Children's Review: The Hidden Gallery (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book II)

{on Goodreads}

Maryrose Wood's The Hidden Gallery is endearing, humorous, and entirely shrouded in mysteries about to be uncovered! This second installment in the series lives up to the first book in its lively tone, plucky characters, and looming mystery. As the blurb states, "something wicked this way comes," and it's up to Miss Penelope Lumley to get to the bottom of it, all while being a top notch governess to her three formerly wild pupils. Yes, she still has to placate them when upsetting situations have them howling at the moon, but overall Alexander, Cassopeia, and Beowulf are on their way to becoming civilized young children. When Lady Ashton has the family relocate temporarily to busy London, Penelope looks forward to taking the children on educational tours of the city. As soon as they arrive, Penelope feels overwhelmed and lost but is saved by the valiant (and handsome) Simon Harley-Dickinson, who soon becomes a close friend to her and the children. While in London, Penelope continues to search for answers regarding her long-lost parents, the strange circumstances of the children's abandonment in the woods of Ashton place, and the mysterious condition of Lord Ashton, who takes to scratching and howling when the full moon shows itself. These many enigmas are puzzling, and yet Penelope may just be close to finding some real answers.

This series is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I love the historical features of the book, as Wood is deft at subtly incorporating lessons in history, literature, and the like, while still keeping the story accessible to readers. Penelope Lumley is such a wonderful character, full of wisdom and grace and devotion to her three pupils. What I love especially about this sequel is that we start to find out more about the perplexing relationship between Penelope and the children, all while even more mysteries are being added to the plot! Definitely a must read for fans of the first. This series would make a great gift for any young voracious reader, as you really do need to read the whole series to find out all the answers!

Bottom Line Rating: 5/5

Recommended for readers age 8-12 (grades 3-7)

Title: The Hidden Gallery (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book II)

Author: Maryrose Wood

Publisher: Balzer & Bray, 2011

ISBN: 9780061791130

Price: $6.99

Format: Paperback

Source: Amazon

Book #11 of 2014

Review: Where'd You Go, Bernadette

In the running for favorite book this year!

{on Goodreads}

Where'd You Go, Bernadette is the story of fifteen-year-old Bee and her eccentric mother, Bernadette. Bee achieves perfect grades in school and claims as her reward a family trip to Antarctica. She's been studying it all year and is eager to see the vast white plains in person. Her mother agrees to the trip but realizes that such an adventure means leaving her house, a feat that she's rarely achieved since moving to Seattle. Bernadette is not like other moms; she has a virtual assistant in India run all of her errands and is uninterested in the PTA politics of her fellow private-school mothers. As the trip draws closer and Bernadette approaches a mental meltdown, the family dynamic begins to change and suddenly, Bee finds herself with a mom that's MIA. Told through e-mails, faxes, letters, and the perspective of Bee, this novel brings together themes of family, identity, and accepting people regardless of their quirks.

I loved this book. It was so different than I expected and kept me laughing until the last page. The characters were perfectly crafted, the plot ridiculous and yet all of it was so believable. Maria Semple did an especially good job capturing the voice of each character through their different mediums: the PTA moms' gossipy interchanges via e-mail, the fed-up school administrator via memos, and Bernadette through her rambling e-mails to her virtual assistant. Bee's voice was especially strong and I applaud Semple for nailing the adolescent point of view in all of this chaos. This would be a great bookclub read and one that I hope to pass around to friends and family to hear more feedback. The idea that a person can have a literal meltdown and come out of it with a new direction and a new sense of purpose is the best part of this read. It left me feeling empowered, knowing that whatever happens, I can always face it with all of the grace and humor of Bernadette. Not to mention, the cover is perfect and it happened to match my nail polish color the day it arrived in the mail (it's the little things in life). 

Bottom Line Rating: 5/5

Title: Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Author: Maria Semple

Publisher: Back Bay Books/ Little, Brown and Company, 2012

Price: $14.99

ISBN: 9780316204262

Format: Paperback

Source: Amazon

Book #16 of 2014