This a really cool book! I read it from cover to cover. I learned stuff about horses that I never knew and learned about breeds of horses that I never knew existed! This a good book for beginner horsenuts.

I have been taking riding for two years.Just a couple of days ago my instructor said I was the smart intellect of my age group at the barn.I think getting this book really helped. It covers a lot of breeds and information on them.This book is great so if your horse crazy I would reccomend getting this book!!!

I am so glad that I purchased this book. I needed a reference guide to help me identify different breeds of horses and ponies for the Photo Model Horse Shows that I have been participating in. Since I will eventually judge a show, I needed to be prepared to classify horse breeds from the photograph entries that will be sent to me. It is easy to read, the photographs are lovely, and there were only a few breeds not listed. Good job!

First, I liked Vol I very much. I like Vol II, although it's a lot wordier than it needs to be: sort of like floating down the Rhine on a barge with periodic stops near objects of great interest, at which time something happens to break the progress (think of all the Germans on the barge starting to sing when they approach the Loreli Rock). Still and all, a good read with much detail about the period.

The annoying part has to do with constant references to incorrect detail, speciifcally, the British Peerage and other hereditary and non-hereditary titles. Cline is all over the place, and it's confusing and distracting to an otherwise interesting plot. Cline is obsessed with earls, barons and baronets, and that and other titles are strewn about with abandon, sometimes landing upon one character, sometimes upon another, always at random. There is Hugh's uncle, the Earl of Danvers, Hugh's father, the Baron of Danvers, the evil Marquess of Bilbury (or more precisely, his son, who is frequently referred to as the Marquess as well). Then there is Hugh himself, who is alternatively referred to as Hugh or Mr. Kenrick, a baronet, and a banneret.

Here's how it works:

1) earls outrank barons. Despite what Cline asserts, they always have, and there are fewer of them. Earls were the great magnates from the time of William I; they were the greater barons, if you will. Think of Willian (the) Marshal in Henry III's reign; think of the Percys (Earls of Northumberland); think of Talbot, Earl of Shrewsburg; think of Warwick the "King Maker." Read Shakespeare.

2) Cline makes a big deal about earls being created by Letters Patent, which he implies makes them less than barons. All peers came about in one of three ways: a) in the early feudal period by grants of land which were deemed to constitute an earldom or a barony, b) after the rise of Parliament, by Writs of Summons to Parliament in the particular style of baron or earl, c) Letters Patent - which didn't become much used until the late 14th century, and have pretty much been the only method used since Henry VIII's time.

3) While not impossible, it would be highly unlikely that the brothers Kenrick (Hugh's uncle and his father) could be respectively, an earl and a baron. If they were, Hugh's father would have to have been created such by the king, and he, himself, would have been a peer and a member of the House of Lords, just as his brother is. Otherwise, as the younger son of an earl, Hugh's father's title is 'The Honourable' and nothing more. Also, if the king did give him a title, it wouldn't be Baron of Danvers when there is already an Earl of Danvers. It would be 'Baron Kenrick of X in the County of Y', as only earls and above get to be Earl 'of Danvers' or Marquess (in the 18th century spelled Marquis) 'of Danvers' or Duke 'of Danvers.' He'd also be referreed to as Lord X, not Baron X, unless he were a Baron of the Exchecquer, which is not a peerage title, but an office.

4) Hugh is not anything more than Hugh Kenrick, Esquire, as the son of a baron. He is not "my lord," not a baron himself, not a baronet and not a banneret (which is a kind of superior knight, who for great martial prowess and because he was able to attract a large number of knights to fight with him, had the privilege to having the points of his pennon cut off to form a banner - thus the name. This was not an hereditary title, and , as I recall, not conferred at all after about the late 15th century).

5) The estate of a baron is called a barony, not a baronetcy, which is the estate of a baronet. Moreover, one is not a baronet of a particular place, which is reserved to peers. Baronets came into existence in ca. 1621, when James I needed money to colonize Nova Scotia. He sold them to the gentry, originally without the prefix 'Sir', but later with. When they got their 'Sir' their wives got to be 'Lady' and they sold like hotcakes.

The trouble with period pieces is that have to be accurate, or we nit-picking purists get cranky. If Cline had either not gotten carried away with all of this erroneous information, or done the research better in this one area, people like me wouldn't have become so worked up about it and we could have lost ourselves in an otherwise good story with an engaging writing style.

WPB

Where to begin? First, it's easier to be a critic than a writer (for one thing, you don't have to write as much). Second, I enjoyed the first volume in the series, and this one is pretty well written, too. I like the concept, and the period is likewise interesting.

What is naggingly annoying about a book dealing with (in this case) an upper-class protagonist are the misstatements in the first part of the book regarding the English upper classes and how they got to be that way by the mid-18th century.

First, Cline has this thing about barons, and he consigns earls to a kind of lesser status after the Norman Conquest "because they were created by Letters Patent." Not true. William's principal vassals were earls (a title taken from the Saxons in lieu of count, which was a continental term). To be sure, there were greater and lesser barons (as a generic term), but the earls were always in the former category, and it had nothing to do with Letters Patent: it had to do with land and men. The great magnates were earls. Think of William (the) Marshal during the reign of Henry III in the 12th century, the Percys (Earls of Northumberland), Talbot (Earl of Shrewsbury), and Warwick the "King Maker" during the 15th centure. Indeed, creations by Letters Patent were not used to any degree until the late 14th century under Richard II, and didn't really come into vogue until the Tudors. Most men were called to Parliament under Writs of Summons.

Second, Cline makes a point the the Earl of Danvers' title (by Letters Patent) had a limitation to heirs male as if this were something special. Virtually all such grants were in fee tail male (male primogeniture), although most of the barons by Writ were were in fee tail general (women could inherit if there were no males). Why mention it if you're not going to get it right? Also, he keeps referring to "baronetcys" when he means to say "baronys." Baronets are not barons, they are one step below, being the first level of hereditary title. They are not peers, and didn't exist until the reign of James I (ca. 1620), who needed the money (he sold the titles to the untitled gentry) to colonize Nova Scotia. Originally, they weren't even called "Sir," just baronet. James didn't sell enough of them, so he had to give them a handle to add to their names. Sales surged, especially as their wives got to be called "Lady."

Lastly, while it was not completely uncommon in the higher levels of the peerage for a younger son to get a title of his own, it didn't happen as a matter of course, so Hugh's father would not be a baron (a peer himself) simply because his father (or his brother) was a earl. He'd be an "Honourable," which is the courtesy style accorded to an earl's younger son. As a younger son, and especially if he were a baron (as we are told) he could not engage in "trade" as directly as Cline suggests without losing social status. He could certainly manage the estates (or anything to do with land and like property) and even have private arrangements with smugglers, but dealing with "Cits" (as the London merchant class was known) would have to be far more circumspect.

It wouldn't have taken much more time to consult somebody about these nagging innacuracies,. If you're going to write historical fiction, you'd better get it correct, otherwise people like me will gripe instead of immersing ourselves in the story.

...brillantly plotted with heroic characters and beautifully written.

Jack Frake (book one in the series) and Hugh Kenrick (this book)are true heroes comparable to any in the works of Ayn Rand and Victor Hugo. Hollywood should start producing movies of these books now.

All good writing is timeless and one of the many virtues of this book is that it shows there is very little difference between the power-seekers who controlled the UK then and those in power now-the detail may have changed the principles remain the same. Cline has also shown us the British Aristocracy in its essence for the period rather than in what would have been long uninteresting, unnecessary detail-this being a work of fiction and not a historic treatise.

I have already read both parts twice and am immensely looking forward to book three (due November 2003) and the rest of the series.

I bought this book a year ago and never used it. After taking a class in Access and using it at work I found answers to problems that neither my teacher nor Access "Help" could answer. The format is short and sweet. It is truly for every user, beginner and advanced!

I ordered about 5 different Access books and This is the one i regulary refer to. You want to know how to do something (non-beginner) then BUY THIS BOOK!!!! Now only if they made a new one I'd be unstoppable!!!

Access 97 Answers! paid for itself the first day I bought it. If you're stuck and need an answer, this book probably has it AND (most importantly) the answers are easy to find. To help you quickly locate an answer there's a "Contents @ a Glance" page, a detailed Table of Contents, a very comprehensive index, and a self termed "Action Index" which lists questions in an "If you want to..." format. This book is a FAQ to end all FAQs. It's become an indespensible tool in my Access development arsenal.

I'm not quite sure where John Bellairs finished and Brad Strickland started, and that's probably a good thing. All the characters from the other Johnny Dixon mysteries are back: timid Johnny, the outrageous professor, meek Dr. Coote, practical Father Higgins and matter of fact Fergie.

The book begins when Dr. Coote shows his friends a drum that was given to him by a mysterious young man. As usual, the professor scoffs at it, although Dr. Coote is still worried, because of his extensive knowledge of voudon, an evil voodoo cult on a fictional Caribbean island. Fergie then takes the drum and beats it while screaming "babaloo! babaloo!" which sets a chain of terrifying events into action.

Dr. Coote has a nervous breakdown and a horrible old woman stalks Johnny and his family to find the drum, all while the friends scramble to figure out where the drum is and save their own necks in the process. There are some genuinely scary scenes involving a zombie, and later an exorcism.

Bellairs and Strickland have done an excellent job creating the mythology of Baron Samedi and the Priests of the Midnight Blood, the evil voudon cult on a French Caribbean island. It's a bit formulaic, and not absolutely perfect, but a taut, enjoyable mystery/horror book.

I got interested in John Bellairs books after I read a reader review of a Harry Potter book which talked about these books as even better than HP -- and you know, he was right! These are really well-written books. I've read about 6 Bellairs books with my kids (ages 10 and 11) and this was by far the scariest. This one seemed to have more: more humor, more fright, more heart, as well as the usual excellent character development. (oh yeah, my kids really enjoyed the book too.) The scary scenes are really vivid, but ideal for my boys' age group. They just love this stuff.

Good grief, this was amazingly, shriekingly good!

Johnny and Professor Childermass take a detour into the darkest side of voodoo, known as voudon. When, at a get-together with one of the professor's friends, Fergie begins playing and singing ("Babaloo") a tiny leather drum, the lights unexpectedly go out.

Soon the friend is ill, raving and finally falling into a coma. A creepy old woman and a mysterious man are lurking nearby. Some of the most affecting scenes is where the professor finds the hideous creature growing in a pillow, and when he battles the horrifying snakelike demon.

But taking the prize is the zombie mentioned in the title. Holy cow.

This is a genuinely scary book-for heaven's sake, don't read it at night.

Kositsky plunges her heroine back into Elizabethan England for a wild, rollicking adventure with an acting company and a theater hanger-on named Will Shakspere, who seems to be taking credit for Shakespeare's plays. Young adults (and not so young) will relish her gross encounters with Elizabethan thugs and her winning ways with the acting company and Queen Elizabeth herself, who bestows an early version of the Academy Awards. Hard-core Stratfordians will object to Oxford as the playwright, but Kositsky's light, spoofing treatment, solidly grounded in the facts of the authorship controversy,easily carries the reader into her version of the world's biggest literary mystery. It's a blast from the past.

The ONLY reason the orthodox Stratfordian view of the authorship of Shakespeare's works has managed to survive is that it is taught to the young with no information about its rickety foundation, or about the persuasiveness of the Oxford alternative. Books like this one may hasten the day when the bizarre Stratford myth collapses of its own weight. An admirable corrective, and a fun read.

Here is an engaging, entertaining, and indeed positively delightful romp through the underworld of the Elizabethan theatrical scene -- as witnessed through the eyes of an intellectually precocious thirteen-something (unlucky in love!-Yikes!) named Willow who suddenly finds herself teleported from 20th century Ontario into the grimy candlelight world of London in 1593 where she finds herself rooming with the -- allegedly -- great playwrite "Shakspere."

Only the most dogmatic partisans of the by-now moribund official view of Shakespeare will be offended this linguistically precocious reconstruction of the "might have been" hypothesis of the Earl of Oxford's identity as the real Bard. Indeed Lynne Kositsky has an uncanny knack for anchoring her fictional narrative in detailed and singularly accurate memory for cultural nuance and historical incident. Kositsky also possesses a natural gift for the pulse of language. Her narrator speaks in an energetic and often captivating fusion of Canadian Valley Girl slang and Elizabethen vernacular, which is certain to capture the imagination of many young readers. Is this another J.K. Rowling in the making?

Here's a taste:

Bobby Goffe really hated me, that was for sure: he criticized and cuffed me every chance he got. Shakspere dissed me daily, perchance cos he'd been stuck with me, mayhap cos he feared I'd discovered his secret schemes. And I still needed to keep a sharp look out for that other gig, Beavis, Butthead, and Mystery Guy, at every turn. To cut a long story short, I felt threatened every step I took. At the house, at the Theatre, on the street, a mere whisper would twist my head around, a hint of a hubbub would set my heart to heaving.

(p. 70)

As the reader may detect, Ms. Kositsky's most formidable weapon, like that of her dark hero Edward Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, is a razor sharp wit, viz. her biting satirical invocation of the (historically real)duel between actor Gabriel Spencer and actor-playwright Ben Jonson, in which Willow, transporting mysterious packages between Vere and Shakspere, is revealed to be the precipitating cause of the duel:

Galloping gobstoppers, what should I do now? Stand my ground till [Spenser] strangled me, or agree to what he wanted, and then get out while the going was good. I was too scared to make up my mind. He started shaking me again like I was a pair of maracas. And maybe there were two of me at that, cos I was starting to see everything double.

"No, never," I cried at last. "I will never give you anything of Vere's. Do your worst!" I drooped over like a limp lily, and was about to throw up on the villain's boots, really making him mad, when Ben Jonson rushed into the Cathedral. He must have been behind us all the time. In a trice, he realized the mess I was in and shoved his bully-boy face into Spencer's, fixing him with his beery breath. "That's Shakspere's lad, Gabe. Put him down right now, right here, right this minute, before you do him a permanent disablement"......

(p. 102)

The book can be recommended without reserve for all readers between the ages of eight and eighty who love the derring-do world which belongs to "Shakespeare" -- the world which harbored the great voyages of exploration which have made our modern life, for better or worse, what it now is. The author deserves congratulation if not some sort of medal; but one may be sure the further books by Ms. Kositsky are not far from publication.

When I first read this book I recommended this book for 3rd graders . The sentences were almost giving out the whole book ,but still it was o.k for a 6th grade . Even though it says a Mystery book, it would be a mystery for 5th and 4th graders. Then I thought about the book and recommened it for 4th graders because this book is o.k .

I read this book when I was in third grade. Here I am, about to go to law school, and I still remember the details. The story keeps you hanging on the whole length of the book. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves a good mystery, loves to be held in suspense, and who can handle staying up late, because you won't want to put it down.

I liked this book very much because I like reading mysteries. What made it good? First, it kept my interest because it was very exciting. I was very eager to know what happened next. I liked learning about the characters. Their lives were very exciting. Finally, the last 3 chapters were very freaky! Johnny, the main character, was sneaking into the Glomus mansion and he kept hearing weird noises. I would recommend this book to any kids over 7 years of age.

I felt that this book really drew me into its plot. The evil man trying to produce this opera made me realize how charming and innocent people sound when you don't have all the pieces of their life story. It was also exciting to see Rose Rita, and Mrs. Jaeger coming together to thicken and enrich the plot. The only criticism is that there's not much of an epilogue at the end of this story.

I have reviewed this book as 8. It was a great book but it needed a better ending. Rose Rita and Lewis go searching through a sealed up opera house when Lewis finds a lost piece of Music. Little did he know he was bring a evil ghost back to life to try to take over the world.

"Doom of the Haunted Opera" is one of my favorite books by John Bellairs/Brad Strickland, a good mix of spookiness, humor, supernatural megalomania, and a dash of real human fears. Lewis Barnavelt and Rose Rita Pottinger are at their best here.

Jonathan Barnavelt receives the news that a friend -- another wizard -- has recently died, and posthumously asks that Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmermann take care of his old magical objects. The two leave New Zebedee, and Rose Rita and Lewis are left to their own devices. They explore an old opera house and find a crumbling old opera called "Day of Doom," by Immanuel Vanderhelm. As Lewis finds the opera, he sees a ghostly dead man who calls out "Beware the doom of the haunted opera! He means to be King of the Dead!"

Then a strange man appears in the town, claiming to Vanderhelm's grandson. He means to put on as performance of the opera, and at first everything appears to be all right. But soon all the adults in the town are enamored -- and enspelled -- by Henry Vanderhelm, communications with the outside world are cut off, wizards are locked in their houses, and Lewis sees a tomb statue come alive in the graveyard. With the help of a well-meaning ghost and a grandmotherly witch, can Rose Rita and Lewis hope to stop the raising of the dead?

Anyone who has suffered through a badly-performed opera will enjoy the idea of one being a necromancer's spell. The imaginative plot base is only one of the appealing things about "Doom." The incredibly grim and tense plot is leavened by humor, such as Jailbird the whistling cat and Finster, a ghost who inadvertantly freaks out Lewis with ghostly intonations, then makes himself sound more friendly. Aside from the usual fears of evil sorcerers, there is also the chilling fact that the capable adults are not present throughout much of the book -- we get to see how Lewis and Rose Rita can try to handle the situation on their own. Any kid who has had to deal with a crisis on their own can relate to the fear and frustration of the heroes in this book.

Lewis is, as always, a sweet timid boy who has more guts than he knows. Rose Rita is his equal friend (she can't really be classified as a sidekick) who has to take matters into her own hands when Lewis vanishes. Mrs. Jaeger is a little too vague to be entirely believable, but the idea of an absent-minded grandmotherly witch is a nice one. The deceased Finster is a good source for plot-related info, and mildly amusing as well. And Vanderhelm is an outstandingly sinister villain.

Full of the funny and the spooky, this is a first-rate thriller for fans of fantasy, horror, and John Bellairs. Excellent read.

I know since everyone else gave this book 5 stars and I'm given it 1, I'm going to get a lot of unhelpful votes, but be that as it may, I feel like I should offer my opinion on this book. By the way, this book did not shock or "horrify" me.

The back cover of it sounding pretty good, but upon reading and completing the book I was extremely disappointed. This book is filled with ridiculously trite cliches, and the writing is simply abominable. I think this book is trying to make a hero of the killer, because all the men she kills and tortures are complete and utter slime. I find it interesting that she never once happened to take home a genuinely nice guy, that all the charming men she picks up in the bars all happen to turn out to be scum-of-the-world evil.

Aside from that, we have our usual cast of idiots. The flaky poet type is lampooned, the feminist woman who's the victim of a child molester who is typically paint-by-numbers, another atypical molestation victim who calls out for "Daddy" every two seconds, and a tough, gritty cop. Why is it that every book that has a girl molested by her father must repeat the phrase "Daddy" incessantly? It's a cheap, mawkish, and maudlin way to underscore the idea of innocence lost.

The book tries to put a spin on the tough-as-nails cop by making him gay, but this seems more like an afterthought than anything. And nothing can save the plot, which is predictable.

The writing is the worst part. Not to be mean, because I know writing is difficult, the way this book is put out and paced reminds me of an R. L. Stine book. It's a pretty immature work.

On the upside, the best character is a pimp whose character may throw you a curveball.

My recommendation is to not read this book.

Kathleen, contributing self-help columnist of '90s Woman magazine and admired voice speaking to women everywhere, finds that life hasn't quite been what she expected. Visions of her Uncle Sammy's exploitation of her from the tender age of 9 until she was 18 have taken their toll on her psyche, and the scars, though dulled by coping mechanisms, still nest within her mind. Now, however, she feels that she has purpose, that the mail is some sort of lifeline to the outside and that she is actually accomplishing something, and that her degree in sociology is being put to good use. So, in a sense, she is happy. So what if she has a low self-image, finding herself too overweight to be loved, and so what if she's never truly experienced what she would call being enamored. Her column, it gives her something to be, something meaning, and so she has a reason to want to do something. One day, however, an event changes the way she perceives things, making Kathleen contemplate a route filled with communion with a voice that is, amongst other things, a psychopath. Yes, amongst the other mailings she's received she finds a 6 x 9 manila envelope with a letter asking her if she'd 'like to write my story' and another article, one all too human.

Haled by many to be an American Psycho without the cosmetics of apparel nametags and one that is more direct to the punchline, this book was something I looked forward to and I found intoxicating as I delved deeper and deeper into it. The book, it was exclaimed to be shocking, and some of the use of description, of crafting a character that had motivation and yet went past that to inflict oceans of pain, it was indeed that. Still, after finishing it, I found some problems in the way it had been showcased. While I do agree with the fact that this read is indeed a disturbing reach into a mind where medical utensils touch base with human organs and where revenge is a dish served by vengeful hands, I do not agree with this being another American Psycho. This isn't because I think one book is more valuable than the other, or that I found this to be lacking in some right. Instead, I say this because the work stands on its own and the book understands more of the symptomology of the affliction and not the monster itself. It looks outside the mind of the beast and addresses what the thing with the need to kill means to other people.

In Portrait of the Psychopath as a Young Woman, shock/ rather talented gore creator Edward Lee and storehouse of serial killer expertise Elizabeth Steffen team up and craft a tale of horrific deeds that focus, as the name implies, upon an attract yet insane young woman. Through expert use of description and an impressive knowledge of medical utensils, this rather attractive young woman is given a gift that speaks through tomes of blood and that wants to be heard, that needs to be heard. Still, she isn't the only persona explored within this experience. Enter our other 'main' character, Kathleen, and yet more impressively crafted characterization, her poet boyfriend and his reasons to be, the police officer that seeks to end this, and a drove of other voices that don't just 'appear' and speak. Herein is one of the main reasons I found this adventure into terror interesting because it goes past the gore and the terror and it seeks to make people out of simply notions. This, by and far, goes a long way in the progression of a tale, making people that feel like people and not like hollow things going through the prospective rounds.

Before recommending this, I feel I need to stress that this tale is a graphic piece and not one to be taken lightly. The things that the killer does with medical sheers, needles, bonesaws, and other random articles that sound painful without even being used that are quite terrible and quite wonderful to those looking for more. Here, many people would find themselves disturbed, and rightfully so. This is one of Edward Lee's talents, to make something that seethes and that seeks to maim, and Steffen is worthy of collaboration and her hands on the story can be felt. So, it has a voice and a hammer that impacts the senses. For fans of Edward's work, people looking to see what is lurks in the realms of pain, or someone simply wanting an object lesson into the motivations of a psychopath, this would be something easily recommended and highly praised. Me, I've read many things but few make me cringe and some of this one did just that. Honestly, that is commendable and most deserving of my horror-laden five stars.

Wow! This has to be one of the best horrors I've read for quite a while. Nothing is spared, the killer so chilling and perfect. I liked every character, every change through the chapters, the pace of the plot. Edward Lee took great pains to learn about medical instruments and he must have studied at length on the male human body. I'm still reeling from the impact. Yes, it is very graphic and shocking, but that's the whole reason of reading this type of horror. The only one negative I can comment on is - I'm not sure whether I'll read another Lee book again, it may be disappointing after this wild ride. Utterly brilliant.

Mystery of Melissa's First Date was very predictible. Although the author did manage to crasp the lingo of the teenagers, the storyline has been told and retold many times in the form of vampires. This foe did not suck the blood from his victims but did take vital parts from "pretty young girls".
I enjoyed the humor and detective skills on the Oriental teenager and can see her being a big part of the next book in the series.

Three of my friends, two are 11, one is 12 and I am 12, play out the characters in this book. We enjoy becoming May or Melissa and pretending to go through the day "in character." It is lots of fun. But we are disappointed that the second installment of this series has not yet been published. The four of us immensely enjoyed this book and think that other girls our ages will also. It is a fun and scary book. I also think it should be in the cinema.

One of the things I liked about The Mystery of Melissa's First Date is that it is realistic as far as the real aspects of the story go. I am a 14 year old girl and I can relate to the things that were spoken in this book. I can see girls saying and doing the things that these characters do. The story keeps you guessing right up to the end about what is going to happen to Melissa. I read a lot and have told several of my friends about it. They are going to order it too. I think this story would make a great movie. I'd love to go see it - maybe on my first date!

In this book Mr. Eager introduces us to James, Laura, Kip, Lydia, Deborah and Gordy....not to mention the magic of the wishing well. In this book James and Laura have just moved to the country from New York. They are both excited about this move. A move to the country, for them, signals the beginning of adventure. They find adventure, too, when Lydia suggests to Laura to make a wish upon the well in hers' and James' new backyard. Some of the good deed adventures in this book are exciting, some are not; however, interesting insight is offered into each character-which will come in handy when reading "The Well Wishers", the sequel.

I love all of Eager's books. "Magic or Not" and "The Well Wishers" differ from his other five books in that the magic is less overt. It might be magic, it might be imagination, or ???? This book introduces readers to the joys that a love of the past can offer. The mystery centers on an abandoned house--who lived there? Why did they leave? The children are realistic, and you'll want to eat Lady Baltimore cake after reading this book. I read it at 8 and checked it out again and again just so I could keep it on my bookshelf. I'm happy today to own that original hardcover (the same one I checked out 30 years ago) as well as one of the newer paperback editions. The illustrations are great too.

WhenI started this book it took a while to get through the fist couple of pages. This part didn't grab my intrest that well. As I went on through the book, it began to get more and more intresting to me. Magic Or Not is one of the great adventures written by Edward Eager.