The Message in the Hollow Oak

The Message in the Hollow Oak by Carolyn Keene (1935) After that last Nancy Drew book bummed me out, I decided not to read them in order, and I only picked this one up because I started another kids’ book about hiding something in an old oak tree. Plus, it seemed like it might be a good autumn book to read. In a contest, Nancy wins some real-estate in Canada, and once she finds out it might actually be valuable, she gets “gold fever” and is determined to visit there with her chums. A local creep starts trying to get the deed from her, and on the way to Canada there’s a huge trainwreck! Nancy’s new friend, a writer, is nearly killed—and helping her, along with another new friend—not to mention surveying her land—she’s got a lot on her plate in this one! The hollow oak business is stretched within an inch of its life. There must have been something good here, because I kept reading—it helped not being too riddled with offensive stereotypes, save maybe for the notion that Canada must be populated by like 100 people—a good percentage of them corrupt. I can live with some pretty outrageous coincidences in these kids’ books, but this one really pushes it. On the positive side, there’s a bad guy named “Buck Sawtice,” of the Yellow Dawn Company. Bess and George are along, and one of them has a pretty good line, but I can’t remember it now. Carson Drew also gets directly involved, and I’m sorry to say he’s kind of a bummer.

11.10.24