Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti

[description from amazon]

The young Bellweathers–fourteen-year-old Spider, thirteen-year-old Ninda, and the ten-year-old triplets, Brick, Spike, and Sassy–and their equally peculiar parents have brought constant chaos to the once-peaceful village of Eel-Smack-by-the-Bay. Still, no one has suffered more than their loyal butler, Benway, who has finally had enough. He is secretly writing his tell-all memoirs, packing his bags, and planning his move to a tropical location, Far, Far Away.

But when the siblings discover Benway is preparing to leave their lighthouse home, they band together to prove how much he’s needed, as only Bellweathers can. . . .

Full of comic capers and close calls, an art heist and albino alligators, and good intentions gone wrong, Kristin Clark Venuti’s hilarious debut novel introduces a new family that is absolutely unforgettable.

Review:

I am older than the intended audience for this book, but still enjoyed it quite a lot. It's super fun. And that's the point, I think- to be a fun book. Not to have a mind-blowing plot or amazing characterization, but to be a fun, goofy, bizarre book that will make you laugh.

For the first large part of the book, it's mainly set-up. The children are shown doing crazy things, and Benway talks about how he wants to leave and about the book he is writing. Not until the middle do the children realize Benway might leave and try to stop him. Once the children reach that point, there is a much more developed plot. It's pretty predictable, but that doesn't make it any less fun. The children's antics are a bit immature at times, but also hilarious. They do the craziest, most unrealistic things but somehow it still comes off as funny and endearing.

The characters are not the most well developed, especially the parents, but enough information is given to make them seem at least partly believable. (I don't they can be that believable, since they have really odd habits. Keeping alligators as pets, for example.) Benway's journal entries also provide much information about their changed behavior after they find out about Benway's intention to leave, so there is development in all of them. It's just not that big because they started out so flat.

Leaving the Bellweathers's hilarious, cute, fun plot will definitely make anyone overlook its flaws.

7.5/10

Links: the Leaving the Bellweathers site

Egmont USA/Hardcover/$15.99/Amazon/B&N/Borders/IndieBound