Mandie, Celia, Mrs. Taft and Senator Morton arrive safely in London and take Jonathan, the young stowaway from Mandie and the Shipboard Mystery, along with them.
A telegram from an unknown source is waiting for Mandie and an unexplained message has been left at their hotel. Who is so interested in what Mandie is doing? And why don't they sign their names? Is this a new adventure-or danger?
When they decide to deliver Jonathan to his aunt in Paris, adventure begins. But what at first seemed like a simple mystery turns into a dangerous trap and an encounter with the disappearing stranger.
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".
Synopsis: Mandie, Celia, Mrs. Taft and Senator Morton arrive safely in London and take Jonathan, the young stowaway from Mandie and the Shipboard Mystery, along with them. A telegram from an unknown source is waiting for Mandie and an unexplained message has been left at their hotel. Who is so interested in what Mandie is doing? And why don't they sign their names? Is this a new adventure-or danger? When they decide to deliver Jonathan to his aunt in Paris, adventure begins. But what at first seemed like a simple mystery turns into a dangerous trap and an encounter with the disappearing stranger. Mandie's in Paris and so are the spies!
Favourite character: Jonathan Least favourite character: Mandie
Mini-review: I did not like this. It almost felt like the author didn't write it. There were mistakes and borderline racist stereotypes (Mandie can track because of her Cherokee blood, when in reality it's a taught skill not a natural born gift). Jonathan, who can speak French and went to boarding school in England, can't tell if three girls are English speakers or French speakers based on their accents. Also it's very unrealistic that two thirteen year old girls would foil the plot of spies. Also Uncle Ned shows up in France.
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 Strange Woman - Linda Hunt Mary Covington - Mimi Keene Maude Covington - Esme Creed-Miles Martha Covington - Pixie Davies
I'm rating up a star in remembrance of the audience this book and this series was intended for. I would have eaten it up as a kid, but as an adult it made me laugh because some of these things would just never happen. But it was 1901, so who knows. ;)
“Mandie, Celia, Mrs. Taft and Senator Morton arrive safely in London and take Jonathan, the young stowaway from Mandie and the Shipboard Mystery, along with them. A telegram from an unknown source is waiting for Mandie and an unexplained message has been left at their hotel. Who is so interested in what Mandie is doing? And why don't they sign their names? Is this a new adventure-or danger? When they decide to deliver Jonathan to his aunt in Paris, adventure begins. But what at first seemed like a simple mystery turns into a dangerous trap and an encounter with the disappearing stranger. Mandie's in Paris and so are the spies!”
Series: Book #15 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!) {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- Isaiah 58:9 at the beginning; Prayers; A couple Scriptures are prayed; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Uncle Ned referrers to Heaven as the “happy hunting ground”.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a form of ‘sissy’, and three ‘shucks’; A bit of sarcasm.
Sexual Content- A bit of jealousy; Mentions of crushes; Mentions of Joe & Mandie marrying when they’re older.
-Amanda “Mandie” Shaw, age 13 P.O.V. of Mandie Set in 1901 159 pages (also available in a collection with four other Mandie books.)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Pre Teens- Three Stars (and a half) 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) Another good Mandie mystery! These Europe ones are some of my favorites. :)
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 prefered 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.
Mandie seems to be always getting into trouble or else trouble finds her. Now she is in Paris with her friends and doesn't know the language. They get tangled with a group of spies and kidnappers. How are they going to get out of this mess?
The book I most recently finished is called Mandie and the Foreign Spies, by Lois Gladys Leppard. This book is historical fiction. It takes place in London, England. The main characters are Mandie, Celia, Jonathan, "Grandmother" Taft and senator Morton. In this book Johnathan is kidnapped and Mandie and Celia, against Mrs.Taft's wishes, go to find him. I rated this book 5 stars because it is an action-packed book with mystery and suspense.
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.
I was ten or eleven, also named Amanda, and going through my "mystery phase" of Nancy Drew and (probably inappropriately) Agatha Christie, so of COURSE I had to read all of these! Simplistic and formulaic, but oh so much fun!
what a book! I never knew what I was missing till I read the Mandie books!! There were a few moments when I thought I would jump out of my skin from the suspense building!