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The Message in the Hollow Oak (Her Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, 12) by Carolyn Keene
Reader Reviews An Exciting Adventure, April 9, 2003 Reviewer: jtthiel from Nova Scotia, Canada This review concerns the original 1935 edition and the revised 1972 edition which is completely different from the original. In the original, Nancy wins a piece of land in northern Canada in a radio contest and almost immediately people are trying to buy the land from her. Could it be valuable? Determined to see the land for herself, Nancy, along with her friends Bess and George, set out for the remote wilderness of northern Canada. Along the way the three girls meet an authoress who tells them a sad story of how she was kept apart from her first love many years ago. Upon arriving at her land, Nancy finds that a ruthless group of swindlers is trying to steal her land from her. How Nancy reunites the authoress with her first love and outsmarts the group of swindlers makes for a rather interesting story. This really isn't a mystery story, it's more of an adventure; however, it is quite an exciting book. The story grabs your attention very quickly and there is plenty of action. The northern Canadian setting is used very effectively. The end of the book was very good, as it displays two of Nancy's best qualities, her courage and her willingness to sacrifice something that is hers to help someone else. Unfortunately, this edition is not the one found in new book stores; however, if you ever find it at a used book store, buy it, you won't be disappointed with it. In the revised edition, Nancy goes to the Ohio River area of Illinois to search for a hollow oak. Legend has it, that in the 1600s a French missionary hid a treasure in a hollow oak but was killed before he could reveal its location. This version isn't bad. The book kept me interested throughout but it never had me so engrossed that I couldn't put it down. I would recommend reading this book, but I enjoyed the original version so much more.
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