Secrets in the Hills: A Josefina Mystery

American Girl Mysteries

by Kathleen Ernst, Jean-Paul Tibbles (Illustrator)

Josefina has heard tales and legends all her life: rumors of gold and silver buried in the hills, tales of a ghostly Weeping Woman who haunts the countryside. But she never imagined that such tales might be true--until one day a mysterious stranger arrives at her rancho. Set in New Mexico in 1826.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Historical, Juvenile

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2006

About the author

I grew up in Maryland, in a house full of books! Both of my parents were avid readers, thank goodness. Before we traveled to a new area, my librarian-mom used to bring home historical novels set in that place. It was a great way to get excited about history.

I began writing stories when I was maybe 10 or 11. At 15 I wrote my first novel; I sold my first novel to a publisher 20 years later! Writing was my hobby, so during those two decades I just kept practicing, reading, writing some more. What a thrill to finally hold my first book in my hand! Still, I write because I enjoy the process (at least most of the time).

For years I wrote while working at other day jobs. I spent 12 years working at a huge historic site, which was a perfect spot for someone interested in historical fiction. I also developed and scripted instructional videos for public television. Finally, though, it got to be too much to juggle. I now write full-time, and consider myself enormously fortunate to do something I love.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The great AG marathon continues. Reading this for the first time as an adult.

I like how many things get woven together in this one – there’s the treasure map and the ghost that make up the mystery elements of this mystery, but there’s also the americano who might set up shop in Santa Fe, the new girl in the village who seems so sad, Francisca’s preoccupations, and the old lady Josefina is struggling to help in Tía Magdalena’s absence. All together, they give us a very rich picture of Josefina’s world and her relationships, delivering both a great Josefina story and a great AG mystery. By comparison:

- Although of course this builds on the foundation of Josefina’s core series, arguably some of her original six books don’t color with the richness of this one.

- Though I’m only four books into the AG mystery collection, this is the first one I've read that uses the character’s normal home as the setting, which I think makes it easier for Ernst to set up so many subplots. We already know most of these characters, and since we’re not looking for spies, traitors or jewel thieves, there’s no need for a host of new people who might have dunnit.

Everything converges at the end in a way that is undeniably satisfying, though there are a couple of elements that were less smoothly woven in:
 
- Soledad was clearly part of the puzzle, she stood out too much, and was an easy candidate for the ghost early, early on.

- Doña Felicitas having the other half of the map tucked away is stunningly convenient.

- I’m not entirely sold on Francisca and Roger Rexford as a serious couple – let’s see them together a bit more. Francisca hating to work has been a thread through the whole Josefina series. I’m happy to see her mature… I just want to see it before I believe it.
 
Josefina’s efforts to become a healer, or curandera, are central here: Tía Magdalena is actively teaching her how to harvest medicinal herbs and how to use them. It’s lovely to see this plot point from Birthday continued and developed. Josefina is sometimes uncertain in her new knowledge, but it’s also clear that she is learning a lot, and is increasingly able to help people.
 
Her emotional intelligence, also previously established, is key here – and I think this is an area where she is stronger than most AG protagonists. Josefina figures out Soledad’s story from the subtlest of hints, and she quickly finds a way to cheer up Doña Felicitas when she remembers ALL the parts of Tia Magdalena’s advice. I also loved the note she strikes in her last conversation with Teresita: it’s a very mature blending of “I’m so sorry that happened to you” with “I’m glad you’re here with us.”

One of my lingering questions about about Josefina’s world comes up again in this book: the repeated phrasing “sold as servants” with regard to captured people. Are we avoiding the word “slaves” because this situation has significant differences from the system of slavery practiced in the American South at this time? The details I want to know, and which aren’t clear are: (1) if you’re “sold as a servant,” are you being compensated for your labor? And (2) are you free to leave? Because if not, the word we want is not “servant.” Research required.


More Josefina babble

Meet Josefina | Josefina Learns a Lesson | Josefina’s Surprise | Happy Birthday, Josefina | Josefina Saves the Day | Changes for Josefina

A Reward for Josefina | Again, Josefina! | Josefina’s Song | Just Josefina | Thanks to Josefina | Josefina’s Short Story Collection

Secrets in the Hills | The Glowing Hearts

[Miri · Rating 4 out of 5]

An American Girl Josefina mystery.

Josefina is learning to be a curandera from Tia Magdelena, but these lessons are taking her away from her work at home and causing a rift between her and Francisca. Josefina will have to prove herself while Tia Magdalena is away by trying to bring comfort to the old widow Dona Felicitas, and that is no easy task. Francisca is also very unhappy lately because she is in love with a rich young man and fears his family will not accept her.

One day an Americano arrives at the family rancho with a wounded man. The Americano is a friend of Josefina's grandfather, but the injured man is hiding a secret that involves a map that Josefina believes will lead to a treasure!

Meanwhile Josefina and many village people have been hearing a woman weeping in the night and they all fear is is La Llrona the weeping woman, a ghost who walks at night grieving for her lost children. Josefina is determined to help Fransica find true love, discover the truth about the weeping woman, the mystery behind the mysterious map and prove herself as a curandera!

[RaspberryRoses · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was wondering how they'd make reserved Josefina solve a mystery - and I think the way they ended up doing it was fun. It's not really like there's any malicious plots or anything, which I think suits the tone of her very well. I loved how much this book seemed to follow up on the original series - we see her sister looking to get married, we see her growing into her role as a healer. It was fun!

This book... attempts, I suppose, to touch upon the labor situation/actually discuss captive servant's. But I don't think it really goes far enough.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

For several years, this was one of two American Girl books that I owned. The spine itself is a fixture of my childhood from all the years that it sat on my bookshelf, and even though I have now invested in almost the entire American Girl series, this still has a special place in my heart.

The multi-layered mystery is just as good as I remembered from when I was a child, and even though the author cannot possibly address all of the complex social and ethical issues involved in Spanish colonization, this book deals well with harsh historical realities, educating children about indigenous uprisings, colonizers' violence, and slavery among both Spanish settlers and indigenous tribes. The detailed historical note provides even more information about this.

The treasure-hunting mystery is very engaging, and had lots of interesting twists and turns that I didn't remember. However, my favorite part of the book is still the love story for Francisca, once of Josefina's older sisters. Even though I got confused over time and thought that this story was part of the original Josefina series, I vividly remembered it, and when it wasn't in the earlier six books, I realized that it must have been part of this novel-length continuation.

Indeed, it was! I knew that I couldn't have imagined the whole thing, and really enjoyed revisiting this sweet, authentic portrayal of an inter-racial, inter-cultural relationship. It's so cute, and it's so well-done, and even though I was not a big fan of romance when I originally read this, it was a highlight of the book and made a huge impression on me. I really enjoyed reading about it again.

[Jessica Kuznicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better AG mysteries. I love how Josefina's relationships develop further and go deeper. Her striving to be a good healer and help everuone around her is good, but then she has nothing left to be enjoy being a child herself. She's too busy healing sick people and finding the treasure to enjoy being a kid. The treasure hunting thing is very cool and interesting and I love how it connects with Dona Felicitas. Josefina herself doesn't seem quite shy enough. She seemed a little too outspoken around strangers here to be herself. I also wish we could have seen more of Francisca and Roger together, that seemed random and out of the blue, I wanted to see more hints of their serious relationship along the way. A big problem is the captured servants like Teresita and Soledad. Are they servants or are they slaves? It needs more explaination.

[Theresa F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 'mystery' in the book actually evolves into a series of several, smaller mysteries that are all more or less resolved by the end of the story. And the writing contains many, small details that teach readers about the history of the time and place.
Did I like it? Yes.
Would I reread it? Maybe.
Would I recommend it? Yes.

[K H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josefina is the best and I would do anything for her.
I love the lessons that she learns in this book and I'm so glad that she gets to celebrate several victories with her friends and family. Not enough Clara in this book. Also I'm glad that they delve into Teresita's story, but I needed to know even more.

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes it’s technically May but I’m considering this an April read because I haven’t gone to bed yet.
Anyways this ended so adorably. I love that Francisca found what she wanted and the treasure was more than just gold and silver. Josefina grows a lot as a character and a curandera (healer). I’ve always loved the use of various Spanish words in Josefina’s stories

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Challenges: RRRCs May 2019 - May 5th Hispanic character (5), and, Middle Grade May. Josefina learns that to be a curandera requires more that a good memory and hard work. The results are that she helps others to heal within the whole context of life events.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This kept all my children engaged and was a quick read for us. Although I initially had to hear all the groans of 'another girl book', they enjoyed it probably because it had a mystery and a hidden treasure in it.

[Breanna Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best American Girl mysteries I've read.

[Katie]

I loved reading this book! It was so hard to put down.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cute!

[spookwrite · Rating 4 out of 5]

colonialism, but make it white savior

[Ciara · Rating 3 out of 5]

one day an american shows up at josefina's rancho with an injured man. the injured man has an infected cut on his leg & is all feverish & babbling. josefina's family sets him up in a spre room & josefina utilizes some of what she is learning from her godmother (she wants to be a healer) to treat the infection.

the american explains that he came to santa fe as a trader from missouri but is now hoping to start his own business making custom saddles. he wants to marry the best of american-style saddles with the best of mexican-style, & josefina's abuelito has agreed to enter into a business partnership with him. he has come to josefina's rancho to ask mr. montoya to help facilitate introductions with some of the other ranch dudes in the area.

while josefina is shaking out the injured man's serape, she finds a scrap of paper that looks like a treasure map. it seems to indicate a few landmarks in the desert around josefina's rancho. josefina has long heard stories about people burying their treasures in the desert while fleeing the pueblo uprising in the late 1600s, but now she starts wondering if some of the stories might be true. josefina thinks that she would love to find treasure so that she can buy her sister francisca a pretty necklace & shawl. francisca has a crush on a wealthy young man in santa fe but feels that his parents won't approve of their match because francisca doesn't have as much money as they do. she thinks nicer clothes & accessories will impress the boys family enough to allow a courtship.

josefina's ministrations help the injured man, pedro zamora, recover. when he's better, he asks josefina about the map. she confesses that she saw it. he explains its origin: apparently it has been in his family for a long time, since the pueblo uprising. mr. zamora thinks it may have been written by an ancestor of his, a soldier, who had traveled to the santa fe area with his brother, a priest. they fled the uprising & the soldier, who was employed guarding wagon trains loaded with silver & gold, may have hidden a treasure in the desert. he died before he could travel north again to look for it. mr. zamora is determined to find it, & josefina is determined to help him.

meanwhile, josefina is also helping an old woman in the nearby village. she has arthritis & is sick a lot. she tells long rambling stories about her youth & no teas or tinctures josefina prepares seems to help her at all. eventually josefina realizes that the old woman may simply be lonely, & so josefina encourages the old woman to tell her stories. this is how josefina leans that the old woman is in possession of something that rather resembles a treasure map, but with far more words that symbols. josefina realizes that the old woman's map may be the same as mr. zamora's map--that it was torn in two by the priest & the soldier so that no one else would find the treasure if one of them was killed or captured on the trip back to mexico city. she asks to borrow the map & then sets off into the desert to find mr. zamora & put the map together.

josefina's hunch was correct & working with two employees of the rancho, they are able to find the "treasure". it ends up being not a bag of gold, but an ornate golden cross spirited away from the village church during the uprising. the group returns the cross to the church. the old woman feels much better since josefina has listened to her stories. mr. zamora is satisfied with having located the "treasure". francisca admits that she is in love with the american saddle maker, & mr. montoya gives permission for the saddle maker to court her.

oh, &! i can't believe i almost forgot this. there is a young woman in the village named soledad who is very sad because she was a cautivia--stolen from her family & forced to be a slave to the navajo. she eventually escaped & made her way home, by which point her parents had died. her aunt took her in, but cautioned her against talking about her time as a cautivia because, basically, she thought it would just bum people out. soledad feels like an outsider among her own people after spending so much time with the navajo, but she's also reluctant to return to the navajo since, you know, they enslaved her & stuff.

as it turns out, josefina's tia dolores (now her stepmother) has a cautivia of her own. as far as i can tell, she is dolores's servant (slave?). josefina facilitates an introduction between the two & they become friends, due to their shared bond of having been abducted & enslaved.

this whole storyline was a major WTF to me. i mean, it's historically accurate: people did get abducted & enslaved back in ye olden days. but it's treated so casually. & what's up with soledad's aunt being like, "don't talk about being a slave. it'll just harsh everyone's mellow"? totally weird.

[Mary Louise Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This American Girl mystery accurately portrays life in New Mexico (Nuevo Mexico)during the Mexican period. Josefina Montoya wants to be a "curandera" (healer)like her Tia Magdalena (aunt) and is learning about the medicinal values of various plants but lacks confidence in her knowledge and skill in using them. When her aunt has business in Santa Fe, Josefina is given the responsibility of caring for an older woman but then two men come unannounced to the rancho. One young man, Senor Zamora, has a leg injury and is delirious, while the other man is an an americano from Missouri, an aspiring saddle maker and Josefina's abuelo's new business partner. While Josefina and her sisters are caring for the men, Josefina shakes Senor Zamora's serape and finds what looks to be a treasure map, perhaps pointing to riches in the hills like the stories of old told about hidden Spanish treasures. Josefina's sister is now smitten with the young americano.

When Zamora heals from his infection he confides to Josefina that his ancestors, when fleeing Nueva Mexico during the Pueblo Revolt in the 1600s, may have hidden gold and silver in the hills but didn't return to reclaim their riches and now he is trying to find them.

While caring for the older woman, Josefina hears the woman's stories of colonial Spain in Nueva Mexico and she shows Josefina what looks to be part of an old treasure map. Josefina has a hunch that this map and Zamora's maps really are one map. In putting the maps together, Josefina and some employees of her father find the treasure, which is an ancient cross hidden during the revolt. Although, the cross isn't monetarily valuable, it is valuable to the villagers and they celebrate its return to the village at the feast day of San Francisco.

Another aspect of the story is an accurate account of a "cautiva's" difficulty trying to readajust to life in her Spanish community, after escaping captivity as a slave to the Navajo indians. This cautiva, Soledad, finds herself in a friendship with Josefina's family's servant, Teresita, who is also a cautiva, but as a Navajo captured by the Spanish. Other cautivas are Josefina's sister and the americano who are now captives of love and will procede with a courtship complete with Hispano traditions.

[Bmack · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is part of the American Girl series and takes place in New Mexico. It is about Josefina, a young girl who is training to become a “curandera” which is a woman who knows how to make medicine from plants to help sick people. She finds that she can help her village in a greater way than this when she meets a stranger with a mysterious map. This book was hard for me to connect with at first but about half-way through I started to enjoy it. I wish I had looked at the back and saw the glossary of Spanish terms before I finished the book!!! Girls who enjoy American Girl dolls will probably enjoy this series.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is my favorite American Girl mystery so far, mostly because I can easily share it with my middle school daughters without having to explain parts that I don't agree with philosophically. In the beginning, it seems as though there could be some spiritism, but everything is thoroughly explained in a logical way, and those ghostly references to not overpower the main mystery. While I had figured out pretty quickly what treasure might eventually be located, the methods left me guessing, and the plot kept my attention throughout. I think most middle school readers will enjoy this immensely.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Josefina American Girl Mystery

Josefina has heard tales and legends all her life: rumors of gold and silver buried in the hills, stories of a ghostly Weeping Woman who haunts the countryside. But she never imagined that such tales might be true... until the day a mysterious stranger arrives at her rancho.

Awesome story. I love reading Josefina stories. The American Girl stories are very well written. I've loved them since I was a girl and still love reading them. I hope they keep coming out with more stories!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice book. I liked all the references to Spanish and Mexico, they gave the book a more real feel. I thought Josefina was a little young to be contemplating her future so seriously, but I appreciated how close she was with her family. I would probably recommend to fans of the Josefina series.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2009...

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read: There's perhaps one too many story threads here. There's a treasure hunt and a pre-love story and Josefina struggling to find her way as a curandera and La Llorona and very briefly touching on cautivas (captured and enslaved people). I'm not sure what threads should have been jettisoned, but there just wasn't enough space to adequately address this particular form of enslavement plus an entire treasure hunt storyline. It is a good showcase for Josefina as a character, though.

[Tchipakkan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the American Girls mystery series, possibly because they are well written, but maybe a bit because the basic set of six books create a wonderful set of characters, and the challenges given these girls is age appropriate, (although it may not seem so to modern audiences)yet interesting. I love that Josephina's sisters are jealous of the time she puts in training to be a curandera, and also the story of La Llorona is a real ghost story from the area. Well done again Pleasant Company!

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Josefina mystery novel. In this story Josefina ends up on the search for buried treasure. It's not quite as cut-and-dried as that, though, since there's the problem of the Weeping Woman being around, problems with her sister, and a mysterious stranger that arrives on their ranch seeming to know about the treasure.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

See the first book in the series for a full review.

[Amanda Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please, say by God's grace one more time, I dare you. An okay addition to Josefina's set, but I really felt that Ernst didn't grasp the Josefina character and turned her into a cliche of an American Girl character, rather than the shy but vibrant girl she is.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love seeing how Josefina is growing up. We see glimmers of the kind of woman she's going to become in this story that has a great deal of mystery - but has even more heart. This is one of my favorites.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It didn’t make sense for Francisca to be antagonistic towards Josefina as in the main books, it was Clara she didn’t get along with. Also, I don’t know why they didn’t celebrate Francisca’s name day during the feast day of San Francisco.

[Carol L. Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an enjoyable story and easy to read. I learned a few things about natural medicines from plants. Josephina is a sweet character, very caring and smart. I love mysteries and that is what drew me to the book. It was well written with a fully developed plot.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nat really liked this one.