Anna Mae Mysteries: The Golden Treasure (Paperback)

~ L. S. Cauldwell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Lillian Cauldwell has written an imaginative, multi-cultural, adventurous mystery with a riveting twist. The young and inquisitive heroine, Anna-Mae, along with her brother Malcom and their best friend Raul want to change the status quo at school and so they stir the pot with their curious antics and with grandmother's sage advice. In her endless quest to be understood, Anna-Mae teaches us courage, acceptance and resolve through her paranormal interactions with a mysterious ghost with a message. This coming of age story allows us to understand how fear and struggle with school friends are resolved by tapping into the available energy of supernatural forces. Lillian breathes life into this heartfelt mystery through her creativity and intelligent metaphors. It fills up our senses and guides us through an emotional roller coaster that we cannot ignore. If Harry Potter read this book he would want to take a class from Anna-Mae. --Anna Maria Prezio, Ph.D., Author of "Confessions of a Feng Shui Ghost-Buster"

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Star Publish (October 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932993983
• ISBN-13: 978-1932993981
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #799,401 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUPER-NATURAL, December 16, 2008

By	Anna Maria Prezio "www.prezio.com" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Lillian Cauldwell has written an imaginative, multi-cultural, adventurous mystery with a riveting twist. The young and inquisitive heroine, Anna-Mae, along with her brother Malcom and their best friend Raul want to change the status quo at school and so they stir the pot with their curious antics and with grandmother's sage advice. In her endless quest to be understood, Anna-Mae teaches us courage, acceptance and resolve through her paranormal interactions with a mysterious ghost with a message. This coming of age story allows us to understand how fear and struggle with school friends are resolved by tapping into the available energy of supernatural forces. Lillian breathes life into this heartfelt mystery through her creativity and intelligent metaphors. It fills up our senses and guides us through an emotional roller coaster that we cannot ignore. If Harry Potter read this book he would want to take a class from Anna-Mae.

Anna Maria Prezio, Ph.D.,
Best Selling Author of "Confessions of a Feng Shui Ghost-Buster"

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, September 21, 2009

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

An outcast in her highly segregated school in Georgia, 12-year-old Anna Mae Botts spends most of her time with her little brother, Malcolm, and her best friend, Raul.

The start of a new school year promises that things won't be any different, when, already late for school on the first day, the trio is waylaid in the school yard by a ginger root with a mind of its own and a disembodied, floating black hand. Both mysterious and mischievous, the hand drops clues in the form of scraps of paper, all with the same message: "Find the gold!"

Unfortunately, Anna Mae's rival, Stanley Paxton (AKA "The Pit Bull"), also finds himself at the receiving end of the black hand's antics, and his embarrassment brings on a whole new wave of trouble for Anna Mae. Between the hand's actions in dropping more clues in the middle of the classroom and the determination of her classmates to pin all of the recent happenings on her, Anna Mae has trouble enough just getting through the first week of school and maintaining her friendship with Raul.

Things get even more stressful when Grandma Zora shows up to watch over Anna Mae and Malcolm, and she's constantly reminding Anna Mae of her paranormal heritage. With the help of her grandmother, friend, and brother, can Anna Mae find the missing confederate gold of Jefferson Davis?

I had a difficult time following along with this story, mainly due to the fact that the author skirts around key background information that would give the reader a greater understanding of the characters' motivations. (For example, why is Anna Mae so shunned to begin with? Why is her school so incredibly segregated? Does Grandma Zora practice voodoo, or something else?) Nevertheless, one has to admire the blend of Civil War history and mystery, and the author's promise of more books in this series that will expand the world of Anna Mae for the reader.

Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose

3.0 out of 5 stars The Black Fist, September 3, 2009

By	Shari Lyle-Soffe (Grants Pass, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

In this tale of school intrigue, buried treasure, and paranormal occurrences three friends strive to make sense of confusing events. Anna-Mae is at first frightened by the strange things that seem to happen always to her. But when Granma Zora hears about it she sheds some light on Anna-Mae's predicament. What is the meaning of the levitating black fist and the odd root? Anna-Mae, Raul, and Malcolm will just have to find out as they follow a trail for buried treasure from the Civil War and attempt to clear Anna-Mae of a crime she didn't commit.

This is the first in a series of Anna-Mae Mysteries. L.S. Cauldwell tells a colorful tale of life in middle school. This story is sprinkled with bits of information from the legend of what happened the the gold Jefferson Davis had borrowed to fight the war and was supposed to pay back. School bullies, a fire drill, and then a fire add to the mystery and the danger.