Customer Reviews

The Mystery of Rascal Pratt

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I got the Mystery of Rascal Pratt for my 9 and 12-year old nieces, who are avid readers and they loved it. It's an adventure story with unexpected twists and turns, and features intriguing girl and boy characters. I read it as well and found myself eagerly moving from chapter to chapter, wanting to find out what happens.

The author also creates an interesting educational part of the book by including a number of footnotes that provide information about ships of the 1800s, sea lions, and other interesting facets of the book. You can easily read the whole book without going into the footnotes, but they add a dimension that's great for inquisitive young readers.

If you reflect on Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, I think it would be fair to say that character development and a strong sense of place are not the first things that come to mind. What does come to mind is action, excitement, adventure, and a bit of mystery.

Well, "The Mystery of Rascal Pratt", which is aimed at pretty much the same reading audience, does give you everything. First off, there is no doubt that you are at Point Bonita, north of San Francisco Bay. This is one of the best middle readers books I've seen for establishing a compelling sense of place. The book is worth reading just to get the feel of post-civil war San Francisco. Second, all of the major and most of the minor characters are well drawn, if a bit romanticised. Finally, the mystery is engaging and, while implausible, certainly appropriate for the reading level.

So, this is one of those overlooked and undermarketed books that deserve a chance, and would certainly be a worthwhile addition to a middle reader library.