Mystery of the Island Jewels

by Joyce A. Stengel

On the search for an ancient treasure...

On a cruise to the Caribbean, fourteen­-year­-old Cassie Hartt hopes to reconnect with her father, who she hasn't seen since her parents' divorce. But spending time with her new stepmother and stepsister leaves her feeling like an outsider. So she's thrilled when she meets Charles. Not only is he a cute boy her own age, but he's on a mysterious mission.

Charles is headed to Martinique to find an ancient silver statue that may be the cause of a curse on his family. Cassie can't resist a good mystery, so she decides to team up with Charles. But they aren't the only ones looking for the statue--and the other interested parties will stop at nothing to get their hands on it....

Genres: Mystery, Childrens

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up for $1.00 at a used bookstore because I can't resist any books with "Mystery" in the title. It's a quick read and I enjoyed it. The 14 year-old protagonist, Cassie, is on a cruise to the Caribbean with her father and his new family. She hadn't seen him since he divorced her mother. On the ship she meets a boy her age whose grandfather summoned him to the island of Martinique to reveal a family secret. But the grandfather died under mysterious circumstances before Charles even arrived. Add a way to permissive father, who let Cassie go off with Charles and his family (strangers) to stay on the plantation while the ship is docked, the old mystery of what happened to a priceless statue that disappeared in the 1902 volcano eruption, and some unscrupulous men who are looking for the statue and you get a pretty good story with lots of adventure and danger. I discovered that there is another book about Cassie which precedes this one. I'll need to get it too.

[April Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

What ages would I recommend it too? Twelve and up.

Length? Most of a days read.

Characters? Memorable, several characters.

Setting? Real world on a cruise and an island in the Caribbean.

Written approximately? 2002.

Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? No.

Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? No.

Short storyline: A young girl goes on a cruise and discovers a mystery.

Notes for the reader: The main character is 14. In many ways, she acts more 16. It would be nice if the story could just be a fun mystery, without the need for romance. Or, at least make the character 16, so society with be more comfortable with that level of romance, as well as running off alone on adventures with an older male she had just met.

[Audrey Wittrock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about a boy Cassie met and his name is Charles. Then Cassie and him became friends.The first day they were friends they went to see this professor speak to an audience.The professor was talking about some missing jewels.After the professor was done and the audience left,Cassie and Charles went to see the professor about their jewels,then the guy said he would look at it later.At the end they became happy being friends.

[Jessica Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's nice sometimes to read books that are "mind candy" and this is a fun one to read! I appreciated the fun details and the realistic emotions portrayed by the characters. This was a book my grandma got me years ago and was perfect for a day when my son was feeling super-needy. Since I couldn't get anything else done, it was fun to just sit and enjoy a good book.

[Kayla Sullivan]

this was such an amazing book ,i cant even explain it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! really reccommeennd it!

[Devon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. The only one I've read in the series. I read it every summer and enjoy it again and again.