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Secrets of the Manor #2
Kate's Story, 1914
There are more family secrets waiting to be discovered at Vandermeer Manor in America in the second book of a historical fiction mystery series.
It’s the end of June in 1914, and Beth Etheridge is traveling from her home in England’s Chatswood Manor all the way to America, to visit her cousin Kate at Vandermeer Manor in Rhode Island. The girls are thrilled to be united, especially because Beth will be in attendance when Kate receives the heirloom “Katherine” one half of a heart encrusted with gorgeous rubies. It’s the companion to Beth’s “Elizabeth” necklace. But the trip is cut short when news arrives of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. With talk of war on the horizon, Beth is ordered to return home, but Kate knows the perfect hiding place to help her stay. A wing of Vandermeer Manor is rumored to be haunted, and as the girls explore, they find a different kind of ghost—and a new trove of family secrets.
It’s the end of June in 1914, and Beth Etheridge is traveling from her home in England’s Chatswood Manor all the way to America, to visit her cousin Kate at Vandermeer Manor in Rhode Island. The girls are thrilled to be united, especially because Beth will be in attendance when Kate receives the heirloom “Katherine” one half of a heart encrusted with gorgeous rubies. It’s the companion to Beth’s “Elizabeth” necklace. But the trip is cut short when news arrives of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. With talk of war on the horizon, Beth is ordered to return home, but Kate knows the perfect hiding place to help her stay. A wing of Vandermeer Manor is rumored to be haunted, and as the girls explore, they find a different kind of ghost—and a new trove of family secrets.
148 pages, Paperback
First published June 24, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 27, 2016
*Special Content only on my blog, Strange and Random Happenstance during Downton Denial (February 2016)
Kate can not wait for her twelfth birthday. Not only will she finally be receiving the Katherine necklace, the beloved family heirloom passed on to every Katerine in the family when she turns twelve, but her beloved cousin Beth is also coming all the way from England to Vandermeer Manor in Rhode Island. The cousins have never met because of the ocean that divides them, but they are devoted to their correspondence and know they will be kindred spirits and the best of friends. What's more, Beth just received the Elizabeth necklace for her twelfth birthday and for the first time since their great-grandmother's day the two halves of the necklace will be reunited. Though all the party planning in the world can't take into account the assassination of Archdukes! The news of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand shortly after Beth's arrival in America leads to her parents ordering her home. War is on the horizon and Beth needs to be with her family. It is hard to choose between your heart and your duty, but Beth reluctantly agrees to return home, but not until after she and Kate have a few adventures of their own and reunite the two halves of the locket.
To say I didn't like the first book in this series would be a gross understatement. Beth's Story so rubbed me the wrong way that besides the spewing of vitriol in my review I might have sold that book faster than any other in recent history. Yet I couldn't part with Kate's Story until I had read it. Yes, I know this might sound absurd, but I had bought this book and gosh darn it it wasn't leaving my shelves until it was read. Thankfully it was a mercifully short book that I knocked out in an hour or two. In fact I might have spent more time writing this review than I did reading the book if you needed a comparison. But in the end I obviously read it and, while I still didn't like Adele Whitby's writing style or story, I didn't hate it with the fury of ten thousand suns like I did the first volume. I think the primary reason for this is that having this book set in America and not in England it is in a society that had more fluid rules and protocol. Beth's Story being in England in 1914 meant that there were society's strictures that were to be obeyed and Adele Whitby flaunted them, if she ever knew them in the first place. While America did also have rules, being such a new country, one which took great joy in shaking off the strictures of England, there was room to play. There weren't any glaring incidents that made me hope that my eyeballs could light the book on fire with the power of my thoughts. In other words, I was able to make it to the end without any real rage forming.
Yet just because there weren't glaring errors, doesn't mean that this book didn't have aspects that annoyed me. They just annoyed me less and therefore I gave the book some leeway. My main gripe is with Kate and her "responsibilities." She is just about to turn twelve and she is already expected, or should I say honored, to attend meetings of The Bridgeport Beautification Society. So a twelve-year-old is to help an organization that is run by new wives and her mother's generation and older? A twelve-year-old! I can understand instituting civic-mindedness in a young girl, but to put her on an equal footing? Seriously!?! I just don't get this whole twelve-year-olds get all the responsibility that is going on in this series. They get expensive jewel encrusted necklaces and all the responsibility that comes with it all seemingly because this is how it happened to their great-grandmothers so obviously we must continue with this tradition. And hang on a minute, in 1848 would twelve-year-olds really be active in the life of their family in the aristocracy? They'd still be in the nursery... this whole thing is just a house of cards waiting for me to blow on it! I get that today in society twelve is kind of the age where things shift, you're on the brink of being a teenager and getting responsibilities, but in previous generations that wasn't the case. This book seems to be trying to shoehorn today's morays on yesterdays! In fact the word teenager didn't even exist until the time of Kate and Beth's daughters! Grumble.
Seems to me more and more that Adele Whitby needs some lessons in history before she's allowed to "teach" it in her books. What annoyed me in this book is that her inclusion of history has now turned into "teaching moments." In the first book the history was cheesy but was just part of the story, we weren't hit over the head with it. Here, here it's a different story. Learn about suffragettes! LEARN I SAY! I'm a person who likes to learn in two ways. The first is when I set out to learn. I take a class, I read the books, I study, I learn in that environment. The second way is passive learning. What you pick up here and there in books. Like Eddie Izzard says, you're flipping through the TV channels, stop for a moment on a show go, hey, I didn't know that, that's interesting, you move on. In other words I will never ever condone knowledge being forced on me. If there's one way to piss me off if I'm meeting you and you have something you want to tell me, if you call it a "teaching moment," know, that in that moment I am doing everything in my power not to punch you in the face. Looking ahead in the series it looks like these "teaching moments" are starting to take over with the potato famine, the great depression, ugh. Stop it now.
But what I think gets under my skin most is just how earnest this series is attempting to be. All about family loyalty and love. The only thing I can think of as being true is the secret that they harbor... because show me an insanely happy family and I'll show you their dirty dark secret. And again, the secret is that the original Katherine and Elizabeth switched places in case you forgot or were hit on the head, because you don't need all six books to figure it out, you need one, if that. No family in the world could be suffused with this much goodness. It's so saccharine and sweet that it makes my teeth ache. Oh, and Kate and Beth finally meeting? Like any cousins have this immediate sisterly bond? Ugh. I'm all for a happy read, but when they meet, oh, and when they join their lockets together? It was like some bizarre Edwardian power rangers. "With the power of our lockets combined we can transmute everyone into happy lovey-dovey zombies!" Because really, what other power could that locket give? Oh, maybe it gives off a brainwashing vibe? Yeah, that could be why everyone doesn't ring true. OK, I'm going with that, they are all under some sort of mind control. That's the only answer.
While these perfect bonds, cousinly and otherwise, are what this book is ostensibly about it really comes down to a lack of dimension. And seriously, I believe in true love, I want a happy ending, most of the time, but it's all in the way it's told that makes the difference. Yes I believe in love at first sight. Did I buy the chauffeur and Beth's maid's instant love? No. Because it was comic book level. It was caricature. Just because you are writing for younger readers doesn't mean that you don't put in the time to tell a good story. Like after two days they'd upset their whole lives to be together? They both knew where the other worked, they could have taken their time instead of doing something reckless. Plus really show the connection, not just hint at them blushing and leave it at that. And that's what it all comes down to. The shallowness of the book makes it predictable and dull. Yes I'm not the age it was written for, but a good story is for all readers, and this isn't a good story. There's a part of me that wants to read the rest of the series just to be vindicated that I saw all the twists and turns like the time I bothered to watch The Village, but really why submit myself to that? I'm not a masochist. Well, OK, sometimes I am with my reading, but I think I can finally walk away from this series and call it a day. If you'd take my advice, don't ever walk towards this series.
Kate can not wait for her twelfth birthday. Not only will she finally be receiving the Katherine necklace, the beloved family heirloom passed on to every Katerine in the family when she turns twelve, but her beloved cousin Beth is also coming all the way from England to Vandermeer Manor in Rhode Island. The cousins have never met because of the ocean that divides them, but they are devoted to their correspondence and know they will be kindred spirits and the best of friends. What's more, Beth just received the Elizabeth necklace for her twelfth birthday and for the first time since their great-grandmother's day the two halves of the necklace will be reunited. Though all the party planning in the world can't take into account the assassination of Archdukes! The news of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand shortly after Beth's arrival in America leads to her parents ordering her home. War is on the horizon and Beth needs to be with her family. It is hard to choose between your heart and your duty, but Beth reluctantly agrees to return home, but not until after she and Kate have a few adventures of their own and reunite the two halves of the locket.
To say I didn't like the first book in this series would be a gross understatement. Beth's Story so rubbed me the wrong way that besides the spewing of vitriol in my review I might have sold that book faster than any other in recent history. Yet I couldn't part with Kate's Story until I had read it. Yes, I know this might sound absurd, but I had bought this book and gosh darn it it wasn't leaving my shelves until it was read. Thankfully it was a mercifully short book that I knocked out in an hour or two. In fact I might have spent more time writing this review than I did reading the book if you needed a comparison. But in the end I obviously read it and, while I still didn't like Adele Whitby's writing style or story, I didn't hate it with the fury of ten thousand suns like I did the first volume. I think the primary reason for this is that having this book set in America and not in England it is in a society that had more fluid rules and protocol. Beth's Story being in England in 1914 meant that there were society's strictures that were to be obeyed and Adele Whitby flaunted them, if she ever knew them in the first place. While America did also have rules, being such a new country, one which took great joy in shaking off the strictures of England, there was room to play. There weren't any glaring incidents that made me hope that my eyeballs could light the book on fire with the power of my thoughts. In other words, I was able to make it to the end without any real rage forming.
Yet just because there weren't glaring errors, doesn't mean that this book didn't have aspects that annoyed me. They just annoyed me less and therefore I gave the book some leeway. My main gripe is with Kate and her "responsibilities." She is just about to turn twelve and she is already expected, or should I say honored, to attend meetings of The Bridgeport Beautification Society. So a twelve-year-old is to help an organization that is run by new wives and her mother's generation and older? A twelve-year-old! I can understand instituting civic-mindedness in a young girl, but to put her on an equal footing? Seriously!?! I just don't get this whole twelve-year-olds get all the responsibility that is going on in this series. They get expensive jewel encrusted necklaces and all the responsibility that comes with it all seemingly because this is how it happened to their great-grandmothers so obviously we must continue with this tradition. And hang on a minute, in 1848 would twelve-year-olds really be active in the life of their family in the aristocracy? They'd still be in the nursery... this whole thing is just a house of cards waiting for me to blow on it! I get that today in society twelve is kind of the age where things shift, you're on the brink of being a teenager and getting responsibilities, but in previous generations that wasn't the case. This book seems to be trying to shoehorn today's morays on yesterdays! In fact the word teenager didn't even exist until the time of Kate and Beth's daughters! Grumble.
Seems to me more and more that Adele Whitby needs some lessons in history before she's allowed to "teach" it in her books. What annoyed me in this book is that her inclusion of history has now turned into "teaching moments." In the first book the history was cheesy but was just part of the story, we weren't hit over the head with it. Here, here it's a different story. Learn about suffragettes! LEARN I SAY! I'm a person who likes to learn in two ways. The first is when I set out to learn. I take a class, I read the books, I study, I learn in that environment. The second way is passive learning. What you pick up here and there in books. Like Eddie Izzard says, you're flipping through the TV channels, stop for a moment on a show go, hey, I didn't know that, that's interesting, you move on. In other words I will never ever condone knowledge being forced on me. If there's one way to piss me off if I'm meeting you and you have something you want to tell me, if you call it a "teaching moment," know, that in that moment I am doing everything in my power not to punch you in the face. Looking ahead in the series it looks like these "teaching moments" are starting to take over with the potato famine, the great depression, ugh. Stop it now.
But what I think gets under my skin most is just how earnest this series is attempting to be. All about family loyalty and love. The only thing I can think of as being true is the secret that they harbor... because show me an insanely happy family and I'll show you their dirty dark secret. And again, the secret is that the original Katherine and Elizabeth switched places in case you forgot or were hit on the head, because you don't need all six books to figure it out, you need one, if that. No family in the world could be suffused with this much goodness. It's so saccharine and sweet that it makes my teeth ache. Oh, and Kate and Beth finally meeting? Like any cousins have this immediate sisterly bond? Ugh. I'm all for a happy read, but when they meet, oh, and when they join their lockets together? It was like some bizarre Edwardian power rangers. "With the power of our lockets combined we can transmute everyone into happy lovey-dovey zombies!" Because really, what other power could that locket give? Oh, maybe it gives off a brainwashing vibe? Yeah, that could be why everyone doesn't ring true. OK, I'm going with that, they are all under some sort of mind control. That's the only answer.
While these perfect bonds, cousinly and otherwise, are what this book is ostensibly about it really comes down to a lack of dimension. And seriously, I believe in true love, I want a happy ending, most of the time, but it's all in the way it's told that makes the difference. Yes I believe in love at first sight. Did I buy the chauffeur and Beth's maid's instant love? No. Because it was comic book level. It was caricature. Just because you are writing for younger readers doesn't mean that you don't put in the time to tell a good story. Like after two days they'd upset their whole lives to be together? They both knew where the other worked, they could have taken their time instead of doing something reckless. Plus really show the connection, not just hint at them blushing and leave it at that. And that's what it all comes down to. The shallowness of the book makes it predictable and dull. Yes I'm not the age it was written for, but a good story is for all readers, and this isn't a good story. There's a part of me that wants to read the rest of the series just to be vindicated that I saw all the twists and turns like the time I bothered to watch The Village, but really why submit myself to that? I'm not a masochist. Well, OK, sometimes I am with my reading, but I think I can finally walk away from this series and call it a day. If you'd take my advice, don't ever walk towards this series.
April 26, 2018
Something about this one seemed mixed up too, but I enjoyed it more than the first!
November 14, 2019
Such a thrilling adventure through the walls of Vandermeer Manor.
January 24, 2024
My daughter and I are reading all of these books. We have read Kate story, Beth Story, and now are on Katherine’s Story! They , just the best books!
August 30, 2014
Originally published on my blog,
ReadLove
.
Kate has a lot to look forward to: Her twelfth birthday is coming up, her cousin Beth is visiting from England, and there’s a Fourth of July parade and picnic on horizon. Of course, foremost in her mind is her birthday, because that’s when she’ll receive the Katherine necklace. Then, she and Beth will each proudly wear their own family heirloom jewels!
Tensions continue to mount in Europe as war looms. As it happens, on June 28th, the day Beth boards a ship to travel to America, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is assassinated. So no sooner does Beth reach Vandermeer Manor in Bridgeport to be united with Kate than a telegram from home arrives. Beth’s family wants her safely on a transport back to England the next day! Will the girls be able to have their long-awaited extended summer stay together? Or will external forces tear them asunder?
Just as with book one, there is mystery afoot surrounding family secrets. As an added bonus, Vandermeer Manor has an eerie, unused wing that’s haunted. This time the mystery remains more tightly under wraps, since the resolution is difficult to surmise prematurely. Historically, we witness women suffragettes, and once again, we have a sympathetic girl’s first person narration: Kate is even more likable than her British counterpart. The result is another smashing success!
Kate’s Story is independently complete and could even be read without familiarity with its predecessor, Beth’s Story. Understandably, though, one would benefit from reading in the proper sequence. At book’s end, the larger story arc closes with a satisfying portion of the questions answered, yet with enough unrevealed secrets to propel readers into the next series installment. (Books 3 and 4, Elizabeth’s Story, 1848 and Katherine’s Story, 1848, release on August 26th.)
Verdict: 4 of 5 Hearts. A Charming Continuation of a New Historical Fiction Series For Tweens. Family mysteries continue to unravel in this second installment of the Secrets of the Manor series set in Rhode Island. During their sleepover stay at Vandermeer Manor with Kate, readers will enjoy unearthing more Chatswood family secrets!
Kate has a lot to look forward to: Her twelfth birthday is coming up, her cousin Beth is visiting from England, and there’s a Fourth of July parade and picnic on horizon. Of course, foremost in her mind is her birthday, because that’s when she’ll receive the Katherine necklace. Then, she and Beth will each proudly wear their own family heirloom jewels!
Tensions continue to mount in Europe as war looms. As it happens, on June 28th, the day Beth boards a ship to travel to America, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is assassinated. So no sooner does Beth reach Vandermeer Manor in Bridgeport to be united with Kate than a telegram from home arrives. Beth’s family wants her safely on a transport back to England the next day! Will the girls be able to have their long-awaited extended summer stay together? Or will external forces tear them asunder?
Just as with book one, there is mystery afoot surrounding family secrets. As an added bonus, Vandermeer Manor has an eerie, unused wing that’s haunted. This time the mystery remains more tightly under wraps, since the resolution is difficult to surmise prematurely. Historically, we witness women suffragettes, and once again, we have a sympathetic girl’s first person narration: Kate is even more likable than her British counterpart. The result is another smashing success!
Kate’s Story is independently complete and could even be read without familiarity with its predecessor, Beth’s Story. Understandably, though, one would benefit from reading in the proper sequence. At book’s end, the larger story arc closes with a satisfying portion of the questions answered, yet with enough unrevealed secrets to propel readers into the next series installment. (Books 3 and 4, Elizabeth’s Story, 1848 and Katherine’s Story, 1848, release on August 26th.)
Verdict: 4 of 5 Hearts. A Charming Continuation of a New Historical Fiction Series For Tweens. Family mysteries continue to unravel in this second installment of the Secrets of the Manor series set in Rhode Island. During their sleepover stay at Vandermeer Manor with Kate, readers will enjoy unearthing more Chatswood family secrets!
April 14, 2016
Kate is about to turn twelve and will be given the family heirloom, the Katherine necklace. Her cousin, Beth is joining her for the summer from England. The two girls are excited to meet! Things do not go the way they planned! It is 1914 and problems are arising overseas.
This is a really nice series for younger girls. I have read Beth's story and actually liked this one a little better. I liked Kate better than Beth. I found Beth to be a bit spoiled, but Kate I felt was more down to earth and enjoyable. She is very well off, but where Beth had arrogance, Kate seemed more laid back. The book introduces readers to the start of The World War (aka World War I) and how this may potentially effect families from England.
Kate and Beth are close, although they have never met before and each have a different culture. I loved Kate explaining their traditions to Beth! Also, Beth brings with her the diary of their great-grandmother's maid, Essie. As the girls read the diary they realize there is a mystery of the necklaces.
There is a bit of a cliffhanger which makes me want to grab the next! I would recommend this as a book club selection. There are so many great topics to cover in a discussion.
This is a really nice series for younger girls. I have read Beth's story and actually liked this one a little better. I liked Kate better than Beth. I found Beth to be a bit spoiled, but Kate I felt was more down to earth and enjoyable. She is very well off, but where Beth had arrogance, Kate seemed more laid back. The book introduces readers to the start of The World War (aka World War I) and how this may potentially effect families from England.
Kate and Beth are close, although they have never met before and each have a different culture. I loved Kate explaining their traditions to Beth! Also, Beth brings with her the diary of their great-grandmother's maid, Essie. As the girls read the diary they realize there is a mystery of the necklaces.
There is a bit of a cliffhanger which makes me want to grab the next! I would recommend this as a book club selection. There are so many great topics to cover in a discussion.
June 30, 2014
I ended up reading the second book first in this series, Secrets of the Manor. But I do plan on going ahead and reading Beth's Story, 1914.
Beth and Kate are cousins. Kate is American. Beth is English. Beth is slightly older apparently. On her twelfth birthday, she received a super special heirloom necklace from her great-grandmother, I believe. Kate will be receiving her own super-special necklace on her twelfth birthday. Beth has traveled all the way across the ocean to be there! Well, her visit is to be for six to eight weeks or so. Was. But this is the summer of 1914. And things get tense after the assassination.
This book is all about the two girls, two cousins, meeting each other for the very first time. Kate has been waiting years and years to meet her cousin. She's beyond ecstatic to spend time with her. They've only corresponded before this. Beth seems just as enthusiastic to be best friends.
Secrets. These two thrive on secrets. The whole premise of the series is on secrets!
I liked this one. I will definitely go back and read the first book!
Beth and Kate are cousins. Kate is American. Beth is English. Beth is slightly older apparently. On her twelfth birthday, she received a super special heirloom necklace from her great-grandmother, I believe. Kate will be receiving her own super-special necklace on her twelfth birthday. Beth has traveled all the way across the ocean to be there! Well, her visit is to be for six to eight weeks or so. Was. But this is the summer of 1914. And things get tense after the assassination.
This book is all about the two girls, two cousins, meeting each other for the very first time. Kate has been waiting years and years to meet her cousin. She's beyond ecstatic to spend time with her. They've only corresponded before this. Beth seems just as enthusiastic to be best friends.
Secrets. These two thrive on secrets. The whole premise of the series is on secrets!
I liked this one. I will definitely go back and read the first book!
July 21, 2014
Downton Abbey for the elementary school set. This is a sweet historical mystery series following a family line on both sides of the ocean. This installment opens days before the start of WW I as an English cousin meets her American cousin for the first time. There is drama downstairs as well. As a bonus, the matriarch of the family is fighting for women's right to vote.
October 16, 2014
Second story in the 'Secrets of the Manor' series. This is more engaging than the first (Beth's Story). In this volume we meet Beth's American cousin, Kate. In fact, Beth and Kate meet for the first time when Beth travels to America. For girls who like to read historical fiction.
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January 3, 2015JF WHITBY, A. Book 2 in Secrets of the Manor series. One cousin lives in England and one in America. Mystery, history, and relationships. Read books in order.
May 22, 2016
Secrets will be revealed and every secret leads to another.......
April 3, 2025
3 ★ - (liked it)
CWs: mentions a haunted section of the house, a ghost (isn't actually), and that sort of thing.
CWs: mentions a haunted section of the house, a ghost (isn't actually), and that sort of thing.
April 10, 2017
This is the second book in the series and I did not want to put this book down. I really love this series thus far and there are some major secrets that I think will soon be uncovered and I can not wait to see. I loved the fact the first book was in the perspective of Beth and in this second book Beth actually comes to visit.
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