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arlene_modernvintage's review
4.0
Title: Trixie Belden #1: The Secret of the Mansion
Author: Julie Campbell
Published: 1948
Genre: Adventure, Mystery
Summary: 13 year old Trixie Belden's summer has started off really slow. Her older brothers are off at camp, and living outside of town means she doesn’t get to see her school friends very often now that school is out for the summer. With nothing to do but look after her little brother Bobby and weed the garden, Trixie thinks the summer will be really boring until she finds out a family has bought the mansion next door and they have a girl who is her age. Excited at seeing they have horses, Trixie goes over to introduce herself and meets Honey who is the definition of a poor little rich girl. At first Trixie doesn’t think Honey will be much fun but they soon become friends and Honey’s groom Reagan even starts to teach Trixie how to ride.
Trixie’s other neighbor, the old Mr. Fayne, was taken to the hospital the morning of the day she meets Honey. Since Trixie has always wanted to know what the inside of his house looks like she convinces Honey to go explore the old mansion with her. When they get there they find a boy in the house who is the great nephew of Mr. Fayne. Jim has run away from his cruel stepfather and came looking for Mr. Fayne hoping that he will take care of him. While Mr. Fayne in in the hospital the three kids decide to look around his house for the fortune that is rumored to be hidden inside. Even though their search seems fruitless they become friends and Trixie finds her summer turning out not as boring as she thought it would be.
What I liked about it: I have always liked Trixie Belden better then Nancy Drew as far as young female detectives go. She always seemed a lot more realistic to me. Instead of being rich and having whatever she wants, Trixie is a normal girl with annoying older and younger brothers, chores around the family’s small farm, and true honest friends. Yes, Honey does have money, but she is never shown as stuck up. In fact, she remarks several times about how she wished she had a more simple life like Trixie. Their mysteries are fun and intriguing while not being overly complicated.
Language: None
Romance: As the books go on past the first few and the main cast of characters grows to the full three boy and three girls it becomes apparent that each of the boys like one of the girls and vice versa but as with keeping with the younger audience for the time the books were originally written it never becomes all about the romance and not about the stories. In fact besides it occasionally mentioning that so and so likes so and so it never really gets in to anything romantic at all.
Violence: Occasionally the bad guys have guns or grab arms tightly but there is never any really graphic violence.
Magic: None.
Recommended Age: Trixie is 13 when the books start and gets a little older as the books go on but I would say 12-13 is a good age to start. But they aren’t so long or complicated that a kid of 11 couldn’t read them.
satyridae's review
2.0
I know many wonderful people who love, love, love Trixie. My earliest memories of this series center around a supermarket in Coldwater Michigan which sold cheap Whitman hardcovers for 69 cents. Every so often, if I'd completely run out of REAL books (which is to say, books about HORSES), my mom would buy me a Whitman book. It's where I first learned about abridged books, to my everlasting shock and chagrin. I remember the odd Trixie Belden, but didn't retain anything more concrete than a dismissive sort of feeling.
At the urging of some people whose taste in kidlit I respect, I revisited the first of the series. My recall was accurate. I'm not a Trixie fan. From the smarminess of calling one's maternal parent "Moms" to the inaccuracy about snakebite (garter snakes don't leave puncture wounds!) and the loathsome whiny Honey, I was left unmoved. And if Trixie said "yummy-yum" one more time, I was going to dive into the pages of the book and box her ears.
It got better toward the end, and I confess to a certain degree of curiosity about where they will find Jim. Tell me, Bob-Whites, do they improve as one continues?
At the urging of some people whose taste in kidlit I respect, I revisited the first of the series. My recall was accurate. I'm not a Trixie fan. From the smarminess of calling one's maternal parent "Moms" to the inaccuracy about snakebite (garter snakes don't leave puncture wounds!) and the loathsome whiny Honey, I was left unmoved. And if Trixie said "yummy-yum" one more time, I was going to dive into the pages of the book and box her ears.
It got better toward the end, and I confess to a certain degree of curiosity about where they will find Jim. Tell me, Bob-Whites, do they improve as one continues?
brona's review
4.0
Trixie is a very authentic protagonist. She says the wrong things sometimes, she can be impulsive and clumsy. She gets carried away with her own imaginings. She has chores to do, struggles with her homework and argues with her brothers.
The mysteries that Trixie and her friends get caught up in are full of action, drama and human relationships. They have a logic and plausibility that satisfies. The mystery is always solved, but the main relationships are allowed to develop with the series.
http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/trixiebelden-1-secret-of-mansion-by.html
The mysteries that Trixie and her friends get caught up in are full of action, drama and human relationships. They have a logic and plausibility that satisfies. The mystery is always solved, but the main relationships are allowed to develop with the series.
http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/trixiebelden-1-secret-of-mansion-by.html
goodbyepuckpie's review
4.0
Accidentally started a Trixie Belden reread spiral. Still very fond of these books.
Also, I had definitely forgotten what an outrageous number of things happen in this first book: unrelated plane crash! venomous snake bite! at least one concussion! multiple cuts/scrapes! houses burning down by accident! So much drama. :D
Also, I had definitely forgotten what an outrageous number of things happen in this first book: unrelated plane crash! venomous snake bite! at least one concussion! multiple cuts/scrapes! houses burning down by accident! So much drama. :D
imzadirose's review
5.0
So much better than Nancy! Still dated, with the way people talk and mannerisms, but not as bad as the Nancy Drew series. Trixie is so much more down to earth. I adore her and still adore these books.
silver_valkyrie_reads's review
4.0
I loved this series so much when I was little (at least, I think I loved the series--it might have mostly been Jim). As an adult, I seemed to remember Trixie getting into way more trouble than was reasonable, and having a pattern of promising to do better and then doing the exact same thing again.
I'm glad I listened to my nostalgic urge to re-read this book though, because those memories must be from later in the series, and this book is actually pretty great. I'm a little sad that the 'torniquet and suction' method of treating a snake bite is no longer recommended, because I really want the practical life tidbits I picked up from Trixie Belden to come in handy someday. :-) While there is a bit of teenagers keeping secrets from adults necessarily, and a few moments of acting unwisely, this book is mostly about adventure and mystery and being brave and clever and overcoming first impressions. I think I need to own this book again now.
I'm glad I listened to my nostalgic urge to re-read this book though, because those memories must be from later in the series, and this book is actually pretty great. I'm a little sad that the 'torniquet and suction' method of treating a snake bite is no longer recommended, because I really want the practical life tidbits I picked up from Trixie Belden to come in handy someday. :-) While there is a bit of teenagers keeping secrets from adults necessarily, and a few moments of acting unwisely, this book is mostly about adventure and mystery and being brave and clever and overcoming first impressions. I think I need to own this book again now.
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