From School Library Journal
Grade 4–6—Young Madeline and Rufus Breeze have never known anything but snow, although their parents, Philip and Elizabeth, insist that long ago, the town of Pinrut was so warm that the family's astounding fans kept generations of townspeople cool. However, the sun hasn't come out for years and only wicked Bartholomew Tullock is prospering, while most of the townsfolk slave away in his turnip fields. Now very poor, the Breezes are selling their possessions to pay off a debt to him. While Madeline and her father journey with a salesman to a desert town in a desperate effort to market their fans, Elizabeth and Rufus stay behind and are menaced by Bartholomew. After many perilous adventures, the Breezes discover that a secret machine has been causing the climatic extremes; the kids dismantle it and normal weather returns to the land. Although the premise is mildly interesting, many unanswered questions remain. Why don't the townspeople pack up and leave? If Philip Breeze is so poor, where does he get all the material to keep making his amazing fans? And especially, why doesn't he just start building amazing heaters or snow shovels instead? Extraneous characters, unbelievable circumstances, ridiculously easy escapes from life-threatening situations, and stilted dialogue all add up to a mediocre fantasy.—
Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
If there existed a void for middle readers obsessed with the gear-centric inner workings of delicate machines, then this is the book to fill it. The Breezes are a family of fan-makers, dreaming up ever-more elaborate cooling devices, until a mysterious ice age blankets the town in snow and cold, rendering their inventions next to useless. The only man to benefit from the freeze is Bartholomew Tullock, who plays the part of the dastardly landlord with such panache that even the Grinch would applaud. Led by the children Rufus and Madeline and helped (and often hindered) by a hilarious slickster salesman, the Breezes attempt to worm their way out of debt from Tullock and discover the source of the curious weather. In his first novel, Williams’ overly descriptive style sometimes gets in the way, but works wonders when bringing the fantastic Breeze contraptions to life. Despite a generous cast of quirky characters, he makes sure to tether the telling to the vantage point of his two young protagonists and welds invention and adventure together with charming results. Grades 5-8. --Ian Chipman
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
