What do you think?
Walt Disney's Annette #2
Mystery at Moonstone Bay
Book by Doris Schroeder
206 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1962
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 23, 2014
An easy to read and follow mystery story without any unbelievable risks ... just some girls enjoying their friendship and solving a mystery together. Just plain fun.
Hmm... a reread? I don't even remember reading it previously, but I guess I did. Well, once again, enjoyable fun, and simple mystery. I enjoyed the quick and relaxing read.
Hmm... a reread? I don't even remember reading it previously, but I guess I did. Well, once again, enjoyable fun, and simple mystery. I enjoyed the quick and relaxing read.
August 25, 2019
This books is by Doris Schroeder who also wrote Patty Duke and Mystery Mansion. The books have always reminded me of each other but it's just today I realized they were written by the same author. Schroeder wrote the majority of the Annette books as well as two of the Annie Oakley books, both Patty Duke books, and The Lennon Sisters book, all for Whitman Publishing. I find these all to be great books with the exception of Mystery Mansion which I have a suspicion I didn't like because it's weak in comparison to Mystery at Moonstone Bay.
It's also worth noting that although these books are based on the tv segment, Walt Disney Presents: Annette, I've never seen the show and my knowledge of Annette only comes from these books.
Also a little fun fact: the tv show was itself based on a book called Margaret by Janette Sebring Lowrey. Lowerey also wrote the ever-famous The Pokey Little Puppy as well as Rings on Her Fingers which was turned into a very popular movie in the 1940's.
As the book starts out Annette is saying goodbye to her friend Lisa. Lisa is going off for the summer vacation and although invited Annette must stay home. An old family friend is visiting her Aunt and Uncle, with who Annette lives. The friend is Jim Burnette and his daughter Sandy. Annette and Sandy have not seen each other since childhood and both are happy about a reunion. Mr. Burnette has spent years and years trying to strike it rich in the oil industry and several weeks before he finally found a big oil well. He's now extremely wealthy and plans to permanently move out to California with Sandy.
Aunt Lila and Annette go to the airport to pick up uncle Archie, Jim, and Sandy and are shocked when they see Sandy made up as some glamorous movie star. She's wearing a mink stole, 4 inch heels, and a full face of makeup. She also appears sullen and moody.
Once at home Sandy overheard Aunt Lila criticizing her appearance to Annette and becomes emotional. Sandy explains that she hadn't chosen her wardrobe herself, her father had, purchasing all the most expensive things and made Sandy give up her normal wardrobe. Mr. Burnette doesn't want anyone to know they had previously been poor and is trying to hide their past with expensive appearances. Annette helps Sandy pick out some subtler clothes and lends her some of her own clothing items so she can fit in better.
The next night Annette's invites all her friends over to meet Sandy and everyone gets along great. The girls get invited on a picnic/swim outing the next morning. It will involve horseback riding to the picnic location and although Sandy has never ridden a horse before, she's very eager to go. So Annette takes her to the stables an hour earlier to get some practice. Sandy does fine on the ride to the picnic spot but once there her horse becomes startled by a dog and makes a wild run knocking Sandy off and into the path of another running horse. Annette comes to her rescue which seems to cement the girls friendship. Sandy decides she'll start taking riding lessons immediately and also that's she's going to have her father purchase a house by Annette.
However when the girls get home Mr. Burnette informs them he's found a large manor 100 miles away he is looking to buy. He and Sandy head out the next day to look the place over and end up staying as guest of the current owner, Mrs. Glaven. On the 5th day Sandy calls Annette asking her to come because she is scared.
Annette arrives the next day and nearly has a collision in the driveway with a young man who we later find out is Mrs. Glaven's stepson, Brod, who has just had a heated argument with his stepmother.
Once greeted inside Sandy explains that every day her father gets more and more interested in buying the place. She then shows Annette a note that had been slipped under her door that says "Word of warning. Justice will be done. Do not buy this house or you will be sorry.". Annette and Mr. Brunette brush it off as a joke but Sandy remains worried.
You can read the rest of the summary at: VintageGirlsBooks.blogspot.com
- While on the horse ride Sandy says that riding a horse is actually easy. Annette thinks that Sandy is just lucky because she didn't have a high spirited horse but why would someone ever be put on a high spirited horse for their first ever horse ride. Sandy is not "lucky", she's just a standard beginner.
- Glaven is such a funny name because it reminds me of Professor Frink on the Simpson's and that's how I kept saying it in my head.
- At first it says Sandy only has over the top glamorous clothes and that she can't borrow Annettes because she's so much taller than her but suddenly she has normal clothes out of nowhere.
But wait, there's more!
You can read the rest of this review at: VintageGirlsBooks.blogspot.com
★ You can see all the art work for this book and many others at: Pinterest.com/nancydrewart
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January 21, 2016
The Annette mystery books are not like the Nancy Drew ones. Annette is not a detective on purpose; she just sort of stumbles into situations and tries to help people. She does not operate with two other friends helping her (or one as in the case of the Dana Girls.) Yet she does use good thinking and planning when she ends up having to work on something.
In this case a girl she knew when she was younger has come with her father to find a place to live. At first the two girls don't really get along that well, but eventually they do. Sandy, her friend, wants to live near Annette but her father wants a place further away.
The problem is that the house he wants has a very strange owner, a strange guy who drives a sports car, a strange message about not buying the house, and objects that go missing. There's no gun play or anything like that. It's just a pretty good basic mystery book involving Annette.
In this case a girl she knew when she was younger has come with her father to find a place to live. At first the two girls don't really get along that well, but eventually they do. Sandy, her friend, wants to live near Annette but her father wants a place further away.
The problem is that the house he wants has a very strange owner, a strange guy who drives a sports car, a strange message about not buying the house, and objects that go missing. There's no gun play or anything like that. It's just a pretty good basic mystery book involving Annette.
October 23, 2008
The best in the series.
June 22, 2010
Loved these Annette adventures when I was a kid!
Read
August 13, 2016I hadn't read this one in a long while.
August 11, 2017
No mystery is too big for Annette!
September 19, 2017
I read this with my sister who is in 2nd grade. She loved it.
September 8, 2020
I mean... it wasn't a bad book, it was a perfectly average "girl's mystery" and I enjoyed reading it. It wasn't exactly great though.
I swear Annette's friend Sandy must be the dumbest motherfucker on the planet the way Annette had to constantly explain the most SIMPLE damn concepts to her constantly. And every time she'd WAY overreact first and get incredibly emotional. Not that Annette was all that much smarter honestly, the "mystery" was obvious to the point where I don't think it was even written as a mystery, like... it just couldn't have been, it's incredibly obvious who the antagonist is and what they're doing the entire time, it's transparent, I'm reading this thinking like, if Annette had been Nancy Drew this book would've been 2 chapters long. But Annette isn't a tenth of the sleuth that Nancy Drew is and constantly misses the most obvious clues and things going on around her.
The ending was also SUPER rushed, and Annette and Sandy didn't really do much to solve the mystery themselves, it all just kind of wrapped up on its own and the ending was delivered in narration in two pages, like the author got tired of writing the story and just decided to be like "aight anyway here's how all this ended thanks bye" like damn ok it was obvious how it was going to end but that doesn't mean I didn't want to read it...
Also DAMN they were harsh in the beginning about Sandy looking nice. Let the girl wear nice clothes! But it was the early 60s I guess. (???)
Oh yeah, also, "Moonstone Bay" was basically never mentioned. I think they went swimming in it once for a page that had nothing to do with the plot. The ranch house was, I guess, near Moonstone Bay? But there was no mystery at the bay or anything and it had no involvement in the story. Why on earth did they not call this book "Mystery at Moonstone Ranch" since 99% of the action took place ... at the ranch? Like... why name the whole book after a random landmark nearby? Bizarre.
Still, not a terrible book, just average. Nice illustrations!
I swear Annette's friend Sandy must be the dumbest motherfucker on the planet the way Annette had to constantly explain the most SIMPLE damn concepts to her constantly. And every time she'd WAY overreact first and get incredibly emotional. Not that Annette was all that much smarter honestly, the "mystery" was obvious to the point where I don't think it was even written as a mystery, like... it just couldn't have been, it's incredibly obvious who the antagonist is and what they're doing the entire time, it's transparent, I'm reading this thinking like, if Annette had been Nancy Drew this book would've been 2 chapters long. But Annette isn't a tenth of the sleuth that Nancy Drew is and constantly misses the most obvious clues and things going on around her.
The ending was also SUPER rushed, and Annette and Sandy didn't really do much to solve the mystery themselves, it all just kind of wrapped up on its own and the ending was delivered in narration in two pages, like the author got tired of writing the story and just decided to be like "aight anyway here's how all this ended thanks bye" like damn ok it was obvious how it was going to end but that doesn't mean I didn't want to read it...
Also DAMN they were harsh in the beginning about Sandy looking nice. Let the girl wear nice clothes! But it was the early 60s I guess. (???)
Oh yeah, also, "Moonstone Bay" was basically never mentioned. I think they went swimming in it once for a page that had nothing to do with the plot. The ranch house was, I guess, near Moonstone Bay? But there was no mystery at the bay or anything and it had no involvement in the story. Why on earth did they not call this book "Mystery at Moonstone Ranch" since 99% of the action took place ... at the ranch? Like... why name the whole book after a random landmark nearby? Bizarre.
Still, not a terrible book, just average. Nice illustrations!
August 8, 2022
rating: 3.5 stars (rounded up)
Annette is delighted to be reunited with her childhood friend Sandy Burnett, whose father has decided to move to California from Oklahoma. At the site of a prospective property, Sandy calls Annette and begs for her to come and help her convince her dad not to buy. Something is wrong and scares Sandy at the old Glaven place in Moonstone Bay, and Annette and Sandy are determined to find out the truth and prevent Sandy's dad from being taken advantage of.
The story isn't at all complicated; it's a pleasant mystery that doesn't require much thought. A nice easy story to pass the time with a pace that doesn't try to get ahead of itself. It's only quarter into the book that Annette even goes to the titular place. Before that is some introduction to the Burnetts and some horseback riding, which plays a role throughout the story.
I do like that the Annette series isn't about a young detective but rather a young woman who is introduced to some mystery by a friend and solves it for them. It's not about glory or money; she's helping out a friend. She's a caring person who doesn't look for trouble. Someone else finds it and defers to her clear mind and solid logic.
On the other hand, Sandy is an emotional and dramatic character who is anxious that no one find out about her family's very humble beginnings, and she has to have her hand figuratively held a lot during the story. Her worries made her seem shallow; there wasn't much to make her a sympathetic character because it was all her worries and no actual outside reaction except for Annette's aunt Lila picking on her mature makeup and clothing. As for the actual mystery, it was not at all complicated, and the girls' unimaginativeness frustrated me, like watching a show where the character is looking everywhere except where the audience can see the token clue is barely hiding.
Overall, it is not a memorable story but is pleasant to read. I enjoyed it. For those who prefer face-paced, witty mysteries, give this a pass.
Annette is delighted to be reunited with her childhood friend Sandy Burnett, whose father has decided to move to California from Oklahoma. At the site of a prospective property, Sandy calls Annette and begs for her to come and help her convince her dad not to buy. Something is wrong and scares Sandy at the old Glaven place in Moonstone Bay, and Annette and Sandy are determined to find out the truth and prevent Sandy's dad from being taken advantage of.
The story isn't at all complicated; it's a pleasant mystery that doesn't require much thought. A nice easy story to pass the time with a pace that doesn't try to get ahead of itself. It's only quarter into the book that Annette even goes to the titular place. Before that is some introduction to the Burnetts and some horseback riding, which plays a role throughout the story.
I do like that the Annette series isn't about a young detective but rather a young woman who is introduced to some mystery by a friend and solves it for them. It's not about glory or money; she's helping out a friend. She's a caring person who doesn't look for trouble. Someone else finds it and defers to her clear mind and solid logic.
On the other hand, Sandy is an emotional and dramatic character who is anxious that no one find out about her family's very humble beginnings, and she has to have her hand figuratively held a lot during the story. Her worries made her seem shallow; there wasn't much to make her a sympathetic character because it was all her worries and no actual outside reaction except for Annette's aunt Lila picking on her mature makeup and clothing. As for the actual mystery, it was not at all complicated, and the girls' unimaginativeness frustrated me, like watching a show where the character is looking everywhere except where the audience can see the token clue is barely hiding.
Overall, it is not a memorable story but is pleasant to read. I enjoyed it. For those who prefer face-paced, witty mysteries, give this a pass.
January 5, 2026
Disney's Annette stumbles into another vague mystery involving a new friend and her oil-rich father. The plot is familiar, the trappings much as usual and the mystery wrapped up fairly quickly. You'd think they were writing these stories for kids, wouldn't you? But it's innocent, breezy fun.
August 6, 2021
This was not as captivating as it was when I was ten 🤣
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews