The Mysterious Trixie Belden

As some of you may know, I am a reader. I frequent the local library so much so that most of the librarians know me by name. I nearly always have multiple books checked out. One of the services of the library is the inter-library loan. An inter-library loan is when the local library system doesn't have a book in its possession that you would like to read. They send a request to other libraries to borrow the book.

Back in June, I wanted to check out some books in the "Trixie Belden" series. I had read a few of them when I was a teenager. The local library only owned two of the books in the series of thirty-nine, so I requested the rest of the books in the series. A few at a time, the books came in, some from as far away as New York state. The book series is about a group of teenagers, centered on Trixie Belden, an amateur detective, and her best friend, Honey. They are an easy read, intended for young teens.

The first book, "The Secret Of The Mansion," came out in 1948, long before I was born (the year my mother was born!), so the early books can be a bit hokey, and very innocent. Some of the later books were written in the 1980s. But they are sweet and the characters are kind people who continually do good things for others, including raising money for UNICEF.

At the beginning of January, I received the last two books in the series. You would think that would be a good thing. You would be wrong. While I love the series as a whole, and most of the books in it, the final two books were a big disappointment. All of the books after the first six were written by staff writers under a pseudonym. The author of the final two had obviously never read any of the books in the series, and boy, does it show. He/she included many inaccurate details, including the names of the horses the kids ride. Trixie's brother, Mart, likes to use big words, and in the final two, his fun banter is noticeably absent.

In book #38, one of the key characters (Jim) was off at a summer camp, while the rest of the main characters were all included. Since Jim is Trixie's love interest, it was so disappointing that he was excluded. In #39, the final book, Trixie and Honey are on vacation without any of their brothers or friends, so the finale was disappointing, not getting to "say goodbye" to the friends we've grown to love. I realize they probably didn't know at the time that no more books would be written, but the fact that the author apparently didn't care anything about the books or series and integrity of the series is just disappointing.

If you are, or have, a teenage girl, I recommend borrowing a book from the library and starting to read the series. But I wouldn't blame you if you chose not to read the final two.

List of Trixie Belden Books