From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6 -When her parents go off on a three-week winter vacation, 11-year-old Bettina's dreaded aunt comes to stay with her, seven-year-old Aidan, and nine-year-old Vince. Aunt Marsha cooks dishes that the children find disgusting, doesn't allow them to watch their favorite TV programs, demands they read better literature than comic books, and doesn't allow dogs in the house. She and her brother (the kids' dad) have a long history of animosity. The children are miserable, but Bettina has been told that she should set a good example and so she knocks herself out to be the peacemaker. Halfway through her visit, Aunt Marsha and Vince have a shouting match over his comic books, and he runs to his tree house. Aunt Marsha goes up after him even though she is terrified of heights and gets stuck. Bettina and Aidan then have to get her down by way of the contraption they use to lift their dog into the tree house. After this experience, the woman does a complete turnabout and becomes a wonderful, loving person. This Australian import is completely implausible-why would a father foist his beloved children off on a sister whom he doesn't like and why would she agree to come when their last meeting resulted in a shouting match and her marching out the door? The boys come off as whiny, none of the characters have any depth, and Aunt Marsha is not believable, especially her instant metamorphosis at the end.
-Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Gr. 4-6. For 11-year-old Tina Wendle and her younger brothers, learning that Mum and Dad are off for a three-week Paris vacation is bad news, especially when they hear who's coming to stay: dreaded Aunt Marsha, who hates mess, and, alas, loves cooked cabbage and kidney pie. Things do begin badly, with Auntie banishing the family dog outdoors, and refusing to let the kids watch Sunday cartoons and play soccer with their neighbors. Tina tries to be a responsible older sister and peacekeeper, but it's not until a crisis occurs and some surprising things about Aunt Marsha are revealed that
family becomes the operative word. Tina is an engaging character who enjoys books and the dreamlike works of Picasso as much as the excitement of soccer, and her first-person narrative, an episodic combination of musings, memories, dialogue, and descriptions, is inviting and intimate. Australian author Laguna has created a solid novel, which conveys the complexities of people and family dynamics as well as some of the different ways love can be expressed.
Shelle RosenfeldCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
