With only a few days left of her summer vacation, Mandie goes for a short visit with Uncle Ned and his granddaughter, Sallie. But before leaving, Mandie receives a message that Tsa'ni, a Cherokee boy who is always stirring up trouble and playing tricks on others, wants to see her. Sallie says it's really important.
When Mandie arrives, Tsa'ni is nowhere to be found, and she discovers that her Uncle Wirt has disappeared as well. Dimar, another Cherokee friend of Mandie's, tells her of strange diggings going on in the mountains nearby. Could the two mysteries be connected?
What will Mandie do if someone else disappears?
Mandie's hooked on another mystery. But is it dangerous?
Lois Gladys Leppard was the author of the Mandie series of children's novels. Leppard wrote her first Mandie story when she was only eleven and a half years old, but did not become a professional author until she was an adult. Leppard has also worked as a professional singer, actress, and playwright. At one time, she and her two sisters, Sybil and Louise, formed a singing group called the Larke Sisters. There are forty Mandie books in the main series, an eight-book junior series and several other titles. Leppard said that she could write a Mandie book in two weeks, barring any interruptions. The eponymous heroine lives in North Carolina in the early 1900s, encountering adventure and solving mysteries with help from her friends, family, and pet cat, Snowball. These young reader novels are meant to teach morals as well as be fun and captivating stories to read. Leppard stated that her books contain "nothing occult or vulgar", and Mandie is depicted as a faithful Christian. The Mandie books often deal with issues of discrimination and prejudice relating to race (particularly with regard to the local Cherokee), class, and disability. Lois Gladys Leppard based some of the incidents in her Mandie books on her mother's experiences growing up in North Carolina. The dedication in the first book is: "For My Mother, Bessie A. Wilson Leppard, and In Memory of Her Sister, Lillie Margaret Ann Wilson Frady, Orphans of North Carolina Who Outgrew the Sufferings of Childhood".
“With only a few days left of her summer vacation, Mandie goes for a short visit with Uncle Ned and his granddaughter, Sallie. But before leaving, Mandie receives a message that Tsa'ni, a Cherokee boy who is always stirring up trouble and playing tricks on others, wants to see her. Sallie says it's really important. When Mandie arrives, Tsa'ni is nowhere to be found, and she discovers that her Uncle Wirt has disappeared as well. Dimar, another Cherokee friend of Mandie's, tells her of strange diggings going on in the mountains nearby. Could the two mysteries be connected? What will Mandie do if someone else disappears? Mandie's hooked on another mystery. But is it dangerous?”
Series: Book #23 in “Mandie” series. (To read the reviews of the previous books in this series, click the number to be taken to that review: #1! #2! #3! #4! #5! #6! #7! #8! #9! #10! #11! #12! #13! #14! #15! #16! #17! #18! #19! #20! #21! #22! ) {There also is the “Young Mandie Mystery” series, (Book #1 review Here and Book #2 review Here!) but they do not connect together well}
Spiritual Content- Psalm 56:3 at the beginning; Prayers; A few Scriptures are prayed, quoted & talked about; Talks about God & trusting Him; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, thanking God & blessings over food; Mentions of a missionary; A couple mentions of Heaven; *Note: A mention of ancestor’s spirits; A mention of angry spirits; Mentions of sacred ground & burial.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘dumb’, two ‘stupid’ and four ‘shuck’s; Mentions of a death & fevers (not-detailed); Mentions of possibly fighting, killing & bloodshed (not-detailed); Mentions of Tsa’ni not liking white people, his bad attitude & tricks (he also says that one day he’ll kill Mandie’s white cat); Mentions of arrows being shot at people (no one is hurt); Mentions of lying & lies; A few mentions of shooting a panther (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of hunting; A mention of the chance of someone being killed.
Sexual Content- A few mentions of Joe wanting to Marry Mandie when they grow up; A few mentions of crushes &/or liking someone; A couple mentions of noticing a handsome/good-looking boy; A couple mentions of a man’s girlfriend.
-Amanda “Mandie” Shaw, age 13 P.O.V. of Mandie Set in 1901 174 pages (also available in a collection with two other Mandie books.)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Pre Teens- Three Stars (and a half) New Teens- Three Stars (and a half) Early High School Teens- Three Stars Older High School Teens- Three Stars My personal Rating- Three Stars Just another good Mandie mystery! ;)
*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS* It's time for another Mandie adventure. I am now on number 23, "Mandie and the Dangerous Imposters". I doubted this book would be really good and honestly those expectations were met. Mandie is visiting her Cherokee relatives for a short little vacation before heading back to school. She is also curious to find out why in the world Tsa'ni has sent a message saying he wants to see her. Upon arriving, the whole Cherokee nation is in an uproar looking for Tsa'ni, Uncle Wirt, and trying to stop two strange men from digging all over their land. Throughout the story, Mandie runs around with her friend Sallie and Dimar trying to solve these various mysteries. We even get a short kidnapping scene towards the end!
I enjoyed various parts of this book. It was great to have another adventure with Sallie and Dimar, and back in Mandie's Cherokee home. The action scenes were decent, and include almost getting attacked by a panther, Sallie getting kidnapped, and Mandie having to free Sallie. Towards the end of the book, the plot was fast moving and interesting. Sadly, this was not the same for the rest of the book. The cliffhanger we are left off with is really good and I'm excited to see what happens to Mandie's school.
"Mandie and the Mysterious Imposters" was a bland mystery. Not much excited me. The biggest problem I personally had was just how bland the characters are getting. Yes- each are quite unique, but we aren't meeting anyone new. This book just got into a boring cycle of going out to look for something/someone, and coming back to eat, and then doing it all over again. It wasn't painful to read (like "Mandie and the Mysterious Fisherman") but just slow. I miss the humor we had with Jonathan, but Tsa'ni does help. Snowball annoys me like crazy, at this point Mandie needs to just let the cat go. It will always come home even if it runs away. That is the one thing that keeps this book from being painful, it was humorous at times (like most Mandie books).
So overall, this book was just kind of bland and unnecessary. It would've been better if the author just skipped it and moved right back into Mandie going back to school. As noted earlier, I am happy that we were left with a genuinely interesting cliffhanger at the end! I think there is a lot of potential for the next book, so my expectations are a bit higher than I've had for the last few Mandie books.
Favorite Quote: "We ain't seen no papoose"
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Of course, you can't go wrong by reading a Mandie book from Ms. Leppard. But to me, this book did not do any justice of what this author can really create. I found the storyline dull and a little un-interesting, compared to all the other Mandie books I've read.
Mandie Shaw recently arrived home from her Europe vacation. School is about to start in a few days, and Mandie decides to visit her Cherokee friends. While she's there, people keep disappearing, and it doesn't look good that there are two men digging all over the Cherokee's mountain.
Are the two mysterious scenarios connected? Who will be the one to stop the snooping men?
You'll have to read the book to continue Mandie's story.
It's almost the end of summer vacation and Mandie wants to visit her Indian relatives. When she arrives she is intrigued with why two white men are being seen digging around her family's sacred ground. She wants to find out more about them. Such as: why they are here, who they are, where they come from, and what they are doing. The Indians are also skeptical of the strange men and her Uncle Ned does not want her to get involved in the affair – but will her curiosity get the better of her and get Mandie in trouble? Find out in this exciting page-turner.
It was pretty good, but the writing could be a little more....intelligent. The mysery was a good short-and-sweet one. I enjoyed the differences between the characters in teh book, but a couple times things just seemed to be repeated in the book, and Mandie is a little too "perfect" and when she isn't she cries she is so upset.
The Mandie books are fun Christian mysteries for children, but I still love reading them. Even though she doesn't age very quickly and seems to get far too many breaks from school during the year, she's a lot of fun.
my favorite part was when the mystery was solved, the men were looking for valuable items. the worst part was when the men were being very mean. my favorite character was Mandie. The worst characters were the mean men
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A formulaic mystery for pre-teens. I don't like that in order to solve the mysteries, Mandie disobeys orders from adults and breaks promises--even though it is done out of love and concern for her kinspeople.
3 stars & 3/10 hearts. This is a fun read, mostly because it’s about Indians. I really like Dimar, and Sallie, and Riley. It’s nice to see Mandie keeping the Cherokees from fighting, too! I didn’t like calling God “the Big God” or the mention that the strangers were disturbing the spirits of the ancestors, but both those things came only once and the second was mostly mentioned after as a belief, not a reality. Overall, it’s a fun read.
A Favourite Quote: “‘We have a special verse for times of trouble. No matter what has happened or is about to happen, whether it’s danger, worry, or whatever, we join hands and quote the verse.[’] “‘What time I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee,’ they said in unison. ... “[Mandie] picked up Snowball and said, ‘Now it’s all in God’s hands. We don’t have to worry anymore.’”
I’m not sure if the author thinks Mandie is an idiot or the readers are. There’s no need to repeat the same thing 15 times, often on back to back pages. Morning Star is learning English! Yay. Will Mandie learn any Cherokee? She will not. Uncle Ned says do not do the thing, it’s dangerous. Mandie does the thing. Someone is kidnapped (again). Mandie cries she is so sorry she did the dangerous thing. It’s getting exhausting.
Mandie and the Dangerous Imposters This book was a little weird, to be honest. The answer to the mystery was pretty obvious and boring. It seemed like the only thing Mandie did was disobey, eat and sleep. The meals annoyed me the most, every meal was mentioned, and every time it smelled and tasted delicious. Lois Gladys Leppard needs to cut that short a little:) I was really surprised to find myself interested in what would turn out, especially because I thought I was too old for this book, it was kind of intriguing, I won't hide that:) Mandie, is again caught and enwrapped in an interesting mystery. With her close friends Sallie and Dimar, will Mandie be able to find out why the weird men are digging up the mountain? Will they finally find Tsa'ni, suspenseful boy that went missing? Are they going to keep safe when some arrows suddenly come up in the story? Is somebody trying to hurt the detective friends? Find all of this out in Mandie and the Dangerous Imposters!