The Smuggler's Treasure (American Girl History Mysteries) [Paperback]

Sarah Masters Buckey (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Series: American Girl History Mysteries

Sent to live with relatives in New Orleans during the War of 1812, eleven-year-old Elisabet determines to find a smuggler's treasure to ransom her imprisoned father.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Launching the History Mysteries series, this swiftly paced, light novel takes readers to Louisiana during the War of 1812. After Elisabet Holder's widower father, the wealthy London-born captain of a merchant ship, is captured by the British, the 11-year-old travels from their home in Boston to New Orleans to live with her aunt and uncle. Once there, Elisabet learns that the family has fallen on hard times and she is expected to work in the couple's bakery. Accustomed to servants, the girl initially scoffs at the idea of working but soon adapts to her new life and forms a friendship with her co-worker and roommate. When a shady character stops into the bakery and conveniently mentions a hidden treasure map, Elisabet sees a way to procure her father's ransom. As a mystery, this is lean on suspense and intrigue, yet Buckey conveys a credible sense of time and place. Taking a cue from the American Girls Collection books, the volume concludes with a section, "Looking Back: 1814," that describes the American political scene as well as the cultural and social climate of French-influenced New Orleans. Ages 10-up. (Sept.) FYI: Four additional titles, due out the same month, are: Hoofbeats of Danger, set in 1860, by Holly Hughes; The Night Flyers, a WWI novel by Elizabeth McDavid Jones; Secrets on 26th Street (1914), also by Jones; and Voices at Whisper Bend, a WWII novel by Katherine Ayres.

Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 163 pages
• Publisher: American Girl (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562477579
• ISBN-13: 978-1562477578
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #509,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting story set during the War of 1812., September 3, 1999

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Smuggler's Treasure (American Girl History Mysteries) (Paperback)

In 1814, after her father is captured by the British, eleven-year-old Elisabet Holder must leave Boston to live with her aunt and uncle in New Orleans. When she arrives, she learns her uncle is dead, her aunt has gone to Baton Rogue, and she is expected to work in her aunt's bakery like a servant. When Elisabet learns of a treasure her uncle hid before he died, she decides to search for it so she can ransom her father. But that's only the beginning of the story. THE SMUGGLER'S TREASURE is an exciting combination of mystery, adventure, and history. I immensely enjoyed it and look forward to future books in the HISTORY MYSTERIES series.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is action-packed and filled with mystery., October 21, 1999

By 

Amy Lather (Columbia, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Smuggler's Treasure (American Girl History Mysteries) (Paperback)

This book was really good! Elisabet Holder goes to live with her aunt and uncle in New Orleans, because her father is a captive on a British ship. Much to her surprise, Elisabet is expected to work in her late uncle's bakery shop with the other workers. When she discovers that a valuable map is hidden in the bakery, she and her friend, Marie, set out to find it and trade it in for Elisabet's father's freedom. I recommend it to anybody who likes mysteries!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars creative!, March 19, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Smuggler's Treasure (American Girl History Mysteries) (Paperback)

At first I was a little skeptic about this book; I thought it was slow in the beginning. But as soon as I got farther and farther into it, I realized it was really cool. It's informative and suspenseful. It's also unique... you barely read books where the main character works in a bakery!

Elisabet Holder's father is kidnapped by the British in the war of 1812. Because she has no other family members, she has to move to New Orleans and live with her Aunt and Uncle. When she arrives, she finds mystery... there's talk of pirates, smugglers, and treasure. If she finds it she could buy her father's freedom... will she find it before anyone else does? Will she be hurt or even killed in the process?

The Smuggler's Treasure is like a great invitation to the History Mysteries... after you read this you're compelled to read the others! I plan to collect the whole series (there are six more I need). The main characters of the stories are so clever and brave, you can really look up to them. It is nice that the authors make the girls seem realistic (with strengths and weaknesses) and not stuffy and perfect. Read them!