Told from the point of view of two warring siblings, this could have been an engaging first chapter book. Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house-and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw-Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend).

Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and-most serious-civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves-during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement. (Judging by the familiar-looking cover design, the publisher thinks so, too.) (Fiction. Still, fantasy readers will find a great deal to love here, and this seems a perfect choice for the younger legion of Harry Potter fans. Nesbit’s works gets overly complex as the plot reaches its climax. What begins as an old-fashioned fantasy with atmosphere and characters reminiscent of E. When Aunt Alice’s friends fall under her dangerous spell, Ben, Jennet and Aunt Alice must join with the sea folk to fight for their lives. But Aunt Alice has secrets of her own, and Jennet and Ben aren’t Whitby’s only newcomers: A suspicious woman moves to the village. For the first time in ages, Ben feels relaxed, and in his wanderings, he meets some mystical sea folk. At first, the children can’t believe their luck. In the first installment of Jarvis’s new trilogy, Ben and Jennet have bounced among foster homes because people are alarmed by Ben’s ability to see ghosts-until Alice Boston, an old woman who lives in a small seaside village called Whitby, takes them in.

The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis