Customer Reviews

The Happy Valley Mystery (Trixie Belden #9)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
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Trixie's enjoying spring break at her uncle's sheep farm in Iowa. There's just one problem. Someone's been stealing Uncle Andrew's sheep. Determined to help out her favorite uncle, Trixie starts looking for clues. What about the sinister looking man she saw across the field? Or how about the light in the uninhabited woods?

This was one of the early books I read when I first discovered the series, and it still holds a special place in my heart. Even so, I hate books were it feels like no one believes Trixie or takes her at all seriously. Of course, she makes some embarrassing blunders, which doesn't help either. But my biggest problem is the author's habit of telling the story through dialog as much as possible. It gets annoying after a couple chapters.

The last third of this book is a classic exciting scene that I still love. While not the strongest book in the series, it does have a fun adventures. And Trixie/Jim fans certainly won't want to miss the end.

The Bob-Whites get a last-minute invitation to spend spring break at the Iowa sheep ranch of Andrew Belden, Trixie's uncle. (Dan can't come -- he has to study -- setting the pattern for the original Bob-Whites to continue on without him. Since the BWGs travel, they get to ditch little brother Bobby too!)

Uncle Andrew doesn't believe his "pretty, feminine, and sort of helpless" niece Trixie can solve the mystery of his missing sheep, so of course she's compelled to try. (Trixie helpless?? Hah!!) She does make some embarrassing mistakes, and the kids deserve the testy scoldings they get from the ranch manager and his wife before they prove their mettle.

However, she's occasionally feeling more girly than in previous books; as a guest at a dance at Riverdale High School, she finds herself in the throes of the unfamiliar emotion of jealousy as Jim is wooed by a beautiful senior girl, Dot. This leads Trixie to emulate Di and Honey, flirting with a handsome basketball player, Ned (who I'm guessing will turn out to be gay when he grows up) ... Don't worry, though; Jim prefers the kind of girl who doesn't dress up to impress boys, who is "genuine and so comfortable to be around." (Guess who?)

And Trixie's "near-twin" Mart comes through again. I find Mart the underappreciated character of the series; he's mocked and stereotyped for his extensive vocabulary, but often it is his analytical skills and ability to predict what Trixie will do that saves her skin in the most desperate of situations.

I didn't remember anything about this book from reading it as a teenager, which rather surprises me, as it is quite exciting, and friendships among the various Bob-Whites are beginning to show signs of potential romance.

I learned to love Trixie Belden later in life. She's a thirteen-year old Eisenhower- era preteen with three brothers, a best friend, and a richly crafted family and community in upstate New York. She's the anti -Nancy: a little younger, less self- assured, and mocked by her intimates for her wild conspiracy theories and deeply suspicious nature. Yet somehow it always turns out all right, and this tale is no exception when Trixie and her pals head out to Iowa for her Uncle Andrew's sheep farm. Along with a few 4-H shenanigans, there's livestock rustling, natural disasters, and a school dance.

This book is part of a series of 39 books and involves a group of teenagers who not only have great times together, but look for ways to help others and always manage to find a mystery along the way! I especially like the values which the characters display. They are wonderful role models for today's youth! These books are a timeless treasure!