Cady has been asked by John Ray to find the connection between his relative who buried a journal before he died and the quillwork design on the cover. 'Coincidentally' this ties in with a class assignment to research boats on Lake Superior. In the process, we learn pieces of local history, and see that there is a connection between his family and hers.
We keep being told it is a mystery, and how Cady is learning how to solve mysteries, but the only real mystery is that the elders who know the answers to the questions won't tell her. It's as if she has to prove that she can be focused and put in some effort on her own....which is not a bad strategy for teaching young people, now that I think about it. Cady's friend Irish is mad at her, which is just as well since Irish is a one-dimensional character. Cady's friend John Ray is out west learning how to be traditional.
Cady learns about not judging people by appearances or by what other's say, but to look into how their life history has led them to their situation. What is unsatisfactory is how much time Cady spends not doing any research, but sitting in her room rehashing her relationships, and yet can produce an praiseworthy report in a single weekend just before the deadline.
This second book in the series doesn't read well when closely following the first. Too many of the background explanations are identical to the phrases used in the first book. This book could have used a good editor. e.g. in chapter 13 she is entrusted with a book and asked to be sure to bring it to John Ray's grandma. When she visits Grandma Eunice in chapter 14, no mention is made of the book. ( )