Summary--The Willoughby's—Timothy; his twin brothers, Barnaby A and Barnaby B;
and their little sister, Jane—are old-fashioned children who adore
old-fashioned adventures. Unfortunately, the Willoughby parents are not
very fond of their children, and the truth is that the siblings are not
too keen on their parents either. Little do the Willoughby kids know
that their neglectful mother and father are hatching an evil plan to get
rid of them! Not to worry—these resourceful adventurers have a few
plans of their own. But they have no idea what lies ahead in their quest
to rid themselves of their ghastly parents and live happily ever after.Con's--It seems to me like every author, no matter how good, always has at least one book that falls completely flat. I would say this is Lois Lowry's. The book was not badly written but the story line was absurd and un--enjoyable. First of all you have the warped and very unrealistic parent child relationship and visa-versa. That to me was the worst part. Spoiler Warning!! Then at the very end you have the creepy idea of the children making a ritual of going and looking at their dead parents annually. The whole book seemed warped and unnatural. I think she was trying to make it funny but to me it was just messed up. I wouldn't really recommend this book though I would never say don't read it.
Pro's--This is Lois Lowry we are dealing with here a so the book was very well written. Even though I didn't like the story I will be the first to say that it was well written and the idea was very unique as well.
Ages 10 and up. Three stars.
