I fell in love with Trixie Belden books when I was six years old, at my grandparents' farm. These books always bring me back to memories of the farm, safety, love, exploration, adventures, and joy. These are my touchstone books, ones that shaped me as a reader and a person. I looked up to Trixie, as she was adventurous and courageous, as well as kind and compassionate.

As an adult, I see the problematic aspects of the texts. Adults can talk with children about these aspects.

Some of the language was changed in this reprinting, to make it fit more with today's youth. I am sure that those children who are drawn to adventures, mysteries, farms, and old-fashioned books will enjoy this and the other books in the series.

Some of my fondest memories are when I read these books while cuddling with my beloved grandparents in my favorite place. I will always adore these books, despite the stereotypes and prejudices in them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC! This brought back so many delightful memories.

Trixie Belden is intrigued by many things in life, but right now it’s the mysterious mansion owned by the recluse Mr. Frayne and her new neighbor at another nearby estate. Trixie quickly becomes friends with her new neighbor, Honey, and they begin exploring the area. Since Mr. Frayne is in the hospital, they risk exploring his decaying home and discover a red-headed boy camping out. Soon, all three kids are looking for the alleged fortune Mr. Frayne hid on his property, but danger lurks from all sides.

I enjoyed “Trixie Belden: The Secret of the Mansion,” first published in 1948. Trixie helps out with chores around the house and watches her baby brother. She wanders the neighborhood. She wears dungarees. She has a life of freedom that is often not granted to children today. There’s a certain magic to the story as it explores the life of a young girl in a more innocent time. The original illustrations are sprinkled throughout the book.

Since the story has not been updated, I am not sure who the intended audience is. Today’s upper elementary or middle school students may have a difficult time understanding that, yes, back in the day, kids could: attend a sleepover at a home where the parents had not met each other, have a nanny that managed their day-to-day lives, have multiple horses and a stablemaster, wander about the countryside without adult supervision, etc.

This would be a great story for exploring American life during the late 1940s and into the 1950s. Does “Trixie Belden: The Secret of the Mansion” provide an accurate or more idealized version of middle class life through Trixie’s eyes? It would also be fun to have students create an updated version of Trixie and her adventures.

This story is great for readers who understand this is historical fiction and not a contemporary story.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Random House Children’s|Random House Books for Young Readers, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Julie Campbell for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Secret of the Mansion: Trixie Belden coming out June 3, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is an old book, but I wanted to check it out. I think it was fun. It felt a little like an 80s Nancy Drew. I would definitely read more books in the series. It felt nostalgic.

Trixie Belden is back again. Originally written in 1948, this story returns the reader to an earlier time.

Thirteen-year-old Trixie is looking forward to a boring summer with her two older brothers away at camp. But things turn around quickly when poor little rich girl Honey Wheeler moves into the mansion next door to the Belden's modest home.

The two girls become fast friends as Trixie teaches Honey how to ride a bike and Honey's stable man teaches Trixie how to ride a horse. The girls have a couple of accidents as each falls from her new form of transportation, but they also enjoy exploring and swimming and boating and hanging out together.

The two girls also explore the decrepit mansion next door when old Mr. Frayne is taken to the hospital with pneumonia. They discover that fifteen-year-old Jim Frayne has taken refuge in the home after running away from a stepfather who is constantly beating him. Rumor has it that old Mr. Frayne has hidden a fortune in the mansion. The kids explore but don't find money. They do find an old bible with a will inside confirming that Jim is Mr. Frayne's heir but that doesn't solve the problem of the stepfather determined to control Jim and Jim's money.

I enjoyed this sweet story complete with the original illustrations. I enjoyed the growing friendships among the kids and the age-appropriate mystery.

I requested this book because I was and am an avid Nancy Drew fan and this seemed to me to be right up that alley. Although it was less mystery and more adventure I would say I still enjoyed the book! I do wish there was a little more solving of the mystery, but there were secret hiding places, money in a mattress, a bad guy, runaway horses, and a dog that jumped out a window.
This is a great book for a young child who wants to dip their toes into mysteries and adventures! The language is still original from the first publishing which can be a bit odd to read at first, but everything was easy to decipher and understand for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Childrens for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Just like my beloved Nancy Drew Mysteries, I have a soft spot for Trixie Belden, too. The series is being relaunched after being out of print for years. While I am happy that a new generation will get to know Trixie and her best friend, Honey, I do not like the new cover art. The kids look so much younger that twelve years old. However, I do appreciate that all of the interior illustrations from the original editions are included in this updated book.

Trixie is a much more relatable character than Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. She’s got plenty of chores to do, including working in the family garden, babysitting her younger brother, and in general, doing stuff that may leave some newer readers scratching their heads. For someone like me, I, too, had to help in the garden, but not every day, and not for an hour. I can’t imagine leaving my toddler in the hands of a 12-year-old.

However, I really appreciated that Trixie could wander around the neighborhood with Honey and explore the mansion near her house. With a mystery to solve, Trixie, Honey, and their new friend, Jim, try to get to the bottom of the mystery of the vacant house.

Surprisingly, this book holds up well over the test of time. I’m so glad that Trixie and her family and gang of friends is back for another generation to enjoy!

I have never read anything by this author, but I will be looking out for other books they write in the future. I really enjoyed the story as well as the pacing of the story.

E ARC Provided by Netgalley

Trixie lives with her parents and brothers on Crabapple Farm near Sleepyside. She desperately wants a horse, but her mother says the family finances won't stretch that far, not do they allow her to go to camp, although her older brothers do. To occupy herself, she takes care of her younger brother Bobby. She also meets a new neighbor, Honey Wheeler, whose famiky is so wealthy that they worry about her being kidnapped. This doesn't stop the girls from snooping around Mr. Frayne's house after the 82 year old collapses and has to go to the hospital. In the house, they find Jim, who is fifteen and has run away from home and his stepfather, Jonesy. He hopes that he can live with Frayne, who is his uncle. If he can't, he will get a job on a cattle boat, because he is not about to go back home. The girls hope they can help him find the will, but when Mr. Frayne dies, Jim is afraid to contact the authorities. There are a number of other complications, including a pilot who parachutes into the area, leaving Bobby unattended at the sea shore, and Frayne's house being set on fire. The girls manage to pull a mattress out of the house, which ends up being stuffed with Frayne's purported treasure. Jim leaves, and is content to let everyone think he has died, but when the girls find out that he has been left a half a million dolllars in a trust, they think about going to look for him.
Strengths: This is an excellent example of books that were popular at this time, and I can see why Trixie is one of the enduring characters of teen literature. She has a lot more spunk than a lotof the vintage characters I've come across, and is willing to take a lot of risks. There's a lot of action, and some real danger; Bobby gets bitten by a snake, Trixie hits her head in the water, a ladder falls on Jim. Sure, kids back in the day were allowed to go out and have adventures, but we never seem to mention that people actually got hurt while on them! also, back in the day, people apparently left diamond rings lying about a lot more than they do now. The Belden books were published by Whitman Publishing, so I doubt that many of them survive; they were generally had paper over board covers and highly acidic paper, so fell apart very easily. I did appreciate that the original illustrations were included.
Weaknesses: This had a very Scooby-Doo quality to it, but without the fake ghosts. By modern standards, it's not very believable, or even very good. Since this book was originally published in 1948, Trixie was roughly the age of my mother, who would be 91 if she were still alive. It's hard enough to get children to read titles from the 1990s, since it is "the last century" to them!
What I really think: I collect vintage teen literature, but hadn't read a Trixie Belden title before. This series has been reprinted countless times, so it's not in any danger of being lost to time just yet. This was interesting to read, but I don't think I can justify buying it for my middle school library.

I do, however, sort of want to do a deep dive into all of Julia Campbell's work, especially the Cherry Ames titles that she wrote. My cousin had some of the books, but I was never allowed to read them.

This was a strong start to the Trixie Belden, Girl Detective series, it had that element that I would look for in this type of book and was glad everything flowed together with the mystery setting. I was engaged with what was happening and wanting to solve what was going on. Julie Campbell has a great writing style and was glad it was so well done. It left me wanting to read more in this series as this was really well done.

4 stars

A reissue of book number one in this popular series; it was originally published in 1948. I’ve probably read this particular book at least six times and I’m glad to see the Bob Whites being introduced to new audiences. This features only Trixie and her meeting Honey, who has moved into the Manor House, and Jim who has run away from home and is hiding out at Old Man Frayne’s house. This is a nice introduction to the series and is really a “to be continued” story with book two. Plus no good parties or trips in this one but there are lots of characters to meet.

I loved the Trixie Belden books!

The cover, and the current publishing date led me to suspect that this might be a graphic novel edition. I must not have read closely enough, because this is the original Trixie Belden story, complete with illustrations from the 1940s. However, as I began reading and became engrossed in the Sleepyside village and Trixie and Honey's adventures, it reminded me of how Nancy Drew books from the 1930s still have current appeal for today's readers. The dialogue is antiquated, and some of the mannerisms or expectations are dated. But it provides a fun time capsule for children to read about a tomboy who lives in the country and befriends a wealthy "poor little rich girl" who has never experienced some of the joys of childhood.

I know my 10-year-old self would have loved the Trixie Belden books. I would recommend reading it for the characters and atmosphere than the mystery. It is more interesting to read about their adventures and when the mystery is finally solved, it just means a happy ending for all.

I recommend this book for schools.

The secret of the mansion is a good clean book. In the style of the hardy boys and Nancy drew, it is a story about youngsters and their explorations around their properties. This book has lots of lessons of empathy, courage, and teamwork and parents will have no problems with letting their children read this book or the series.

I loved reading Trixie Belden books when I was growing up. I am excited to see they are reviving her for the next generation. I will recommend these books to my students, especially those that like to read Nancy Drew ( yes, I still have students that will read these!).

I have fond memories of devouring my Mom's old copies of these books from the 1960's. I enjoyed them so much as a child and am thrilled that a new generation will now be able to read this beloved series in a new edition with brand new cover art. I have a feeling these will fly off the shelves.

"The Secret of the Mansion" is the first in the Trixie Belden middle grade mystery series which was originally published in 1948. For this edition, the cover is updated to an almost graphic novel illustrated image (which made me think at first that it was an updated reboot as a graphic novel series). Trixie is a young teenager who is earning money by babysitting her little brother. When her grumpy old neighbor ends up in the hospital, she thinks it's the perfect time to search for the hidden treasure that people have been talking about for years. A new neighbor, Honey, a girl Trixie's age moves in and Trixie convinces her to search with her, even though Honey is a bit more nervous and scared.
The novel is fairly dated which makes sense since it was written in the late 40s. Some of the information about how to treat a snakebite has been debunked (don't use a tourniquet and suck out the poison), but the story itself is fine and readers who enjoy Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys will probably enjoy this series as well. This book felt a bit slow in the mystery department, but that could also be since it is the first in the series and fleshing out the character of Trixie. A suggested purchase for middle grade collections where Nancy Drew is still very popular.