Even though I still have more Boxcar Children books to read (I plan to read all 19 of the original series), I actually feel a bit sad knowing that this is the last book of the series written by Gertrude Chandler Warner.
I haven't read all the books in the series yet, but this book differs from many of the others in that not all of the children are present for the mystery. Some of the earlier books do focus more on Benny, but Henry and the girls were at least always around. In this book, Benny is almost as big as Henry (as depicted in the illustrations), and he and Henry are the main characters. Though it was nice to see Henry in a front-and-center role again, Violet and Jessie basically only showed up in the beginning and end of the book.
The mystery itself was a good one, I thought. Maybe even one of my favorites, though that might be because of the nostalgia I felt for the old-fashioned department store that delivered small items to its customers. Basically, some strange things happen at the store, and everyone wonders who is behind it all.
I also liked that this book included a wider range of emotions than most others in this series. Usually, the family is happy and friendly and everyone likes them. But in this book, Henry and Benny find that other people actually resent them for the advantages they enjoy by being the grandchildren of the wealthy and powerful James Alden. Henry and Benny even find themselves feeling angry and indignant!
Anyway, I do wonder if the author knew this would be her last book of the series... I was hoping to find some kind of closure to wrap up the series - What does Henry do when he graduates from college? Does Jessie marry Mr. Carter? - but was disappointed in that regard.
No comments:
Post a Comment