Mandie and the Unwanted Gift

Mandie #29

by Lois Gladys Leppard

Mandie is excited about going home for Christmas, but she hasn't told her grandmother that she invited Jonathan Guyer and his father to visit them during the holidays. Will Mrs. Taft be angry with Mandie because she doesn't get along with Mr. Guyer? And Mandie hasn't told Joe that Jonathan is coming, and the two boys haven't gotten along well either. Will Joe be upset with Mandie?

Then on a dark, cold night a mysterious gift is left on the doorstep of the Shaw house with an anonymous note attached that reads, "For Mandie." The box has fancy gift wrapping on the outside, but inside is what appears to be a childish jumble of holly and dirt and ribbons. Whatever could it be?

Who sent Mandie the present? Could it be a treasure map?

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Christian, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

Lois Gladys Leppard was the author of the Mandie series of children's novels. Leppard wrote her first Mandie story when she was only eleven and a half years old, but did not become a professional author until she was an adult. Leppard has also worked as a professional singer, actress, and playwright. At one time, she and her two sisters, Sybil and Louise, formed a singing group called the Larke Sisters.
There are forty Mandie books in the main series, an eight-book junior series and several other titles. Leppard said that she could write a Mandie book in two weeks, barring any interruptions.
The eponymous heroine lives in North Carolina in the early 1900s, encountering adventure and solving mysteries with help from her friends, family, and pet cat, Snowball. These young reader novels are meant to teach morals as well as be fun and captivating stories to read. Leppard stated that her books contain "nothing occult or vulgar", and Mandie is depicted as a faithful Christian. The Mandie books often deal with issues of discrimination and prejudice relating to race (particularly with regard to the local Cherokee), class, and disability.
Lois Gladys Leppard based some of the incidents in her Mandie books on her mother's experiences growing up in North Carolina. The dedication in the first book is: "For My Mother, Bessie A. Wilson Leppard, and In Memory of Her Sister, Lillie Margaret Ann Wilson Frady, Orphans of North Carolina Who Outgrew the Sufferings of Childhood".

Reviews

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 4 out of 5]

About this book:

“Mandie is excited about going home for Christmas, but she hasn't told her grandmother that she invited Jonathan Guyer and his father to visit them during the holidays. Will Mrs. Taft be angry with Mandie because she doesn't get along with Mr. Guyer? And Mandie hasn't told Joe that Jonathan is coming, and the two boys haven't gotten along well either. Will Joe be upset with Mandie?
Then on a dark, cold night a mysterious gift is left on the doorstep of the Shaw house with an anonymous note attached that reads, "For Mandie." The box has fancy gift wrapping on the outside, but inside is what appears to be a childish jumble of holly and dirt and ribbons. Whatever could it be?
Who sent Mandie the present? Could it be a treasure map?”


Series: Book #29 in “Mandie” series. (To read the reviews of the previous books in this series, click the number to be taken to that review: #1! #2! #3! #4! #5! #6! #7! #8! #9! #10! #11! #12! #13! #14! #15! #16! #17! #18! #19! #20! #21! #22! #23! #24! #25! #26! #27! #28!) {There also is the “Young Mandie Mystery” series, (Book #1 review Here and Book #2 review Here!) but they do not connect together well}


Spiritual Content- Set during Christmas; A Scripture is quoted & prayed; A few prayers; Church Going; Mentions of God; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, & hymns; A couple mentions of prayers & praying; A couple mentions of thanking the Lord;
*Note: Talks about & Mentions of spells, voodoo, the religion of it, witchcraft, & the devil {Liza wants to try a spell on someone (but Mandie is set against it)}.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’ and seven ‘shucks’; Mentions of deceit & being deceitful (Mandie realizes that she is); A couple mentions of lies.


Sexual Content- Mentions of girls (ages 13) interested in boys & boyfriends; Mentions of jealousy, liking someone, being interested in someone, & staring at someone; A few mentions of Joe asking Mandie to marry him when they’re older; A few mentions of mistletoe and being caught under it.

-Amanda “Mandie” Shaw, age 13
P.O.V. of Mandie
Set in 1901
176 pages (also available in a collection with two other Mandie books.)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
New Teens- Four Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Four Stars
Ooooh! I reeeeally enjoy the rivalry between Joe and Jonathan (it’s bad, I know, I know). That last line gets me every time! One of my favorite Mandie books! :)


Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...


*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mandie books are usually the best. However, book #29 didn't really make the cut (although this is hard for such a Mandie-fan as myself to say.

Throughout the story, Mandie mostly just focuses on inner dilemmas that she caused herself. The Christmas-themed mystery really wasn't puzzling, just confusing, and it only lead the characters on a wild-goose hunt that didn't even exist.

As much as it pains me to say this, "Mandie and the Unwanted Gift" is poor quality from such a great author. I do wish the story had been as enjoyable as the other books in this series usually are. I'm only giving this particular book 4 stars because the Mandie series, on the whole, is fantastic.

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not very impressed with this "mystery" that the kids are trying to solve. I do not feel like the author put in as much effort into this book as other ones in the series. The whole plot is about a mysterious gift that arrives in the middle of the night and is paraded around and examined repeatedly. For me there was not much mystery.

[Chloe]

THis is a good one!

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*
So sadly I got a bit too busy and forgot to write review for the last book, but here I am with this one! "Mandie and the Unwanted Gift" brings us an exciting Christmastime adventure as all of your favorite kids- Mandie, Joe, Jonathan, Polly, and Liza- are all together at Mandie's house for the holiday. Mandie comes home worried, she hasn't told Grandmother Taft about Jonathan and his father's plan to come as well. For some reason, Gram-Gram does not like Mr. Guyer. She also realises she has failed to tell Joe this as well, and Joe dislikes Jonathan because Mandie gets a little too close for comfort(?) with Jonathan for Joe's over-protective spirit. Anyway, she fails to tell either of the two of the Guyers' arrival (what a shock) and this creates quite a dramatic adventure. Of course, throw Mandie's annoying neighbor girl Polly in and a random pile of dirt sent to her doorstep that Mandie seems to think is a treasure map- now you have a real adventure!

I honestly loved this book. The mystery... eh. But seriously the story turned out well nonetheless. The characters are all unique and hilarious to read about. From Polly's screeching cowardness in the secret tunnel to Liza trying to cast voodoo spells against Polly (this is put in a negative light, thankfully). Also, I just love the vibe of this book. As someone who loves winter I love the cozy feeling of the snow falling while having fun with friends. Also, any book with Jonathan in it makes me happy. He's definitely my favorite character. I love the tenseness in the air between Grandmother Taft and Mr. Guyer that is described. Joe and Jonathan actually had quite a shift in this one. They never really did fight and Mandie I think was over-nervous about the whole situation. That leads to probably my favorite part of this book: the ending. It was just so... nice and joyful for a change. Usually Mandie books end with something dramatic like Mandie hating someone, but everyone (except Grandmother and Mr. Guyer) get along. Let me explain: Joe and Jonathan decide to be friends, and I really like their chill friendship now. Jonathan and Polly are apparently now a thing... which of course makes jealous and also over-protective Mandie happy now that Joe is not an interest. Because of this, Mandie actually seems to like Polly now! They haven't been friends since the first chapters of book 1. In the end, while there is no treasure (as any sane-minded person could have expected with a pile of dirt as a treasure map), it is actually a map of gift Jonathan has laid for everyone! This makes me like Jonathan even more. So yeah, just a really sweet ending.

So things I did not like: The "mystery" of the pile of dirt as a treasure map is kind of stupid, but this isn't the first time Mandie makes random nonexistent mysteries about anything. For example, she literally believed in leprechauns as of a few books back... yeah. So it did not shock me. It also made me mad that it wasn't just a prank... Jonathan actually put it together as a kind of map. Why is Mandie always right with her unlikely predictions!? Oh well. Other than the mystery I cannot think of too much I'm not happy about. I do wish we found out what is wrong with Grandmother Taft's hatred for Mr. Guyer! I honestly have no clue. Maybe we'll find out next book? We better because I'm getting a bit tired of it being lured over and over again to readers.

So yeah, I just really loved this book. We haven't had one that I've liked as much as this one in awhile. But seriously, this series is the best. It's funny as it is strange at times. Definitely my favorite middle-grade mystery book series of all time. I love the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew as well, but while they have much better mysteries, the personalization the author puts into the Mandie series is unbeaten! I will definitely keep reading on, and I recommend you to do so as well.

Favorite Quote: "'We've got the whole back porch full of holly and mistletoe,' Joe told Mandie with a big grin. 'You girls won't be able to a safe space to stand away from the mistletoe.' Mandie smiled and said, 'That's what you think. But come to think of it, Polly might like being caught under the mistletoe.'" Ah Polly, constantly the butt of jokes.

[AshPotatoes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Mandie book with pacing issues, a miscommunication plot, and rampant racism.

I still do not appreciate with way the people of color are represented and this book had an additional touch by demonizing voodoo.

I am growing increasingly frustrated by Mandie's inability to communicate with anyone around her. She had plenty of chances to bring up the guest list but foiled them all herself simply because she feared the reaction she might receive. The communication wasn't cleared up until the second to last page of the book but we still don't know why this was such a big deal. It's a weird plot line that doesn't contribute to the story, just the word count.

Additionally, it was not a good mystery pace. I thought the idea of the mystery and the resolution were creative, interesting, and different from anything we've seen before with Mandie, but the execution was awful. We needed more clues and discoveries sprinkled in to keep up the mystery-solving aspect of the plot. However, the map arrived almost as soon as the story started, the idea that it was a map was brought up instantly after the gift arrived, and Mandie proceeded to wander around Franklin (without any interesting sightseeing being pointed out) for several chapters. All this just for her to catch Jonathan in the act during the last chapter.

The ending once again felt rushed. It felt like we were getting cut off while Mandie was still processing her thoughts. I with that one of the middle chapters were fully cut out so that chapter 11 could focus on Christmas morning and wrapping up the gift mystery so that Chapter 12 could fully resolve the miscommunication thing and Mrs. Taft's beef with Mr. Guyer and do a little set up/teaser for the next book.

Disappointing, starting to think I should take a swing at re-writing these.

One last thing I noticed in the last book, why did the children all start speaking like adults? They talk about genealogy and property as if it's truly of interest to them, but I have never met someone under the age of 18 that had a care in the world about these things.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually don't remember reading this one though I probably did

[Savannah Haschak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the plot of this book and how the story ended. It was so well written and the ending was great!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mandie books are fun Christian mysteries for children, but I still love reading them. Even though she doesn't age very quickly and seems to get far too many breaks from school during the year, she's a lot of fun.

[Twyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite part was when jonathan told mandie what the box was full of. the worst part was when the box was a mystery that needed solving. my favorite characters were mandie and polly. there was no worst character. auryn 11 years old 2014

[Partridge Public]

Leppard, Lois G. PB

[Yvonne Fu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it too!

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable but Mandie really does need to grow