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With their father away, who will solve the mystery?

In the darkness of a November night, Kate O'Connell awakens to the murmur of voices coming from below her room in the Windy Hill farmhouse. Sneaking down the stairs, she learns that Papa Nordstrom must take a job at a lumber camp to earn money for spring planting and be gone for two or three months during the worst part of the winter. Just when they had come together as a family, Papa must go.

In his absence, all the children are given greater responsibilities for the farm. Them simply have to make it through the winter without him. And then Kate thinks of all the things that could happen on a northwoods farm in Wisconsin. What if something goes wrong?

And things do go wrong. First in the community, then on the farm with some mysterious disappearances.

Join Kate and Anders as the mystery unfolds!

142 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1990

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Lois Walfrid Johnson

57 books211 followers

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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls).
2,157 reviews5,096 followers
March 9, 2024
About this book:

“With their father away, who will solve the mystery?
In the darkness of a November night, Kate O'Connell awakens to the murmur of voices coming from below her room in the Windy Hill farmhouse. Sneaking down the stairs, she learns that Papa Nordstrom must take a job at a lumber camp to earn money for spring planting and be gone for two or three months during the worst part of the winter. Just when they had come together as a family, Papa must go.
In his absence, all the children are given greater responsibilities for the farm. Them simply have to make it through the winter without him. And then Kate thinks of all the things that could happen on a northwoods farm in Wisconsin. What if something goes wrong?
And things do go wrong. First in the community, then on the farm with some mysterious disappearances.”



Series: Book #2 in the “Adventures of the Northwoods” series. Review of Book #1, Here!


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is read, remembered, mentioned, thought over, & discussed; Prayers; Church going (including on Christmas morning); Talks about God, Jesus, & forgiveness; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Kate thinks that she often thought about God in the summer, but now feels like He is far away again (an uncomfortable thought appears to her that it’s because of recent events and a secret she’s keeping); Kate mother makes Kate ask God to forgive her for lying; Kate mother tells her about Jesus saying that “God did something for all of us. … Because He loves us, God sent His perfect Son to die on the cross. When you do something wrong, you can say you’re sorry. You can ask forgiveness. Jesus will forgive you. … When you ask Him to be your Savior, He takes away your sin. He saves you from it.” and encourages Kate to let God forgive her; *Spoiler* ; Mentions of God & forgiveness; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, & services (Kate doesn’t understand much in the Swedish church services her family attends); Mentions of hymns & a hymnbook; A few mentions of playing an instrument for God (Kate has never heard of anyone doing that before and wants to say that for herself, but knows that it’s not true); A mention of thanking God; A mention of the tradition of putting a candle in a window for the Christ child at Christmas;
*Note: Kate’s younger brother holds up two fingers being his head to make horns (directed at her lying).


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘sissy’, three forms of ‘stupid’, and ten forms of ‘dumb’; Nightmares; Kate eavesdrops on a conversation her parents are having; Kate and her step-brother argue, tease, and call the other names (such as dumb, brainless, stupid, and tattletale; She also yells that she hates him when he won’t stop teasing her about her dream; she gets upset that he won’t explain things to her as well); Kate and a boy at her school (who picked on her in Book #1) tease and threaten pranks to the other (Kate feels ashamed after a comment she said made him embarrassed); One of the boys (Stretch) says that the teacher doesn’t know “what she’s talkin’ about” (about warning them about a frozen lake) and also says the playground is for babies (and while Kate believes the teacher, she does to go the lake with him); *Spoiler*; Kate decides not to tell her mom about the prior spoiler & her brothers are against that idea (the younger one saying that it’s lying and Kate responds that it’s not lying, she just won’t tell her; Kate asks if they are going to tattle on her and hurts the young one’s feelings by being angry and threatening “you tell on me, and when you do something wrong, I’ll tell on you!”; She realizes that he hurt their bond by saying that); Kate does lie to her mother (thinking that she’s “not really” lying) & plans for her to not find out what happened which she calls “protect her” (her younger brother is shocked by her lying and her other brother says that she’s just protecting her own skin; *Spoiler*); Kate witnesses a boy stealing candy from a store (she starts to make excuses for him and doesn’t say anything; Her brother says a lot of the boys steal candy but he doesn’t anymore after his father tanned him for doing it); Kate’s brother and friend physically fight (over Kate not wanting her brother to tease her and when he doesn’t stop, the friends jumps him; Kate cheers for the friend to beat up her brother and when her mom sees them, they get punished with chores); One of Kate’s brothers drives a horse and buggy too fast and recklessly (despite her asking him many times to slow down) and problems happen; *Spoiler* ; Mentions of Kate’s father death from a construction accident, her mother struggling afterwards with money, & their sadness; Mentions of almost drowning; Mentions of injuries & pain (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of stealing, stolen items, & thieves; Mentions of lies, lying, liars, tattletales, stretching the truth, & hiding the truth from a parent; Mentions of pranks, teasing, & bullies; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of hunting & buttering animals for meat; A couple mentions of a father drinking & drinking more every year; A couple mentions of the disappearing stranger (Book #1); A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A mention of the death of someone’s mother; A mention of someone cheating another; A mention of jealousy;
*Note: Like in the first book, there are some name calling between Kate and her older step-brother (including as dumb, brainless, stupid, and tattletale; She also yells that she hates him when he won’t stop teasing her about her dream) and boys vs girls rivalry; Kate enjoys playing the organ, but isn’t happy when told there will be hard work to get better at it; Kate feels sorry every now and then for not using her new family’s last name, but wants to remember her Irish father; Kate hates mice & is incredibly upset about finding a dead one (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of Kate having to “earn the respect” of one of her new step-brothers (and recalls her new step-father saying she’ll have to earn her way with the brother).


Sexual Content- A boy student (Stretch) winks at Kate & she finds herself staring at him because she thinks that he likes her (one of her brothers gets very upset about this and tells her to like someone else because that boy is trouble); Kate thinks boys are staring at her & therefore like her; Kate calls a boy handsome; Mentions of liking someone & boys staring at Kate (or so she thinks); A mention of a boy student “making eyes” at a teacher;
*Note: Kate’s brother tells her that it’s not ladylike to whistle (which makes her determined to learn to listen).

-Katherine “Kate” O’Connell, age 12
P.O.V. switches between them
Set in 1906
144 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Four Stars
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars

This book enters in a bit of crushes for our main character, Kate, so depending on the views of a pre-teen’s family about reading books with hints of liking someone/crushes, this second book might possibly be a miss for them. Personally, I thought Kate was quite a stinker in this book (which I thought we were clear from after the first book!) so she definitely still has lessons to learn. I don’t think this series will be a new favorite of mine by any means, but I know it’s nostalgic for many.


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.
Profile Image for Adam Jarvis.
251 reviews10 followers
March 16, 2024
4.5 stars rounded up. Follows closely from the previous book, and develops more of the brother/sister relationship between Kate and Anders, with an emphasis on trust.

A little bit of a weak “mystery” as there was only one possible culprit, and the subplots were emphasized and the main plot ran almost as a subplot.

It’s not a “wow, the tables flipped at the end and I’m shocked when i read the last page!” kind of book. More like a slow, steady growing of understanding, and navigating thoughts, feelings, and pre-teen relationships along the way.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the book to my kids, although they correctly predicted the outcome.
Profile Image for Abby.
130 reviews12 followers
August 18, 2014
(Read my review on the first book if you want to know about like for what ages and other things about this series.)
I love all the books in this series. This was a good one. Like all of them. SOOO well written! I love all the characters there actions fit perfectly with how you expect them to be and like they turn into friends! This review is going to be a lot about the series that I love. So about the series and not about just this book. ***some spoilers kind of***
-Erik and Kate((((cuteness alert)))Plus the author is a Christian so its all so clean and Godly..and perfect.....
-The Endings, they are just wow i actually cry sometimes in happiness or just cant stop stink smiling!
-Anders, oh he just acts like Anders and teases Kate about things that even I get embarrassed by! Fave tease of his, "You know you two could get married someday" Oh Anders!
-The verses, the lessons. I never finish a book without feeling blessed!
-The history, she puts in just enough to intrigue you and teach you things!
okay rant over :)
1,393 reviews16 followers
January 14, 2023


2023 reread: Read aloud to my 8 year old - and since she's a bit older than when we read the first in the series, she enjoyed it more. I liked this series a lot as a kid, so am enjoying rereading it with my kids. This one has a gentle mystery, and focuses a lot on being honest. This series has good values, though is more religious than I remember it being when I read these as a kid (or even when I reread them 10-15 years ago as an adult when I bought the series for my -at the time - future kids).
Profile Image for Karina (Karina's Christian Reads).
369 reviews12 followers
July 13, 2023
Number of pages: 120

Genre: Mystery

Series: The Adventures of the Northwoods #2

Age recommendation: 10-14

Summary: Stretch is back in town and Kate doesn’t understand why nobody else likes him. He’s kind and charming, and really fun to hang out with. But Anders doesn't want Kate hanging around with him. Meanwhile, Josie’s family’s steer has been stolen, and it was supposed to be their meat for the entire winter! Can Kate and Anders find out who is behind the thieving?

My thoughts: This used to be my favourite book in the series, and it was so much fun to reread. I can see why I liked it so much! The story is very realistic and interesting.
There was a lot of really good Christian content in this book, and just good lessons in general. While it stressed me out that Kate kept lying to people (because I knew it would catch up to her later and hurt her), the author does an excellent job at showing why it is wrong to lie and how you hurt yourself and others through lies. It was very realistic and understandable why Kate would act this way.
I love Anders. He acts exactly how an older brother should/does: he’s often a really annoying tease, but deep down he really loves his siblings and is watching out for their best interests. He’s kind of like Chad from the Andrea Carter books; he can be crabby and short tempered, but it’s because he wants what’s best for his younger siblings.
Erik is also great. The fact that he’s always looking out for Kate and confides in her about his singing lessons is so sweet!
The ending of the story is really good. It’s the perfect mix of turning out good, while still being somewhat realistic. I guess I’m just trying to say it’s satisfying, but not too perfect.

My personal rating: 4/5 stars.

Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
Profile Image for James Hogan.
628 reviews5 followers
November 22, 2023
Book 2 in the Northwoods Saga. Another quality one. Kate has her moments in this one (she definitely shows she has a rebellious streak in her!!), but while Kate isn't entirely perfect...that's kind of the point. By far the best part of this book is Kate realizing just how flawed and imperfect she is and Mama gently sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with her. Kate realizes that only in Jesus can she be pure and clean, and with the faith of a child, she goes to Him. There is obviously much more going on in this book, but that was the part of it that stood out to me. For some reason, it hits me much more now than it did back when I read it...as I think of the mercies of God and all the grace that He has shown to me, a sinner! Wonderful to meditate on the love of our God.
Author 2 books1 follower
May 28, 2024
I read the German version of this book and I absolutely loved it. I read them back in elementary and as a freshman in high school and they never got old as I re-read them time and time again. Erik and Kate's friendship (and the occasional small tiny pieces of flirting) were and still are everything to me. I recommend the entire series to anyone who lends a listening ear. They're clean and sweet and suspenseful and they have valuable lessons as the foundation!
Profile Image for Stephen.
1,240 reviews8 followers
June 12, 2018
Meh, christian religious mystery novel written for conservative parents to allow their children to read on Sabbath afternoon. It was a decent book, lots of good moral lessons. It just felt like it dragged on though.
12 reviews
June 29, 2020
Ich fand dieses Buch auch wieder sehr gut und toll. In diesem Buch müssen die drei (Kath, Anders, Erik) herausfinden, wer von den Farmen, die für den Winter Lebens notwendigen Vorräte stielt. Es war wie alle Bücher sehr spannend.
Profile Image for Josiah.
302 reviews
September 24, 2020
Excellent book! The characters are interesting, realistic, and relatable. The mystery itself in this book is quite good, and I absolutely adore the Christian values. I highly recommend this series, it is hard to put down!
503 reviews5 followers
July 1, 2020
Halfway through this book I found out it was the second in a series. No wonder some things didn't make sense. But I finished it. Now I'll have to read the first one.
Profile Image for Kay West.
141 reviews17 followers
March 8, 2021
The friendships and goofy characters in this book endear themselves to you quickly. A clean, safe read for young people! Recommend!
Profile Image for KD BlueHaven.
82 reviews2 followers
June 18, 2021
This is the book I fell in love with Erik I hope every girl can have a erik in they're life's
Profile Image for Katy Lovejoy.
10.4k reviews9 followers
September 29, 2021
Not bad, kind of reminds me of Mandie mixed with little house, two series I really like
Profile Image for Joyeux Noelle.
309 reviews3 followers
August 28, 2023
Next up in my re-read of this series with my son!
He enjoyed getting to know Kate and Anders better, and the addition of Erik to their trio gives more room for character development.
I enjoyed how the plot is perfectly age-appropriate, and it’s not just a mystery but has plenty of adventure as well…Kate learns the consequences of lying, solves the puzzle of the message hidden in her organ, and helps the Lundgren’s get their stolen food back.
The sweetest part is when Kate finally realizes that God does love her and decides to follow Him. As a musician I also enjoyed hearing how Kate played organ by ear, but her teacher encouraged her to learn to read music!
Profile Image for Daniel.
2,781 reviews44 followers
February 15, 2008
This book, the second in the Adventures in the Northwoods series, is just as fun and interesting as the first outing.

Here the mystery is turned inward a bit more, and the hardships of life in that time and that area are pointed out more severely, but the characters are still strong and the history still believable.

A really nice way to show that a story can entertain and be wholesome as well.

Highly recommended.
Profile Image for Desiree.
116 reviews7 followers
July 16, 2012
Very cute series! I'm trying to collect them all for my kids.
Profile Image for Laura.
883 reviews16 followers
April 2, 2013
I like this series as it takes place in my home state. I'm a bit overwhelmed at how many mysteries the children find to solve, but the book is still fun. I really like Erik, Kate and Anders' friend.
19 reviews2 followers
March 26, 2017
I really enjoyed The Hidden Message. This book is about Kate and Anders solving another mystery. Someone has stolen some of their friends preserved food for winter. Kate tries to ice skate on a lake that is not fully frozen and falls in. Kate decides not to tell Mama. When Mama finds out, Kate learns a lesson on forgiveness. The day before Christmas Eve, while they are traveling home, Anders falls and twists his ankle. In the midst of a huge snowstorm, Kate finds the strength to wander home to get the sleigh to go and get Anders and Lars. When they get home, they find a pig papa butchered gone. Who is the thief? What happens to Ander's ankle? What happens next? This is such a good book. The series still continues, I can't wait.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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