Renting a lighthouse is unusual, but even more so is an unfriendly boy’s peculiar behavior.
You know what’s even more unusual? Traveling home from The Woodshed Mystery, seeing a lighthouse for sale on the side of the road and deciding that your grandfather should buy it. And knowing that he totally could1.
Luckily (?), it’s already been sold, so instead they just rent it. And of course find a mystery in the night which even to my five year old wasn’t that much of a surprise. But it’s still an engaging story and a new settings, so that’s cool. And the idea of using concrete and rocks to make natural beach chairs is one I may have to steal (albeit sadly without the beach)2.
They also sort of force themselves into the grumpy family, whether they want it or not. But it all ends up well in the end because friendship.
And hey. It has a lighthouse!
It’s a fun enough story, par for the course for the Boxcar Children. My children enjoyed it at least.