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The Riddles of Mulberry Island

Huston Piner (Goodreads Author)

3.91 · Rating details · 11 ratings · 8 reviews

While out fishing one bright summer day, fifteen-year-old Tommy Oakley is startled to spy what appears to be a giant fish surfacing in the inlet near Mulberry Island. Confused and a little fearful, he returns to Bayside, the tiny village where he lives, and recruits Wendy to help him solve the mystery.

A few nights later, Tommy goes camping with his best friend John, and t ...more

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Published June 15th 2020 by NineStar Press

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· 11 ratings · 8 reviews

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Jun 16, 2020 Veronica of V's Reads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: grief-loss, historical, homophobia, innocent-fun, male-male, mystery, no-steam, thriller, ya-adventure, ya-romance

4.5 stars
It's the summer of 1952 and Tommy Oakley is 15, preparing to enter the 10th grade at a big-ish high school. He's best friends with John Webster who is also 15. They live in Bayside, what sounded like a coastal Virginia (my guess, because it's never stated) community which has few residents and fewer opportunities. Most of Bayside's residents are fishermen, and life had been prosperous back when the Mulberry's ran the fishery, but they closed it down long ago and only their Great House r 4.5 stars
It's the summer of 1952 and Tommy Oakley is 15, preparing to enter the 10th grade at a big-ish high school. He's best friends with John Webster who is also 15. They live in Bayside, what sounded like a coastal Virginia (my guess, because it's never stated) community which has few residents and fewer opportunities. Most of Bayside's residents are fishermen, and life had been prosperous back when the Mulberry's ran the fishery, but they closed it down long ago and only their Great House remains. Wendy Harris is also a resident of Bayside, though she's a year older and already in the high school. Wendy likes Tommy and John likes Tommy and Tommy's tired of their bickering.

Tommy got a boat for his 13th birthday, but his parents didn't trust him to captain it until this summer, when he turned 15. He's out in the boat alone, fishing and sailing, when he sees what appears to be a giant fish in the inlet between abandoned Mulberry Island and the peninsula on which Bayside sits. He knows John and Wendy won't believe him, but he confesses his vision to them. Wendy wants to explore, to see if there is anything to it. She's clearly smitten with Tommy, and he's a bit shy of her advances.

Tommy and John plan a sail and a camp-out to go shrimping, and they see lights in the Great House--and they know it wasn't the caretaker, old Mr. Hess, because he shows up later. Who's in the mansion? And, does this have anything to do with the giant fish? John doesn't want to investigate, because he's afraid it will lead to trouble and get Tommy hurt. And, there is no one in the world that John cares for more than Tommy. (I'm going to pause here and mention that John is regularly beaten and emotionally abused by his father, and his mother doesn't speak up about it because she'd likely be beaten in his stead.)

This is a mystery and adventure with just a little bit of romance. Tommy and Wendy and John make a quarrelsome triad in friendship, but there seems to be a connection between Tommy and John that John is beginning to explore. With the elements of danger, and the riskiness of the situations, John is the bold one, taking deeper risks to ensure Tommy's safety--because he feels like Tommy is the only person in his life who truly cares for him.

I can honestly say this is an engaging, and thoughtful YA LGBTQ read. The bad guys are not immediately apparent and the stakes get ever higher as the action plays out. We have mercenaries, and insane men planning insane plots, and a hurricane blowing in. Tommy and company don't know who to trust, but Wendy is ever-forceful in asserting what their trio should do--and how to do it. This causes conflict with John, who wants to back out completely, but he won't leave Tommy to fend for himself. In the end, there are some unlikely heroes and some really spectacular fireworks--which thankfully take out the bad guys' big plans. I liked the pacing, and the storytelling, and was especially grateful to see how the fathers of Bayside finally do what's right and ensure John has a loving home and the care he deserves.

The blurb didn't prepare me for either the slightly historical setting, or the descriptions of physical abuse and overt emotional/verbal abuse John suffers. His connection to Tommy is what eventually saves him. Tommy's father won't stand for Mr. Webster's abuse of his John--or Tommy--when slurs get flung. Beyond this, the adventure and mystery are engaging, as are the glimpses of physical love between Tommy and John. ...more

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Jun 30, 2020 Charlotte rated it really liked it

Shelves: child-abuse, coming-of-age, crime, domestic-emotional-abuse, fiction-historical, historical, homophobia, lgbtq, part-of-series, toxic-masculinity

his was an interesting one! Tommy, Wendy, and John are friends and they are spending the summer together when they can escape their chores. It's 1952... and the three pre-teens set out on an adventure.

Tommy has been given a boat and when he finally convinces his parents that he is old enough to take it out, he sees something spooky. Something that looks like a sea creature appears and thus begins the mystery.

This reminded me of a good old Hardy Boys mystery when it began. A mysterious light on t ...more

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Jul 14, 2020 Lily rated it really liked it

Shelves: adventure, mystery, young-adult

The Riddles of Mulberry Island by Huston Piner reminded me of the Enid Blyton mysteries I used to read decades ago. Being set in the early fifties gives the story a different, almost quaint feel to it. Tommy, John and Wendy are mid-teens and form a strange friendship group. I never fathomed why Tommy was friends with Wendy as they never really talked. She just seemed to be there and told him what to do. He seems to be attracted to her but his attentions became more focused on John as the story p ...more

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Jul 04, 2020 Sarah rated it really liked it

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to read and review.

1950s. Three teenagers. One mystery. Is it a new species of whale? A ghost? The mystery takes place on a local island with an abandoned house. Three friends, Tommy, Wendy, and John, attempt to solve the mystery by exploring the island. As they gather information, piece together clues, and race around the island, they are also exploring their feelings for each other.

Maybe it is because the story takes place in the 1950s, but ...more

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Jun 23, 2020 Alex rated it it was ok

Shelves: 7-8-and-9

Thanks to the publisher for providing a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

While The Riddles of Mulberry Island has a wonderfully woven story, as is I don't think it will find a target audience. The language use, short length, and tendency to repeat plot points to make sure the reader still understand's what's going on feels very reminiscent of middle grade or younger. At first I was going to give this a very middle of the range rating and just suggest it for younger readers, but since this bo ...more

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Jun 24, 2020 Ro rated it liked it

I thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a digital copy of this novel.

Actual rate: 2.75 stars
I'm quite sad to give this book such a low rating. When I started it I thought it would be a quick and intriguing read, but unfortunately for me only the first part was true.
I enjoyed the general plot of the story: a trio of teenagers spy some mysterious disturbance in a local island and they decide to go investigate, but they get caught up in a scheme bigger than they expected. The characte ...more

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Jun 29, 2020 Aisha rated it it was ok

The book follows 3 friends who uncover a mystery and what happens to them afterwards, it is told from the perspective of both Tommy and John.

I liked John and Wendy and wished the book was in their perspectives because to me Tommy was a boring character in comparison to them, I also did not care for him so I just did not get the other characters interest in him, everything seemed to revolve around him.

The book starts off interesting with a coming of age feel to it, especially with the setting bei ...more

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Sep 16, 2020 Suze rated it really liked it

3.5\4*
An engaging tale that did keep me engaged.
Centres around 2 15yo boys and a 17yo girl (I think that’s the ages), who in the simpler times of the early 1950’s so off adventuring on a local abandoned island.
Cue cranky caretakers, mystery residents, smugglers, nefarious plots, a lot of action and a very youthful romance.
Also, the ‘let’s investigate ourselves rather than engage with adults’ mentality of groups like The Famous 5 give a somewhat unreal feel at times.
The boys sometimes came across ...more

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jennet wheatstonelllsl rated it it was amazing
Jun 24, 2020

Kim Harnes rated it it was amazing
Jul 03, 2020

Sep 17, 2020 Huston Piner rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

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About Huston Piner

Huston Piner

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Huston Piner always wanted to be a writer but realized from an early age that learning to read would have to take precedence. A voracious reader, he loves nothing more than a well-told story, a glass of red, and music playing in the background. His writings focus on ordinary gay teenagers and young adults struggling with their orientation in the face of cultural prejudice and the evolving influenc ...more