Girls of Canby Hall #1 Roommates and #2 Our Roommate Is Missing

In Girls of Canby Hall #1, Roommates, Dana, Faith, and Shelley begin their sophomore year at Canby Hall as roommates in Baker House, Room 407.  Dana is a New York City girl; Faith is levelheaded; and Shelley is a country girl who has never been to a big city.  At first, the girls get off to a bad start when Shelley is uncomfortable being around Faith, who is black.  Shelly is also terribly homesick.  By the end of the story, the conflict is resolved, and the three girls are good friends.

Shelley is not likable in this book, since she feels sorry for herself for most of the story.  I did end up liking her after reading additional titles.

In Girls of Canby Hall #2, Our Roommate Is Missing, Shelley disappears!  Shelley was snatched by mistake instead of Casey.  The kidnappers plan to use the abduction to keep Casey's father from testifying in a criminal case. Dana and Faith try to figure out where Shelley is so that they can rescue her.

This book is atypical of the Girls of Canby Hall series in that it reads like a series mystery book and follows the same logic as a series book.  For instance, the young people don't tell the FBI agents what they know and instead solve the mystery themselves.  The reasoning is that the adults wouldn't have believed them.  Right.

This is a very good story.

I have created a Facebook group for enthusiasts of vintage teen books such as the ones reviewed in this post.  Please follow this link to join.

National Parks Mysteries #12 Buried Alive and #13 Night of the Black Bear

In National Parks Mysteries #12, Buried Alive, the Landons have been called to Alaska's Denali National Park so that Olivia can investigate the deaths of several wolverines.  The Landons' new foster child, Nicky, has a mysterious past which is apparently dangerous.  Jack and Ashley soon learn exactly how dangerous Nicky's past is.

National Geographic is mentioned on page 40.

This is a very suspenseful book.  I greatly enjoyed it.

In National Parks Mysteries #13, Night of the Black Bear, the Landons visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Olivia has been asked to investigate several bear attacks.  Normally bears do not attack park visitors, so Olivia must find out what has gone wrong.

Meanwhile, Jack and Ashley make friends with Yonah and Merle, who used to be friends but are now enemies.  Merle behaves mysteriously, so Yonah, Jack, and Ashley follow him to find out what is going on.

This is the only book in the series in which the Landons do not have a foster child.  Instead, Jack and Ashley's  new acquaintances, Yonah and Merle, provide the conflict that usually occurs with the foster children.

This is a very good book.

This series is very consistent from beginning to end.  All books were written by the same writing team, and all feature the same premise.  I found that the national park settings enhanced the stories.  The bits of history included in each book were always interesting and never dragged down the plot.  All around, this is a very enjoyable series.

Merivale Mall #11 Perfect Strangers and #12 Lost and Found

In Merivale Mall #11, Perfect Strangers, Lori and Nick's relationship gets rockier.  Lori feels that she and Nick do not share enough interests, so she tries to learn about car repairs all in one day. Later, Lori tries to teach Nick how to draw. Nothing works, and Lori fears that she and Nick are incompatible.  Meanwhile, Danielle tries to dazzle a ski instructor while she vacations in Switzerland.

On page 54, Nick is looking over Lori's car.  He suddenly asks Lori where her diary is, and Lori gets flustered.  Nick just wants to know when Lori last got an oil change, but instead, he asks her in such a way as to cause maximum drama.  By this point in the series, I am so over Nick and Lori and desperately want them to break up.  Their relationship is so stupid.

I enjoyed this book but not as much as earlier books in the series.  I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had known how the series ends.  My perspective about the plot and subplot is different now that I know how the series is resolved.

In Merivale Mall #12, Lost and Found, Nick gives Lori an heirloom necklace, but he acts weird about it.  To Lori's dismay, she immediately misplaces the necklace and must hide what happened.  Basically, both Lori and Nick act bizarre in this story, and I just wanted them to break up.  Let's get it over with and put us all out of our misery!

Meanwhile, Danielle decides not to date for a month.  Danielle's restraint helps her experience personal growth so that she is able to make better decisions about romance.

Lori comes up with a crazy scheme to make a copy of the heirloom necklace to hide its loss. How can a high school student with no training think that she has the skill to duplicate an heirloom necklace?  This series has many stupid events in it, but this one takes the prize.  Lori goes through with the plan and tries to pass off the copy as the original.  Not surprisingly, the scheme fails miserably.

This book recaps many of the events of the series.  The book was clearly written with the knowledge that the story would be the final entry in the series.  As I read the second half of the book, I realized that the series began winding down during volume nine.

I am pleased with how the series ends and feel that the ending is appropriate.  I enjoyed reading the Merivale Mall series.

National Parks Mysteries #10 Out of the Deep and #11 Running Scared

In National Parks Mysteries #10, Out of the Deep, the Landons and their foster child, Bindy, arrive in Acadia National Park.  Olivia's latest task is to discover why the whales are beaching themselves along the shore of Maine.

Bindy is a troubled girl known to be a pathological liar.  Unfortunately, no one believes her when she learns key evidence as to why the whales are becoming beached.  Bindy takes matters into her own hands, endangering the lives of all three children.

The obligatory plug for National Geographic occurs on page 70.

On page 78, Bindy has disappeared for the second time.  Jack thinks of the legal ramifications.  His family might be sued, and they might not ever be able to take care of foster children again.  I found it refreshing for a series book to mention possible consequences of the family's misadventure.  Series books don't usually mention that sort of thing.

This is an excellent story.

In National Parks Mysteries #11, Running Scared, the Landon family vacations at Carlsbad Caverns National Park with their current foster child, Sam.  Sam is a troubled young boy who stutters.  Sam has his heart set on exploring Left Hand Tunnel, mainly because he is left-handed.

Olivia and Steven aren't able to accompany the children, so a park employee takes them to join a tour in progress.  An emergency situation causes Sam to become frightened, and he runs off into the caverns.  Jack and Ashley try to find him, becoming hopelessly lost.

For once, Olivia does not have a task at the park. The adventure is centered around the many hours that the children are lost in the tunnels.

This book is outstanding.

Merivale Mall #9 Never Say Goodbye and #10 Sweet Success

In Merivale Mall #9, Never Say Goodbye, Don is forced to move back in with his parents.  Don's parents are difficult.  They worry about money and fight all the time.  They expect Don to stay home every evening, which puts a strain on Don's relationship with Danielle.  Don must make a change in his life, but his decision could cause Danielle to lose him forever.

Meanwhile, Lori has her eye on a bag lady who frequents the mall.  Lori is determined to help the woman, but she is rebuffed at every turn.

I have already mentioned that Danielle and Don are my favorite part of the series, so not suprisingly, I really enjoyed this book.




In Merivale Mall #10, Sweet Success, Lori's talent at creating fashion has been discovered. Lori now has a wealthy backer who gets her started in business.  Lori quickly learns that the schedule is exhausting, leaving her no time for her friends or for studying.  Lori must examine her priorities and decide what is most important to her.

Meanwhile, Danielle's family has money problems, and Danielle is forced to get a job. Danielle tries several jobs, with each one ending in disaster.

I enjoyed this book.

I didn't realize it as I read these books, but the series is winding down during books nine through twelve.  Each plot and subplot is part of a greater story arc that leads Lori and Danielle to where they are at the end of the final book.

National Parks Mysteries #8 Valley of Death and #9 Escape from Fear

In National Parks Mysteries #8, Valley of Death, the Landons and their latest foster child, Leesa, arrive in Death Valley National Park so that Olivia can investigate why bighorn sheep are dying.  Jack is puzzled that his parents have told him nothing about Leesa's background, and he senses a great mystery.  Ashley is abducted mistakenly, and it turns out that the culprits wanted Leesa instead.  Leesa decides to turn herself over to the men, but Jack goes with her.

Near the end of the story, Ashley is traumatized by her experience.  This is much more realistic than what is usually seen in series books where the protagonist is unfazed by grave danger.  I enjoyed the realism.

This is a very good book.

In National Parks Mysteries #9, Escape from Fear, the Landons visit Virgin Islands National Park so that Olivia can help the park protect the dying coral reefs.  When the family arrives, they discover that Forrest, the son of a diplomat, has arrived in St. John without an adult.  Mr. and Mrs. Landon insist that Forrest stay with them. Jack and Ashley soon learn that Forrest has a mystery and that he has come to St. John to meet his mother for the first time.

This is a very interesting book.  Forrest's story is compelling.  This is an excellent book.

Merivale Mall #7 Hometown Hero and #8 Slave for a Day

In Merivale Mall #7, Hometown Hero, Don James saves a toddler from certain death when he catches the boy after a fall from the upper level of the mall.  Suddenly, Danielle's relationship with Don can become public.  She doesn't have to be embarrassed about seeing a hero, even if he is a mechanic.  But then Don is accused of theft, turning Danielle's world upside down.  Danielle dumps Don while he struggles to prove his innocence.

I like Danielle the best when she is involved with Don.  The relationship between Danielle and Don is the best part of this series.

This book is excellent.  I read it fast.

In Merivale Mall #8, Slave for a Day, Nick's old girlfriend, Vicki, has moved back to Merivale. Word on the street is that Vicki wants Nick back and will stop at nothing to get him.

Lori learns about Atwood's Slave for a Day fundraiser and is devastated to learn that Vicki plans to bid top dollar to get Nick to be her slave. Can Lori save her relationship with Nick?

Meanwhile, Danielle comes up with a crazy scheme to make Don jealous.  Danielle's scheme is so stupid.

It was during this book that I decided that I had grown tired of Lori and Nick's relationship.  I like them fine as a couple during the early books, but by this point in the series, it is apparent that their relationship is on shaky ground.  Nick is not very considerate of Lori's feelings, and I kept wishing that she would dump him instead of continuing to cling to the relationship.

I only somewhat enjoyed this book since I found both the main plot and the subplot to be annoying.

National Parks Mysteries #5 The Hunted, #6 Ghost Horses, and #7 Over the Edge

In National Parks Mysteries #5, The Hunted, grizzly cubs are disappearing from Glacier National Park, and Olivia's task is to find out why.  Olivia and Steven leave their children alone at the camp, admonishing them to stay close to the trailer.  Ashley discovers a runaway boy from Mexico, Miguel, hiding in the bushes, and then the three children witness some men steal grizzlies from the park.  The three children end up in grave danger with nowhere to turn.

These books keep getting better and better. This book is excellent and is quite suspenseful.

In National Parks Mysteries #6, Ghost Horses, two sibling Shoshone children, Ethan and Summer, are placed with the Landons.  Ethan dislikes the Anglos and doesn't get along with Jack.

The Landons and their foster children travel to Zion National Park so that Olivia can investigate the deaths of wild mustangs.  Ethan's resentment grows, and Jack believes that Ethan is trying to put a curse on his family.

This is a very good book.

With the publication of volume 7, the series was rebranded as the Mysteries in Our National Parks series, and the cover art changed design.

Additionally, the hardcover books began to be printed on slightly lower quality paper that is still good quality paper.  The first six books were printed on excellent quality paper that is quite thick.

The first six hardcover books feature a set of color photos from each national park inserted in the middle of the book.  The photos were discontinued beginning with volume 7.

In National Parks Mysteries #7, Over the Edge, Olivia comes up with a plan to save the condors of Grand Canyon National Park.  After Olivia announces her plan, she receives an anonymous threatening email.  Ashley feels certain that the Landons' latest foster child, computer genius Morgan, is responsible for the threat.

In each book, the Landons have faced danger. The danger is greater in this book and each subsequent title.  Not only did the book design and series name change, but the stories were made even more exciting.

The obligatory National Geographic mention is made on page 108.

This is an excellent book.