The Dark Lighthouse (Jackpine Point Adventure, 4)

From School Library Journal Grade 4-6-In this fourth book in the series, the five youngsters who call themselves the Jackpine Pointers are hoping to participate in the Lighthouse Pageant. David, the narrator, is competing with Dillon for the starring role of the lighthouse keeper. Dillon gets the part and David spends most of the book contemplating vengeance against him. The friends meet a mysterious stranger who is more knowledgeable about a local tragedy than the members of the Historical Society. Who is he? What happened at the Bell Harbor Lighthouse so many years ago? These are the mysteries floating through this adventure story like driftwood on a lake. Some of them are resolved in a satisfactory manner, but others are not. The subplot about the stranger is interesting but concluded too hastily. The bits about the town's bickering committees and the ill-fated pageant are weak and distracting. The underlying theme appears to be that vengeance is better left to the Lord, but this seems more like an afterthought than a unifying theme.Rita Hunt Smith, Hershey Public Library, PA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Product description Grade 4-6-In this fourth book in the series, the five youngsters who call themselves the Jackpine Pointers are hoping to participate in the Lighthouse Pageant. David, the narrator, is competing with Dillon for the starring role of the lighthouse keeper. Dillon gets the part and David spends most of the book contemplating vengeance against him. The friends meet a mysterious stranger who is more knowledgeable about a local tragedy than the members of the Historical Society. Who is he? What happened at the Bell Harbor Lighthouse so many years ago? These are the mysteries floating through this adventure story like driftwood on a lake.