Binny Bewitched

Starred review from March 15, 2017
Impulsive acts, severely tested friendships, and possible witchy curses--all set against the customary backdrop of domestic chaos--presage big changes for Binny and her family.The wad of cash that Binny spots in an ATM seems at first like a wish come true, considering that her mother's birthday is coming up and surely the bill for contractor Pete's repairs to their storm-wracked cottage (Binny in Secret, 2015) will soon be coming due. Unfortunately, joy soon gives way to gnawing guilt--but by the time she resolves to return the money, it's nowhere to be found. Along with wrecking both house and (temporarily) a friendship with frantic searches and queries, Binny becomes increasingly convinced that eerily attentive neighbor Miss Piper is both a witch and the cause of her misfortunes. All the while little brother James and big sister Clem are suffering through crises of their own, and there is something going on between their widowed mother and Pete. Then there's Binny's erstwhile adversary, Gareth, in for a visit and to deliver the tale's best line: -at school I tell people you're my girlfriend. Stops them from asking if I'm gay. Do you mind?- With her usual skill and superb comic timing the author brings her all-white cast's brangles to happy, even joyous resolutions. Ross' scribbly grayscale illustrations add suitably frantic notes. Fans will be delighted by these further misadventures of the rumpled but loving--and lovable--Cornwallis clan. (Fiction. 11-13)

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April 1, 2017
Gr 5-8-This latest addition to the series revolves around cash that Binny finds next to an ATM in town. Binny and her family live in a decrepit beach cottage in Cornwall, England, and everyone worries about money. So when Binny's windfall disappears from the cottage, she and her friend Gareth consider everyone a suspect. Was the thief her brother James or his friend Dill? What about her sister Clem, who sells her possessions for music lessons? Binny would like to exclude her mother and their handyman Pete from her investigation, but everyone acts suspiciously. Most ominous of all, their nosy neighbor Miss Piper aims cryptic comments at Binny, making her squirm with guilt. Most of the trouble unwinds by the end, although Binny's whimsical logic ensures future escapades. This is a comedic mix of contemporary -worry story- and a clue-based mystery. Both elements are intriguing, but McKay doesn't manage to mesh them together seamlessly. Binny is a writer, a detective, and a grieving daughter, but her identities don't fully coalesce. Binny is in middle school, but she acts much younger, while Ross's cover and interior pen-and-ink wash drawings feel solidly middle grade. It might take some readers' advisory to match Binny with the right audience. The protagonist's awkward missteps swell with unsophisticated exuberance; this novel might pair well with Jeanne Birdsall's The Penderwicks or another nouveau classic title. VERDICT A charming British contemporary tale whose plot could be tighter. Purchase where the previous installments have an established following.-Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT

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