The Mysterious Hideaway

The eyes of every student in the room were looking at her. She couldn’t tell which was worse – the embarrassment of being wrong accused or her anger about it. Even more Kate couldn’t bear the hurt and disbelief on Miss Sundquist’s face. She couldn’t bear the wondering. Feeling as if she were bleeding, Kate stared back at the other students. When they failed to meet her gaze, she knew. They were wondering too.

Book: The Mysterious Hideaway (Adventures of the Northwoods (Mott Media Paperback)) by Lois Walfrid Johnson, Bethany House Publishers, 1992

Genre: Historical Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 11-15

Subjects: Forgiveness, Trust, Prayer, Sibling Relationships

Summary: School shouldn’t be a place to be afraid! And yet something is obviously there that isn’t supposed to be. Kate is not imagining the weird noises that seem to be coming from the loft above the classroom. Eric hears them too. But before they can figure out what is going on, something else happens at school, something terrible. The collection of money that Kate took up to help pay to get an organ for the classroom has been stolen and the money has been found in Kate’s desk! Even with Eric and Miss Sundquist and her family assuring her they know the truth Kate feels devastated over the accusation! School is just not a very pleasant place to be right now!

Notes: The Mysterious Hideaway is the sixth in the Adventures In The Northwoods series. The series focuses on a young girl right at the beginning of her teen years as she adjusts to life in a very different kind of home and to a new family. The story covers about a year and a half of her life. The main character, Kate has a strong sense of curiosity and stubbornness so whenever she finds something odd she determines to find out what is going on. Sometimes the mysteries find her, sometimes she seeks them out. Through the series she transitions from someone who has only heard but not accepted a relationship with God to a girl learning to put her trust in God and look to Him for wisdom and direction.

In this sixth book, Kate yet again faces a moment of fear and starts to let panic take over and cause her to act frantic. When she recalls Psalm 46:10 she starts to calm down until she can finally experience peace and calm again. There is also an issue of false accusations again as the “bad guy” in the story was falsely accused by the people who should have known him, but when he gave in to fear and ran he seemed to confirm their suspicions. Kate gets falsely accused of something at school and has to deal with embarrassment and hurt, even as she learns that those closest to her didn’t believe the lie for even a moment.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Psalm 46:10 – "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."