Return to Ribblestrop

March 1, 2016

Gr 4-6-The school headmaster warns people that "Ribblestrop is an unusual school and some of its pupils are also unusual." This sequel opens with Millie, the newly minted head girl (and only girl) hitchhiking her way back for the new term. Getting a ride from the new chaplain of the school, Father O'Hanrahan, leads to car crashes, fire alarms, a hotel in flames, a hijacked big rig, and wild animals on the loose. Despite all this devastation, Millie and the boys (an assorted cast including several "foreigners") do make it back to school. Meanwhile, the newly promoted, epaulet-wearing, deputy chief constable Cuthbertson is plotting his revenge for previous unspecified wrongs. He and his accomplices have their hopes set on a treasure rumored to be somewhere in an underground and under-the-lake system of tunnels, rooms, and elevators on the Ribblestrop estate. All that stands in their way are a band of protective monks, crocodiles, tigers, the ghost of the wealthy estate owner, and Millie and the rest of the kids. The plotting takes plenty of time to unfold, allowing for diversions into details of the underground lair, world soccer corruption, student gun ownership, science class, and training for the first ever school circus, which will hopefully save the school from bankruptcy. Amid the prolonged plotting, Mulligan misses the opportunity to add more depth to the global cast of characters, relying instead on cultural cliches and stereotypes (such as the student who brings the gift of a shrunken human head back from a witch doctor in the Philippines). The story does excel at poking fun at the ways of the world-particularly the antics of alleged adults. VERDICT Mature readers who can discuss and deconstruct the awkward use of cultural stereotypes and fans of "A Series of Unfortunate Events" (HarperCollins) looking for a deeper dive into humorous noir can turn to this boarding school farce set in the British countryside.-Ernie Cox, Prairie Creek Intermediate School, Cedar Rapids, IA

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