreams about the mystery woman, I thought there would be more of a paranormal presence. From the description, I thought it might be a ghost story. Most of the mystery involves Bess doing extensive research as she tries to track down the history of cabin’s original residents.
I enjoyed the story a great deal. As a child, I loved reading stories that took place decades before, sort of the junior version of historical fiction. I liked hearing about more simple times and seeing how the character’s lives were so different from my own. The story was sweet and the author has a very pleasant, engaging writing style. The characters were fun, particularly the identical twin boys that arrive at school partway through the year, and prove to be a mischievous pair. I think almost any child from 9-12 or so would enjoy reading this light mystery.
I awarded The Mystery of the Hidden Cabin 4 out of 4 stars. Even as an adult, I was absorbed in the story and was curious to find out who the owner of the diary was and what became of her. I think children would be equally engaged and will like hearing about life in the 50s, as well as the hardships of frontier living in the early 1900s.
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The Mystery of the Hidden Cabin
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