School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-It's 1884, and Hattie Belle Basket lives in Kingston-on-the-Hudson with her grandmother. Hortensia Greymoor's sinking financial status is brought into sharp focus when Hattie intercepts a delinquent tax notice that she hides from her grandmother. Her grandfather had been in an insane asylum since before she was born, and died recently. When Hattie finds his encoded diary, she is sure that cracking the code can save Grandmother's house. At the same time, Hattie has been sent to "common" school where she tries to impress her fellow students by concocting a fairy-tale existence for herself in the house on the hill. Hattie appeared in two earlier books, and her adventures have moved from rip-roaring river rafting to psychological drama. Hattie is not always likable, but she is strong, imaginative, and determined. More than a mystery or a piece of historical fiction, this story also deals with honesty, friendship, and family relations.-Kathryn Kosiorek, formerly at Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Intermediate) Hattie, first met in Hill Hawk Hattie, in which she went rafting down a river dressed as a boy, needs all her characteristic resilience and bravery in her new life at her grandmother's house. With her grandmother's fortune now gone and her recently deceased grandfather rumored to have been insane, Hattie worries about her family's future. However, she makes a terrible error in judgment when she hides a tax collection notice marked "overdue" from her grandmother; she thinks she will be able to solve the problem by deciphering a coded message from her grandfather that she hopes will lead to treasure. Clever Hattie does decode the message, but in the end she must come up with more realistic ways to help. Clark delivers a taut, engaging story, balancing plot with a first-person narration that conveys Hattie's depth of emotion and her practical, problem-solving nature. Readers will look forward to the hinted-at next book as Hattie at the end attempts to take charge of the new life she faces. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Hattie's third outing (Hattie On Her Way, 2005, etc.) begins with a mystery: Does the tiny encoded book left hidden in a coat by her (possibly insane) grandfather contain the key to a hidden treasure? That treasure will be essential if her impoverished elderly grandmother is to pay the delinquent taxes on her elegant mansion. Hattie, in a mildly engaging first-person voice, relates her efforts to solve this mystery, while also struggling to fit in with her new classmates at the common (public) school. Several characters carry over from the two previous tales. The appealing and ever-so-slightly creepy cover art will draw readers in, but those expecting a suspenseful mystery will be disappointed, with the book's code too easily broken and a lack of intriguing red herrings to advance the plot. With the exception of Hattie, characters lack depth, and the late 19th-century urban atmosphere is only superficially depicted. Although able to stand alone, this story will most likely satisfy only those readers wanting to reconnect with Hattie. (Mystery. 10-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Set in the late 1800s, this sequel to Hill Hawk Hattie (2003) and Hattie on Her Way (2005) finds Hattie still living with her widowed grandmother, whose immense family pride is no longer matched by the fast-dwindling family fortune. Even readers new to Hattie's story will cheer this flawed but resourceful heroine as she tries to help her grandmother while seeking friends and an education for herself. With hints of a lost treasure, this accessible first-person narrative seems headed toward a conventional, idealized conclusion; but in the end, it takes a more realistic and more satisfying path.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2009 Booklist