HAPPY 550TH BOOK REVIEW!
To celebrate this momentous occasion, I present to you the thrilling conclusion to Margaret Peterson Haddix’s “Mysteries of Trash & Treasure” series.
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! Read Books 1 and 2 before reading Book 3
Colin has spent all summer solving mysteries with his friend Nevaeh. But they’ve only ever dealt with other people’s mysteries—ones that are safe for Colin to think about. He’s still stuck on the mystery surrounding his own father, who his mother refuses to talk about and he can’t remember meeting.
Then, one morning, Colin finds a shoebox on his porch with a note on top: “Your father wanted you to have this.” Inside the box is a key. This new clue makes Colin even more determined to discover the truth about his dad and why his parents split up when he was a baby. Colin and Nevaeh begin investigating Colin’s father in a quest that takes them from eerie storage units to lock-lined bridges to, strangely, secrets in Nevaeh’s family.
But the closer they get to connecting the clues, the more trouble awaits them. A serious accident leaves Nevaeh’s family reeling—and Nevaeh is racked with guilt. And digging into Colin’s father’s past may lead Colin and his mom into even more danger. Can Colin and Nevaeh solve the mystery before it’s too late?
This time, the mystery is personal.
Colin’s dad has been a mystery since Book 1. Since the very beginning, Colin’s dad has not been in the picture. Colin’s mom has made the dad out to be the bad guy, and anytime Colin or anyone else asks her about her ex-husband, she shuts them down. In Book 2, we learn that Colin’s father died. Colin doesn’t take it so well, and Colin’s mother still won’t say anything.
We finally get the answer to what Colin’s dad did that was so terrible. After learning what Colin’s dad did, I understand why his mom kept it a secret for so long. It is not an easy conversation to have with your kid. But what gets me is that after some information is revealed, his mom still won’t tell Colin anything! She’s making it seem like they might be in danger, and she gives no explanation! For Pete’s sake, lady! Talk to your kid!
Quoting Nevaeh, “What is it with adults always thinking kids shouldn’t know anything?”
I’ve noticed this concept is in many middle-grade novels. The parents keep a humongous secret from their kids to ‘protect them,’ and the kids end up taking matters into their own hands, searching for the answers themselves, and end up getting hurt or put in danger along the way. This is why you shouldn’t withhold vital information from your kids.
So many problems could have easily been solved if everyone had sat down and talked. It would’ve been a difficult and uncomfortable conversation, but it would have cleared up things so much quicker.
It was hard to keep track of ‘who knows what’ and ‘who’s keeping a secret from whom’ and ‘does he know that she knows that he knows.’
Overall, this was a thrilling conclusion to a wonderful mystery trilogy. I’m sad that the series is over. I was really hoping it would continue. But all good things must come to an end. This series truly is a treasure.