Annie survives a harrowing float on a flooded river, is marooned on a tropical island with Cap'n Spike Marlin, nearly dies from fever and is rescued by "Daddy", who later is embezzled out of his fortune. Annie, Sandy and "Daddy" are broke and in desperate straits as the Great Depression takes hold, and "Daddy" is blinded as a result of a truck accident. He decides Annie is better off without him, a blind pauper, and indeed Annie does rise to the occasion, as always. She not only becomes a successful partner in Jake's grocery store, she finds and takes on the care of a toddler whom she names Cleopatra. When Pat turns out to be the kidnapped offspring of a wealthy couple, Annie succeeds in bringing the kidnappers to justice, just in time for a happy resolution. All the familiar themes and values that Harold Gray repeats to fine effect are here, and there's even Annie's first (and only?) experience with young love as a neighborhood boy, Itchie, develops a crush on her. ( )

Lovely. This one has Annie in Blunderville and making an enemy out of a sneaky city boy, framed and sent to the county farm, and running away. Washed downriver in a flood, picked up by a sailorman and marooned on a desert island - and Daddy close behind but always missing her. Found, but Warbucks has ignored his business too long and he's broke. It's a big hit to his self-esteem - when Annie finds a job and he can't, he leaves so she doesn't have to support him. Gets a job, gets in an accident, and goes blind. Meanwhile Annie's doing pretty well - hooks up with Jake and helps him expand his shop, and finds a child left in her hallway and decides to raise her. The child, Pat, gets sick, and Annie picks a good doctor for her - Dr. Lens - who ends up taking both of them in so that Pat can be healthy. Turns out Pat was kidnapped and the kidnappers try to get her back - Annie fixes their wagon but Pat goes back to her real parents. Meanwhile Warbucks has been shaken out of his funk by Flophouse Bill and the two of them have built up a business, in the process wiping out the guy who made Warbucks go broke in the first place. Annie finds him again (he's been ducking her because of his blindness), and convinces him to consult Dr. Lens, who it turns out has been researching exactly this problem. Operation goes badly, but is eventually a success - all's well. The foreword is about Annie as a forerunner in the women's rights movement - not convincing, to my mind. And wasn't Eonite before this? Warbucks was down-and-out then - check the books. Ah, no, Eonite's later - '34, and this book ends in early '31. OK. ( )