The Runaway Friend: A Kirsten Mystery

American Girl Mysteries

by Kathleen Ernst, Jean-Paul Tibbles (Illustrator)

Kirsten Larson has been living on the Minnesota frontier for only a few weeks when her neighbor and friend, Erik Sandahl, disappears. Erik had promised to help the Larsons at harvest time--and he owes Uncle Olav money. Has Erik run out on his promises? Everyone seems to think so--except Kirsten. Can she figure out what's happened to her friend?

Takes place in 1854.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Historical, Juvenile

179 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

I grew up in Maryland, in a house full of books! Both of my parents were avid readers, thank goodness. Before we traveled to a new area, my librarian-mom used to bring home historical novels set in that place. It was a great way to get excited about history.

I began writing stories when I was maybe 10 or 11. At 15 I wrote my first novel; I sold my first novel to a publisher 20 years later! Writing was my hobby, so during those two decades I just kept practicing, reading, writing some more. What a thrill to finally hold my first book in my hand! Still, I write because I enjoy the process (at least most of the time).

For years I wrote while working at other day jobs. I spent 12 years working at a huge historic site, which was a perfect spot for someone interested in historical fiction. I also developed and scripted instructional videos for public television. Finally, though, it got to be too much to juggle. I now write full-time, and consider myself enormously fortunate to do something I love.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Kirsten, her two brothers, and her parents had only been in Minnesota for a few weeks, but mornings like this made her glad they had dared to take the long journey from Sweden."

After a harrowing journey across the land and sea, Kirsten and her family have finally settled in a small cabin on her Uncle Olav's farm. Kirsten still has a lot of adjusting to do...but she is finally starting to feel at home.

"Oh Lisbeth, isn't the wheat beautiful?" Kirsten exclaimed...the uncut grain rippled like a golden ocean beneath the breeze.

Papa, Uncle Olav, and Erik (a neighbor) have spent every minute they can trying to harvest the wheat with the help of Starke and Flackis (the oxen), but even at top speed...the men are painfully aware that things could go wrong at any minute.

"Clouds are building. A storm could blow up anytime, and we've got acres of wheat left to cut. And what we have cut needs to be bundled and stacked and -"

Then Reverend Trulsson arrives with Miss Mobeck, a Swedish writer, and everyone takes a break to get to know the writer. Soon Kirsten's neighbors arrive and it becomes a great party - she has a lot of fun and even becomes close to a Swedish girl around her own age (Joanna).

But a dark cloud hangs over the family the next day. Uncle Olav helped Erik out with a loan and the Sherriff comes to confiscate their oxen as collateral since the debts are unpaid. When they go to talk to Erik, he isn't home.

Kirsten's sure that their friendly neighbor wouldn't deliberately harm their family and farm but Papa and Uncle Olav have no time to investigate. They have to harvest the acres without Erik, and the oxen -- and pray that the sky doesn't rain and ruin the crops.

Meanwhile, Kirsten's amber necklace from Mormor is missing, Johanna's Mama seems unwell, Kirsten's own Mama won't stop knitting, and above all, Kirsten wants to help but everyone just tells her to sit tight and listen to her parents.

She knows something is up...and it is up to her to figure it out.

JEEZE LOUISE how are these American Girl doll tie-in books so friggin good?

First off, I loved the sheer amount of layers to this story - there was so much depth to the plot - my mind was whirling with possibilities.

Erik's disappearance, the surplus wheat, Mama's knitting, Kirsten's necklace and Johanna's home life - all these plot points swirled around and around. Teasing me, giving me just a smidge of information before hopping off to the next one.

The emotions felt so much more raw and real in this mystery book compared to the main series and other companion books.

Grief, anger, and anxiety all made their appearances but it's not simply saying you feel sad or mad. It's scrubbing over and over a clean floor, it's knitting by the faint light of a tallow candle, it's in the unspoken conversations, it's in clenched words and throwing yourself into your work.

There was a moment at the end where Kirsten lays out the clues and her theory, and everyone seems to nod and agree to her ideas (though, personally, I felt like she didn't have enough evidence for her conclusions) but other than that one moment, the rest of the story was amazing.

More reviews in the Kirsten-verse

Main Series:
Meet Kirsten - ★★★★☆
Kirsten Learns a Lesson - ★★★★☆
Kirsten's Surprise - ★★★★★
Happy Birthday, Kirsten - ★★★★☆
Kirsten Saves the Day - ★★★★☆
Changes for Kirsten - ★★★☆☆
Kirsten's Boxed Set - ★★★★☆

Short Stories:
Kirsten on the Trail - ★★★☆☆
Kirsten and the New Girl - ★★★★☆
Kirsten Snowbound - ★★★★★
Kirsten and the Chippewa - ★★★★☆
Kirsten's Promise - ★★★★★
Kirsten's Short Story Collection - ★★★★☆

Mystery Book:
The Runaway Friend - ★★★★★

Kirsten's Historical and Activity Books:
Kirsten's Cookbook - ★★★★★
Kirsten's Craft Book - ★★★★★
Kirsten's Theater Kit - ★★★★☆
Welcome to Kirsten's World · 1854 - ★★★★★

Additional Historical and Activity Books Featuring Kirsten:
American Girl Cross-stitch - ★★☆☆☆
The American Girls Cookbook - ★★★★★
The American Girls Party Book - ★★★★★
American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook - ★☆☆☆☆
Everything I Need to Know I Learned From American Girl - ★★★☆☆
Minute Mysteries - ★★★★☆
Minute Mysteries 2 - ★★★★☆
The Official American Girl Cookbook - ★★★★☆

Additional Picture Reader Books
Happy Birthday! - ★★★★☆
Happy Holidays! - ★★★★★
My First American Girl Boxed Set - ★★★★☆
Time for School! - ★★★★☆

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The great AG marathon continues. Again, reading for the first time as an adult.

Well, this is interesting: I've read more than 20 AG mysteries at this point, and this is the first one set before the end of the character's core series. In fact, it's set between Meet and Learns a Lesson, so it's really early in Kirsten's core series, which does a whole lot of interesting things:

- Ernst jumps us into a point in Kirsten's timeline where things feel decidedly precarious, as if to see how far it can wobble without collapsing. Things look pretty grim for a while.
- She also creates yet another instance of Kirsten finding a friend only to lose them. Our girl cannot catch a break on this one.
- We can't have much character growth (and Kirsten definitely can't learn any English yet). Also, all the neighbors we meet here will never be seen again.
- This episode seems designed to warn us (and Kirsten) about the dangers of keeping secrets - but then what does Kirsten do through the rest of her core series? Molly may be tagged as the schemer and dreamer, but Kirsten's tendency to very quietly go off and do her own thing comes up again and again.

I have a lot of respect for Kathleen Ernst, and I loved her Caroline series, but the change in author is noticeable. Papa's anger feels more raw than what we see in, say Saves the Day. For all her secrets, Kirsten doesn't typically seem scared of her parents the way she does here. And OG Kirsten author Janet Shaw typically treats Lisbeth and Anna as a unit - or the three girls as a trio - but here Kirsten seeks Lisbeth's aid and they chase Anna away. (Though given their ages, this does feel authentic.)

But the moment that most threw me out of the story is the point near the end where Kirsten pulls a classic Agatha Christie, laying out all the evidence and explaining her whole theory about what's going on. More than anything else, moments like this make me wonder, yet again, why exactly AG decided that a universal element of girlhood, through the ages, is solving mysteries. She does turn out to be right, but she inadvertently sends Papa and Uncle Olav on a wild goose chase to Saint Paul (for which there are no consequences, and no one seems upset about). In some respects, this feels like a training ground for later, better Ernst installments like Caroline's Traitor in the Shipyard.


More Kirsten babble

Meet Kirsten | Kirsten Learns a Lesson | Kirsten’s Surprise | Happy Birthday, Kirsten | Kirsten Saves the Day | Changes for Kirsten

Kirsten on the Trail | Kirsten and the New Girl | Kirsten Snowbound! | Kirsten and the Chippewa | Kirsten’s Promise | Kirsten’s Short Story Collection

The Runaway Friend

[Historical Dolls Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

In conclusion boys are cruel.

[Erin Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two thumbs way way up! The plot is contrived, like all the American Girl mysteries, but Ernst really made me feel with the characters. Fear, despair, homesickness. And her sensory descriptions of the setting were wonderful. I think this may be my new favorite AG mystery, although the Samantha Sapphire mystery is also excellent.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.5 stars. I'm not surprised that I didn't like this one as well as some of the others. Kirsten was never a favorite.

Re-read: Unsurprisingly, I liked this a lot more having read it right after re-reading the Central Series. For the record, this is set almost immediately after the end of Meet Kirsten and well before Kirsten Learns a Lesson. That alone was a bit of a surprise. I haven't re-read all of the mysteries, but Nanea's, Melody's, Maryellen's, Felicity's, and Josefina's are all set after the end of their Central Series. I was also surprised by how this book entirely revolves around the psychological effects specifically on women who moved to the American west. One woman needs to escape from an abusive husband, another is overwhelmed by totally uncontrolled anxiety, and Kirsten's mother is struggling with homesickness and depression. Being the 1850s, the only help to be had is by leaning on each other, which is indeed the takeaway. The women who are able to cope are the ones who build good support systems. This focus was totally unexpected, because these books usually concentrate on the girl stars and their own feelings and because the psychological effect on women who may have only had minimal say in the course of their lives is generally ignored.

[Melissa Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

# Underrated American girlbook

When I was younger , Kirsten was not one of my favorite American girls . I liked the more exciting Felicity and Samantha books . I am reading the American girl book I missed , so I decided to read the Runaway Friend. I was pleasantly surprised .The book was quite good. The most interesting thing about it was the unusual subject matter for books set in that period; mental health of Pioneer woman. Those woman were tough

[Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are only a few good mysteries in the world, and I think that this one qualifies under that category. It was a little below my reading level, but that wasn't a big deal. I thought it was really intriguing; I never guessed what was going to happen, well... except when I read ahead! ;) Anyway, I liked this book, and it was very well-written.

[Soren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the only American Girl mystery that connected with me as a kid. The stakes were higher and the mystery was more interesting. I still love it. It also touches on domestic violence, which I appreciate.

[MoraMoron · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who grew up reading Kirsten’s stories constantly, I was very curious how this story was going to turn out. I had read her short stories as an adult and they were okay, the AG short stories always feel a little too short. This was the last Kirsten story for me to read and I was really hoping it would be good.
I am more than pleased to say that this is probably the best of Kirsten’s stories. It takes place between the events of “Meet Kirsten” and “Kirsten Learns a Lesson,” which I thought was an interesting choice. The mystery itself is cute and its fun seeing Kirsten figure everything out, but what I loved about this story is how much it fleshes out Kirsten’s world.
Kirsten’s parents really feel like people in this story, much more than they do in the original books. It also reflects the hardships of immigrating much more thoroughly than the original stories, but also shows how communities formed when people were from the same country.
There’s so much I can say what made this my favorite Kirsten story, but I don’t want to give too much away. I really recommend this book if you loved Kirsten and loved reading her stories!

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic mystery and a perfect supplement to the American Girl series. This book would be perfect both for fans of the main Kirsten American Girl series, but it'd also be a great standalone (though I am not sure it actually says the year it is set in anywhere in it, which is a shame) for anyone who'd like to read about frontier life in the 1854. I almost think I got a better feel for the community around Kirsten in this book than many of the other ones in the main series.

This book highlights the true mental hardships of living on the frontier--much of their everyday work was truly about survival, so any outside influence that could change their plans are tragic, and that anxiety of those threats permeates this book and even effects 9-year-old Kirsten.

[Harlyn Rengel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love mystery’s so this was a really good book for me

[HadenXCharm · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this is the only written Kirsten-related material that was not penned by Janet Shaw. Kathleen Ernst is apparently a historian and worked for 12 years at a living history site, that's so cool! This book was also written about 20 years after the main Kirsten series was written, so there's a significant distance there. The story takes place shortly after Book 1, Meet Kirsten, and before Book 2, Kirsten Learns a Lesson, as she hasn't started attending school. This book definitely had a different feel, and seemed to be aimed at slightly older children, maybe 11-12yo range. It's also the only mystery book Kirsten got! (Samantha got like 9? I guess she was the big seller.)

It immediately felt a lot darker and more foreboding in tone, even though the main series is full of some pretty dark events as well -- but the plots moved so quickly that there was no real chance to dwell on things like Marta dying or the family cabin burning down. This book had enough length to build up foreshadowing and pull on a lot of different threads of a mysterious disappearance. And to be honest, the first thing that jumped out at me was... almost immediately, it felt like we were being set up to think that Mr. Green was beating his wife and daughter, Johanna. He's loud and angry and doesn't abide his demands being questioned. He yells that 'we're going home!' in front of all the Larson adults, the wife and daughter are both quiet and withdrawn, meekly obey what Mr. Green demands, and the wife also blurts out something about that 'moving to America is hardest on the women.' Oh my.

I kept telling myself that it couldn't be what it looks like, because an American girl book wouldn't include something like domestic abuse in it-- but then, y'know what! There WAS spousal abuse in this book! Just not when it came to the Greens! Erik's disappearance turned out to be that he was rushing to rescue his sister who had fled an abusive marriage.

The basic plot of this book is that Erik, a young bachelor living nearby in the Larson's community, has disappeared, seemingly to skip out a debt that Uncle Olav cosigned at the bank with him, and now that he's gone, Uncle Olav has to either pay the balance of the loan, or have his stuff repossessed. He can't pay, obviously, and their oxen get re-poed by the sheriff. Everyone is now convinced that Erik is a two-timer and took advantage of their kindness, but Kirsten doesn't want to believe it. She knows Erik is a good guy and he wouldn't leave like that without a reason! She wants to figure out the REAL reason Erik left, but the adults are so stressed and angry and so convinced they've been cheated, that they just don't want to hear it, lol. They get angry with her for even asking questions or trying to find an explanation. Kirsten's dad is especially angry and stressed, because now they have to harvest all the wheat by hand without the oxen's help, and he presumably feels guilty that his brother Olav planted all this extra wheat because their family was coming to America this year, and now they might lose ALL the wheat and then starve this winter. He's PISSED about Erik.

So much so that there's this really heartbreaking line when the cow, Kulla, wanders off, and it's decided that Kirsten will go look for the cow-- and her dad says, "Don't get lost, we don't have time to waste looking for a lost girl".... and Kirsten... Kirsten sadly thinks to herself, 'Is that the only thing that worries Papa, that if I get lost, he'll have to waste time looking for me?' That one hurt. It's understood to the reader that Kirsten's parents DO love her, but they're doing something so stressful and trying so hard to cover the family's basics and keep them from starving in a new country where they have few resources, that they don't have the time or energy to tend to Kirsten emotionally. So you understand why they're a bit snappish, but it's sad to see Kirsten's feelings get neglected.

Side plots of this book include a Swedish woman visiting the local immigrant communities so she can write a book to show to Swedes back 'home' to let them know what to expect if they come to America (based on a real Swedish woman's book written around the same time period!). Kirsten has to face her fear about wolves, and she also notices that things are going missing from their house, one of which is a precious necklace from her grandma. This turns out to be because the actual problem with the Greens isn't domestic abuse, it's Mrs. Green having a mental breakdown. She's gone klepto and is stealing pretty things from other people and hiding them to 'protect them', and she is so terrified of strangers that she hides in the root cellar any time people approach the house (Which apparently is based off a real story of a Norwegian woman so racistly terrified of the native tribes they built their cabin near to that her husband dug her a hole to hide in so she didn't have to look at or talk to natives who approached the cabin for trading. INSANE. You chose to move to their homeland and are upset you have to interact with the people who were already living here? Did you think America would be a whites-only 'paradise?' Wild. Very little sympathy for that woman specifically.) What I DO have sympathy for is when they talked about how it was expected that you would be hospitable to strangers, i.e., you would let anyone passing through sleep in your house for the night, which considering the demographics of the frontier at the time... this meant letting strange single men sleep over.

When it was mentioned that two travelers got drunk and slept in the Green's cabin, which is, remember, ONE ROOM, I understood immediately why Mrs. Green was anxious now. That sounds incredibly scary. Anyway, that was apparently the incident that set Mrs. Green's nerves off and she hasn't been the same since. The book doesn't explicitly SAY it, but it becomes incredibly obvious to an adult reader that Mrs. Green is living in constant fear that she and her daughter will be raped by one of these traveling strangers if her husband isn't there to protect them-- which, to be honest, that isn't that outlandish of a fear! Lone men were constantly wandering in and out of the community as they journeyed west. The Greens are out in the wilderness, the ratio of men to women is really unbalanced, and there isn't that stable of a governmental structure or a functioning law system. It isn't like today where you can call the police or chase down a criminal who wronged you. People fled west to escape the consequences of crimes ALL the time. A lone woman and her young daughter on their homestead miles from neighbors, while the husband is away at other people's farms, Mrs. Green was intensely aware of how exposed she and her daughter were to the whims of passing travelers. Anyway, I don't blame Mrs. Green for being scared when her husband wasn't home.

What's weird is that at the end of the book, the Greens decide to GO BACK TO SWEDEN? Remember Book 1, Meet Kirsten? Remember how long it took to get all the way to Minnesota, remember how dangerous the journey was? There's a reason that making a return trip to Sweden wasn't very common. After going through all that, you're not going to reverse the process. That's what I don't understand here. American Girl is supposed to touch on sweeping tropes that people generally experienced during the time period in which the girl lived. Was it REALLY that common for people to return to the old country that it needed to be touched on in this book? The Looking Back chapter said it was, but that's really strange and I can't quite wrap my head around it.

The big reveal of Erik's mystery is that Erik left in a hurry to rescue his sister before her husband found her. Presumably the husband was beating and raping her. For a woman to leave a husband in the 1840's, the abuse had to be HORRIFIC. Just imagine being Sigrid, completely isolated from your family and community, you're in a foreign country where you don't speak the language yet, and you've been isolated from your ONE family member you have here, and are now completely at the mercy of your cruel husband. Then when you try to escape, your husband puts out an AD IN THE NEWSPAPER forbidding anyone from helping you! As if you're a runaway slave or livestock that escaped the fence and needs to be returned to its owner! Wives really were seen as rightful property of the husband. Geez. ANYWAY.

On a more light-hearted note, there were some really heartwarming moments in this book, particularly at the end when Mama tells Kirsten that the way she feels close to her own mother, Kirsten's grandma, even when they're so far away, is by knitting-- because her mother taught her to knit as a child and it was something they bonded over, and that was so touching, because for the entire book, Kirsten's mom has been continuously trying to teach Kirsten how to knit colors, because she wants to share those same precious moments with her own daughter. That realization made me tear up a little.

Also, side-note, one of the girls' chores is to pick potato bugs off the leaves, and that made me smile, I remember helping my grandma with this on her farm. They look like ladybugs with stripes instead of spots, it was like a treasure hunt to find them all and throw them in a bucket.

[Shayla Salazar · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first of the AG Mystery books to not be a sequel to the original 6 and it was disappointing. I feel like one of the points is to show a continuation of how the girl has learned so going back wasn’t my favorite

[RaspberryRoses · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was Not Good unfortunately. Kirsten's setting is simply not good for a mystery, so I can see why she only got the one. it just felt like an absolute chore to read.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, if I had a nickel for every best friend Kirsten loses throughout her series…

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kirsten has been living on the Minnesota Frontier for only a few weeks when her neighbor and friend, Erik Sandahl, disappears. Erik had promised to help the Larsons at harvest time, and he owes Uncle Olav money. Has he run out on his promises? Everyone seems to think so - except Kirsten. Can she figure out what's happened to her friend?

About The Author: Kathleen Ernst is a writer and a historian. She spent twelve years working at a living-history museum called Old World Wisconsin, where she experienced firsthand what daily life in Kirsten's time was like. She is now a full-time writer. Her many books for children and teens include Secrets in the Hills: A Josefina Mystery and two Kit Mysteries, Danger at the Zoo and Midnight in Lonesome Hollow. She also wrote three American Girl History Mysteries: Trouble at Fort La Pointe; Whistler in the Dark; and Betrayal at Cross Creek. Trouble at Fort La Pointe was an Edgar Award nominee for Best Children's Mystery. Danger at the Zoo, Whistler in the Dark, and Betrayal at Cross Creek were all nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery.

I love reading these books, nothing beats a great short story you can read in a days time. I love reading and never leave home without a book to read.

[Stasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel that Kirsten really got the snub as an American Girl character. I have to wonder now if that's due to her pioneer heritage, and that people now find this offensive!! As a young girl though, that thought never crossed my mind. I just always wished there had been more Kirsten add on books!!

It's been years since I last read this installment, and it's great how it really fills in what happens between Kirsten's original first book and second book. This is also very impressive in how it deals with the burdens pioneer children had on their shoulders, a big part of that burden being their parents. We see a great example of this and also pioneer depression in the Svorgren, "Green" family, with Mrs. Green dealing with anxiety living in a new land with many strangers and danger around every corner. This book brought these issues out in a very well done way. Really would have loved to read more Kirsten mysteries!!!

[Charlie - disableddaydreamer | itsbarbieparis (looking for mutuals) · Rating 4 out of 5]

i wish upon a wishing star, american girl, make your full library of books and stories available.
this was delightful.
ofc kirsten is always going through it but i appreciate this book and both its simple but telling nature. the casual swedish sprinkled in is so cool, we need more of this AG!
i’ll continue to read and catalog the older stories as i am able to find them.

[Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another read aloud for Mr. 5 who enjoys mysteries and historical fiction (but also loves getting to use the stool in the library to reach the American Girl series...probably the biggest draw). Part of this mystery was trickier to solve than the other since this mystery ended up splitting into two, which I thought was a good twist for a book meant for younger children.

[Jessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good one! The debt premise that kicks off early was pretty stressful but I do like how balanced a character Kirsten is, and how the books do a good job of character building for her and world building for what's going on around her

[Liz Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the focus on women pioneers and the isolation, mental health struggles, and challenges that come along with it. Short and sweet otherwise, like the other mysteries in the American Girl series.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love America Girl so much. The company really isn't the same anymore, but these older stories are truly a comfort to me even if they are a little cheesey. They should consider writing more books within the historical characters' universes.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying historical fiction lately, and I love a good mystery. I felt like this was well written and gave me the best glimpse into life on the Prairie than any of the other Kirsten books. I like how some of the darker aspects were handled with empathy and compassion.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good for girls who have american girl dolls!

[Susan]

slow, but good

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Had no guesses on the mystery.

[Katharine Ott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Runaway Friend" - written by Kathleen Ernst and published in 2008 by American Girl Publishing. An engaging American Girl story featuring immigrants to Minnesota.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book. You can see that the authe put a lot of effort in to the book

[Kayla Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it a lot. I really liked how Kirsten stood up for Erik, even when nobody else did.

[Sara]

A solid installment in the American Girl mystery series. Kept me in suspense and I enjoyed learning more about Swedish American life on the Minnesota frontier.