Mandie and the Shipboard Mystery

Mandie #14

by Lois Gladys Leppard

Mandie has just celebrated her thirteenth birthday and been surprised to discover that she has permission to go with her grandmother to Europe. It's just too exciting to be true!

Grandmother Taft, Celia, and Mandie are given a big send-off as they board the Queen Victoria bound for Europe. Traveling on the ship with them is Senator Morton. His attentions keep Mrs. Taft distracted to the point where she slightly neglects Celia and Mandie a situation guaranteed to mean trouble.

The girls meet some unusual people on board, and even find someone in their room when they return to it one night. Candy and fruit disappear from their cabin, and someone's valise turns up under their settee. Then comes the real surprise!

Uncle Ned won't be able to rescue them this time!

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Christian, Fiction, Childrens, Christian Fiction, Young Adult

158 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1990

About the author

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".

Reviews

[R.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me and my sister love Jonathan, so the books in this series with him get four stars instead of three! ;) But seriously, who likes Joe anyway? He's a bit strange and why would Mandie promise him when they're so YOUNG that she'd marry him someday?!
So, Joe or Jonathan? ;)

[Joseph Brink · Rating 4 out of 5]

The trip to Europe books get a higher rating from me, because, for Mandie books, they were good. Mainly because of Jonathan. Who doesn't love Jonathan?

(Growing up, I was always annoyed that the dumb love interest had to have the same name as me while the cool love interest could have a cool name... like Jonathan. ;) These books, Adventures in Odyssey, and the corny audio series "Jonathan Park" contributed to Jonathan being my favorite name for many years... and I definitely wished that I had been named it. XD Now I am so glad I wasn't.)

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a MUCH needed refresh and revival into the series. We finally have a Mandie who isn’t jealous. Action and mystery also finally starts again, with a creepy old woman who literally peeked into the girl’s cabin while they were resting... she’s creepy. Mandie does need to get some honestly and obedience, but at the same time she is smart in the way that she stops feeding Jonathan- which she should’ve done in the first place. Oh yes, Jonathan. His character is unique and awesome! It’s so nice to finally have some new, unique characters. 4/5 stars!

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 4 out of 5]

About this book:

“Mandie has just celebrated her thirteenth birthday and been surprised to discover that she has permission to go with her grandmother to Europe. It's just too exciting to be true!
Grandmother Taft, Celia, and Mandie are given a big send-off as they board the Queen Victoria bound for Europe. Traveling on the ship with them is Senator Morton. His attentions keep Mrs. Taft distracted to the point where she slightly neglects Celia and Mandie a situation guaranteed to mean trouble.
The girls meet some unusual people on board, and even find someone in their room when they return to it one night. Candy and fruit disappear from their cabin, and someone's valise turns up under their settee. Then comes the real surprise!
Uncle Ned won't be able to rescue them this time!”


Series: Book #14 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!) {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- Proverbs 3:3 at the beginning; Prayers; A couple Scriptures are prayed; Church going & mentions of sermons; Talks about God & a Christian school; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions Bibles; A mention of gospel songs;
*Note: A couple mentions of ghosts.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘dumb’s; A bit of sarcasm; Mentions of a woman who was either killed or committed suicide (barely-above-not-detailed).


Sexual Content- Joe gets jealous when Tommy is near Mandie; Mentions of Joe wanting to marry Mandie when they’re older; Mentions of a good-looking young man & Celia has a crush on him; A couple mentions of belly dancers.

-Amanda “Mandie” Shaw, age 13
P.O.V. of Mandie
Set in 1901
158 pages (also available in a collection with four other Mandie books.)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Four Stars
New Teens- Four Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars (and a half)
Best Mandie book in a while—the good (non-jealous) Mandie is back! I forgot about the new character that comes to play in this book…it can only get better characters from here on out, in my opinion! ;)


Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...


*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Mandie and the Shipboard Mystery
Author: Lois Gladys Leppard
Series: Mandie, 14
Format: ebook, bind-up
Length: N/A
Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis: Mandie has just celebrated her thirteenth birthday and been surprised to discover that she has permission to go with her grandmother to Europe. It's just too exciting to be true!
Grandmother Taft, Celia, and Mandie are given a big send-off as they board the Queen Victoria bound for Europe. Traveling on the ship with them is Senator Morton. His attentions keep Mrs. Taft distracted to the point where she slightly neglects Celia and Mandie a situation guaranteed to mean trouble.
The girls meet some unusual people on board, and even find someone in their room when they return to it one night. Candy and fruit disappear from their cabin, and someone's valise turns up under their settee. Then comes the real surprise!
Uncle Ned won't be able to rescue them this time!

Favourite character: Jonathan
Least favourite character: Strange Woman

Mini-review: This was okay. I love Jonathan. He's great. Liked how we got to see the Charleston crew again, as we as throwing Joe into the mix. Tommy wanted to be friends, but Joe wasn't having it. Mandie needs to stop lying to her grandmother.


Fan Cast:
Amanda "Mandie" Shaw - Emma Rayne Lyle
Celia Hamilton - Sadie Sink
Jonathan Lindall Guyer III - Louis Hynes
Grandmother Taft - Meryl Streep
Senator Morton - Donald Sutherland
Charles - Robbie Kay
Strange Woman - Linda Hunt
Captain Montrose - John Lynch
Lily Masterson - Elle Fanning
Joe Woodard - Diego Velasquez
Thomas "Tommy" Patton - Asher Angel
Josephine Patton - Reylynn Caster
Elizabeth Shaw - Malin Akerman
Uncle Ned Sweetwater - Zahn McClarnon
John Shaw - Robert Downey Jr.

[Shireen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm gonna put here my review of the series in general.

Grin. Chocolate cake. Remark. Foot stomp. If you have read these books, you are VERY familiar with these words.

I liked this and #15, the first ones i read. Below my age group, but nice. I thought it was creative, fun to read, and i was entertained.

But it was the same book after book after book. Grin. Chocolate cake. Remark. Foot stomp.

The formula was Mandie meets up with friends, find a mystery, disobey, repent (but not really!) grin, chocolate cake, remark, foot stomp (do you get me now?)

There were basically four types of people: Mandie, adults, friends, and others. And they were all cardboard.

Let us start with Mandie. Rags to riches girl, but acts as a little rich girl. She's stubborn (which is good! REMARKS the author.)and forces her friends to accompany her. She grins, demands chocolate cake, remarks, and stomps her foot.

Friends: they are loyal little minions. They follow Mandie everywhere even if they don't want to. (The boys all love Mandie too) They grin, eat chocolate cake, remark, and tolerate all foot stomping.

Adults: these are just obstacles and finances. To be disobeyed and get forgiveness from, to save and get advise from. They grin and remark.

Others: Props. They make chocolate cake.

There you go. For the entertainment of my sick pajama muscle tank sister.

EDIT: I FORGOT SNOWBALL! YOU CANNOT FORGET SNOWBALL! MANDIE WILL NOT FORGIVE YOU FORGETFULNESS OF HER NASTY LITTLE KITTEN. that was mean.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun to re-visit this childhood favorite. It gave me a desire to sail across the ocean as a child.

[Carlos Montijo]

Review by C. Hollis Crossman:

In the Mandie books, author Lois Gladys Leppard commits one of the great crimes of fiction-writing: set around 1900 in the American South, the series chronicles the adventures of a young part-Cherokee named Mandie....who thinks and acts like a late-20th century American teen. Ethnic minorities who make their way into the stories are grossly stereotyped (especially Native and African Americans), and though Mandie's unkind adoptive family are racist, they seem not to care that she mingles freely with the non-white help.

The fact that Mandie is a Christian who does her best to live a virtuous life actually makes these anachronisms more annoying. In each of the forty books, Mandie and her friends Joe and Celia solve mysteries using their wits and gumption—a perfectly fine hobby for children, except that Mandie breaks rules frequently in its pursuit. Authority figures in the book are frequently mean, and we're given to believe that Mandie's disregard for their wishes is acceptable given their cruelty. Is that really Christian virtue?

Leppard penned the series between 1983 and 2006, so these don't really have the virtue of being classics. They're not very well written, the mysteries soon become repetitive, and the characters are fairly static. If you just want your kids to be quiet and read a book for awhile, these will do; you could also do a lot better. The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder evidence a true commitment to character, and have the benefit of being real-life accounts rather than fiction. For boys, we recommend the Little Britches memoirs by Ralph Moody.

https://www.exodusbooks.com/mandie-bo...

[Fariha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, not only did I read this series of Christian girl mysteries, but I ate that shit up.

A wonderful middle-grade series that has fun mysteries, memorable characters, and great lessons along the way. I read so many of these but just rating my 2 favourites out of them which are this and Mandie and the Charleston Phantom.

[Telisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funniest and best Mandi books of all time.
Stern & strict Grandmama ends up being a Boss Queen. Not only does she tell the Captian what to do and how to get there after Mandi's friend and stow away is discovered you find out she owns the cruise line and knows the kid Mandi found - a VERY rich kid named Jonathon.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, Mandie is always getting herself into trouble, in some way or another. This time, shortly after her thirteenth birthday, her grandmother takes her on a trip to Europe with her best friend, Celia. While on board ship, the girls discover a stowaway. Then there is the strange woman who is following them around.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This almost felt like too much was trying to be crammed into one mystery but it was a nice break from my hard thinking classics I've been getting from the library

[Hayden Parrish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good

[wanderer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit it: I am reviewing these books years after reading them. However, do not even suggest that I'm no longer qualified, that too many years have passed to remember. My battered and faded copies of these books testify to how many times I read them growing up and plots and entire passages are seared in my memory forever.

Snowball always ran away, Mandie always got in trouble, Uncle Ned always rescued her, and Joe and Tommy bristled at each other. I myself preferred Joe, but Tommy's cosmopolitan airs nearly tipped the balance a time or two. I recall- fondly and as though it were yesterday- my glee when Mandie went off to Europe, my disgust at the new baby, my delight in Mandie's wardrobe of sky blue frocks, my puzzlement at all her near escapes and handy school vacations, my terror during the daring midnight adventures. Ah me, to be young and silly again...

If I had written goodreads reviews at the age of eleven, all Mandie books would've received automatic five-star ratings and gushing descriptions. As an adult, I will honestly give them all three stars, except for my special pets. And if I ever have a little girl, I will buy her the entire set. Oh, and did you know there are more than forty books in the series by now? And I'm guessing Mandie never grows up, either.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good. I could tell that since the author first began this series, she has improved a lot. She has learned more techniques that help her succeed in her writing. Although an old time story, she makes it so that her readers can still understand it and so that we can relate to it also. This author, although with us no more, has succeeded in the way she teaches her readers throughout an amazing story. These books are very intriguing, and although they are a bit easy, they are great books to read for fun and to learn a little to. This book is a critical book in the series that has a key event that will play apart in the next few books and I think that Lois introduced it astonishingly.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things I'm noticing ans I re-read these books:

(1) Mandie is really a very, very naughty child.

(2) I just find this interesting. Through the series Leppard (sub-consciously I'm sure) changes the spellings of some character's names and the gender of Mandie's cat Snowball.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Mom's book

[Partridge Public]

Leppard, Lois G. PB

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. All the Mandie books are just very cute and suitable for little girls who like old-fashioned adventure.

[Cws]

JMAR4-Lep

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember loving the Mandie books when I was younger. Today I picked one up for a light read and enjoyed it for that reason.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

My granddaughter has read 31 mandie books

[Amy Bowen]

The book was so interesting that I couldn't put it down! The mysteries and adventures that Mandie seems to walk into, all the time, are just so exciting. It's really hard to stop reading.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great on reread

[Caitlin]

Mandie gets to go on a trip to France with her Grandmother! But on the ship, strange things start to happen when an old woman begins to spy on Mandie and Celia.