Binny in Secret

Starred review from April 15, 2015
Newly arrived in a small Cornish town, 12-year-old Binny Cornwallis struggles to find her footing as disasters and mysteries pile up inexorably. Hardly has she had time to get decisively off on the wrong foot on the first day of school and so become victim of a campaign of petty harassment led by classmate Clare, than a destructive gale forces Binny and her family into a hasty temporary move to an isolated cottage. There, one of her little brother's chickens is snatched (by a rare lynx or, as young James puts it, a "jagular"), and the brusque new landlady turns out to be...Clare's mom. With masterful comic timing McKay spins a whirl of horrifying yet hilarious admissions, mishaps, tart exchanges, and domestic tempests, as well as profoundly affecting discoveries and epiphanies, around her intense, sensitive, impulsive protagonist. Usually hilarious, that is-along with a poignant subplot, told in flashbacks, about a trio of siblings who summered in the cottage before and during World War I, the author weaves in mutually harrowing encounters between Binny and a rifle-toting neighbor. (Player's illustrations not seen.) There's never a dull moment in the Cornwallis household-nor one not rich with love and laughter. Fans of Binny for Short (2013) will welcome this second chance to look in on the commotion. (Fiction. 11-13)

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June 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-Engaging and earnest 11-year-old Binny returns in a welcome sequel to Binny for Short (S. & S., 2013). It's the end of summer in Cornwall, and Binny's status as the bullied new girl at school is countered by her excitement about the possibility that a strange, exotic wild animal resides in the beautiful and untamed moor around their rented house. McKay alternates Binny's tale with the story of three kids living in the house in the 1910s and their interest in the collection and classification of natural specimens; the two eventually tie together. As always with McKay, the warmth and sweetness of Binny's family shine almost brighter than the excitable protagonist, and the side characters are irresistible. This title would work as a standalone, although the author's breezy writing, sheer number of characters, and habit of assuming that readers can remember who everyone is just by their names can make things confusing at times. But Binny is wonderful to spend time with, and putting down the book is like leaving a wonderfully comforting, very British setting filled with good friends. VERDICT Hand this to lovers of Jeanne Birdsall's "Penderwicks" series (Knopf).-Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC

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