All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
When I received the review copy of this book from the publisher to read, I immediately handed it off to the 11 year old. That's right in the age range for the book. However, in order to write a complete and comprehensive review - I'd have to read it myself. That's right, I was going to sit down and read a pre-teen novel. Mind you, I'm currently reading Arthur C. Clarke's Songs of Distant Earth so you can imagine the shift in thinking. Turns out, reading this book wasn't much of a challenge (I'm a speed reader and the words are spaced and written for the books' core audience) but it was actually quite enjoyable as well. For me it was a bit short, it would have had to be 1000 pages to satisfy my blood-lust for reading, but for a 9-12 year old demographic, it was a perfect length.
Leaving the Bellweathers is a first time effort from author Kristen Clark Venuti. The tag line for the book is "The Addams Family meets Cheaper by the Dozen in this hilarious first novel." While that tag line definitely reveals the authors influences, she has created a set of characters that set themselves apart in a sense from most of the established "zany" families in literature & film. You will be able to draw comparisons with relative ease to characters you have read before, but a child most likely will find the characters very original and refreshing.
The character list starts with the main protagonist and part-time narrator of the story, indentured butler Tristan Benway. Benway narrates half the book through entries in his journal while the other half of the book is written in third person, which Benway explains in the opening paragraphs. The switch back and forth between first and third person would normally confuse a child, but the addition of the journal headings makes it easy to tell when Benway is telling the story and when the author is telling the story. Benway is the stoic symbol of order among the chaos of the family he is sworn to watch over (you can read why in the book.) Throughout the book, he looks forward and counts down to his GLOAT (Glorious Liberation and Oath Abandonment Time) when he can finally leave the maddening confines of the lighthouse that the Bellweathers live in.
That's right, I said lighthouse. The lighthouse and it's stories of spiral stairs (142 steps to be exact) make for a much better atmosphere for shenanigans than a droll living room in the suburbs. Did I mention the name of the town is Eel-Smack-by-the-Bay? Yeah, it is. That is not a secret and sets the tone for the book right away. Its silly. Its fun. Its got characters with strange names and faces.
The patriarch of the family is inventor Eugene Bellweather, who suffers from what I can only deduce is bi-polar disease, but less nefarious and more obnoxious. His wife is artist Lillian who has a very creative quirk involving the lighthouse. She is followed by 14 year old Spider, who prefers the company of endangered (as long as they are dangerous as well) creatures. His 13 year old sister Nina has a soft spot for the despondent and put-upon, while their younger siblings "the triplets" (Spike, Brick and Sassy) are 9 year old trouble makers who yell when they speak and whisper when they are up to no good (such as most of our kids.)
These three were my favorite characters in the book. While they weren't the central focus, they created a sense of urgency in scenes where one was needed and you felt like at any point something could happen involving them. Something most likely terrible. They reminded me a lot of Lock, Shock and Barrel from The Nightmare Before Christmas. As the book goes on, and the family continues its nonstop irreverent adventures, Benway starts to question his decision to leave. He makes no secret about it to himself, while rationalizing his decision the whole time.
I read a lot of books, and have read a lot of books. It takes a rare book that actually entertains me the whole way through - especially a childrens book! My 11 year old, Z, whipped through it and enjoyed it, and to put that in perspective, he's started many books but this is the first one that he finished. Maybe that was because I promised to publish his review (his brother got his 15 minutes in a video game review I wrote a couple months back) but I'd like to think that the book kept him engaged the whole way through. I believe that is the case. To wit, his review:
Ok, let's stop there. Nothing in this book is relevant to our lives. Our lives are mundane in comparison to the sharply written and chaotic lives of the Bellweather family. I can't think of anything in the book that mirrors our life other than the vocal levels of the younger children. Upon questioning, he admitted that his opening sentence wasn't exactly accurate. I asked him what family he's been visiting on the side.
All that is true. The names of the supporting characters in the book are very amusing and creative. Z has a bit of a comprehension issue, so the fact that he was able to comprehend and follow the story was very impressive. I hope there is a sequel because I will be buying it, for myself and my children to read. Overall, a great first effort from Venuti and I hope she's hard at work on the follow-up.
Wired: Your kids will enjoy this book. It's fun, its engaging and will keep them entertained throughout.
Tired: Yes, if you read it you will notice that there are parallels between this dysfunctional family and every other dysfunctional family created in the past. Deal.
Venuti, Kristen Clark. (2009)* Leaving the Bellweathers.* New York, NY: Egmont Press
