Scan barcode
pifferdiff's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved the second unintentional adventure of the Bland sisters! Fantastic characters, witty puns/chapter intros, and all the quirky charm of Lemony Snicket, but with a much better story (I loved the mystery of the missing magician!). And bunches of bonus points for the feminist bent and wide array of wonderful female characters across the two books. I will definitely be looking for the next one in the series and will be revisiting these with Violet in a few months.
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
This is the second book for the Bland Sisters by Kara LaReau and illustrated by Jen Hill. Aimed at middle readers, this clever book is full of wordplay and puns which will also appeal to adults and would make a fine family read-together.
The writing is simple and often silly and uses the blandness of the unadventursome sisters (they love to eat cheese sandwiches on dry day old bread with flat soda whilst they darn other people's socks) to explore concepts of family, loyalty and going outside of our comfort zones.
The overarching story has Jaundice and Kale's (*snicker*) absentee parents sending them first on an adventure (The Jolly Regina - book 1 of the series) where they're captured by pirates and more, and then, just when they escape and think their world is safe for darning socks and deep cleaning the bathroom, they receive a mysterious note to go and meet their Aunt Shallot at the Dullsville train station.
I try to avoid comparing books or authors to other books (or authors) but the story itself reminds me in a lot of very good ways as a sort of Lemony Snickett and Roald Dahl mashup. There are so many fun mystery and adventure tropes that it's fun to try and identify them but that doesn't detract from the plotline or enjoyment of the mystery (on a train! with a collection of suspects!).
The art is nostalgic, rendered in pen and ink and adds a lot of depth and character to the book. Each of the chapter headings has a little drawing and quote from whichever book the sisters are reading at the time. The drawn panels and margin drawings comprise roughly 15-20% of the book and are all amusing and illustrate the story well.
Quite a lot of fun, with a decent amount of appeal to grown-ups as well (and the opposite of saccharine/sweet).
Four stars
Anticipated release date: 09 Jan 2018 from AbramsKIDS
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
This is the second book for the Bland Sisters by Kara LaReau and illustrated by Jen Hill. Aimed at middle readers, this clever book is full of wordplay and puns which will also appeal to adults and would make a fine family read-together.
The writing is simple and often silly and uses the blandness of the unadventursome sisters (they love to eat cheese sandwiches on dry day old bread with flat soda whilst they darn other people's socks) to explore concepts of family, loyalty and going outside of our comfort zones.
The overarching story has Jaundice and Kale's (*snicker*) absentee parents sending them first on an adventure (The Jolly Regina - book 1 of the series) where they're captured by pirates and more, and then, just when they escape and think their world is safe for darning socks and deep cleaning the bathroom, they receive a mysterious note to go and meet their Aunt Shallot at the Dullsville train station.
I try to avoid comparing books or authors to other books (or authors) but the story itself reminds me in a lot of very good ways as a sort of Lemony Snickett and Roald Dahl mashup. There are so many fun mystery and adventure tropes that it's fun to try and identify them but that doesn't detract from the plotline or enjoyment of the mystery (on a train! with a collection of suspects!).
The art is nostalgic, rendered in pen and ink and adds a lot of depth and character to the book. Each of the chapter headings has a little drawing and quote from whichever book the sisters are reading at the time. The drawn panels and margin drawings comprise roughly 15-20% of the book and are all amusing and illustrate the story well.
Quite a lot of fun, with a decent amount of appeal to grown-ups as well (and the opposite of saccharine/sweet).
Four stars
Anticipated release date: 09 Jan 2018 from AbramsKIDS
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
greenrain's review against another edition
5.0
The whole cast of characters was very charming. A fun introduction for kids to the classic who-done-it mystery.
readingthroughtheages's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, I loved Jaundice and Kale's adventures even more in this book! Silly, but dry humor. Mysterious, yet full of fun. This book of opposites will have you laughing and wanting more! Would make a fun read aloud so you can talk about some of the humor.
sean67's review against another edition
4.0
Jaundice and Kale Bland (such great names) return in their second outing, and whilst it is not quite as good as the first one it is still very entertaining and amusing. Roll on book three!
scostner's review against another edition
3.0
The Bland Sisters are very...well...bland. They enjoy tepid tea, plain oatmeal, and watching grass grow. They live in the town of Dullsville. They darn socks to earn money. These are not daredevils by any means. And yet they have survived being kidnapped by pirates. So there may be more to them than meets the eye. When they receive a letter from their parents asking them to meet their aunt at the train station, they dutifully get to work straightening the house and even round up a wagon to help fetch the luggage. But they are swept aboard the train by a mysterious woman named Magique, who says they are her new magic act assistants. While they try to straighten out the case of mistaken identity, the train gets underway and then Magique vanishes! What are they supposed to do? With the help of Inspector Fromage, the girls begin questioning the other passengers and searching for clues. What they find is very surprising, almost as amazing as the train being trapped on the rails by a truck of marshmallow fluff. (Never heard of that happening before, have you?)
Surrounded by strangers who all seem to be keeping secrets, far from home and their darning, will these two young ladies ever find out what happened to Magique - where there Aunt Shallot is - and manage to make their way back home again?
For middle grade readers who enjoy mystery and adventure, the Bland Sisters offer a pair of protagonists that are comfortable and easy to identify with. I read an ARC provided by the publisher for review purposes.
Surrounded by strangers who all seem to be keeping secrets, far from home and their darning, will these two young ladies ever find out what happened to Magique - where there Aunt Shallot is - and manage to make their way back home again?
For middle grade readers who enjoy mystery and adventure, the Bland Sisters offer a pair of protagonists that are comfortable and easy to identify with. I read an ARC provided by the publisher for review purposes.
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
2.0
I had received this one from NetGalley a while back and hadn’t gotten around to reading it because it started off slow. I started it again last night and finished it this morning and it wasw more entertaining than I expected. I only wish the sisters had been more of a help in solving the mystery.
ssejig's review against another edition
4.0
Jaundice and Kale are (reluctantly) off on another adventure. This time, their (still absent) parents have arranged for the girls to meet their Aunt Shallot at the railroad station. Still recovering from their adventures of the first book, Kale and Jaundice are not ecstatic when the woman who shows up is a magician who immediately whisks them off onto the Uncanny Express. Magique (as she prefers to be called) is trying to break into the mainly male milieu of magicians. Her first show went horribly and she is heading to the Uncanny Valley to show what she can do. Unfortunately, after practicing her show on the train, Magique disappears. It is up to the two girls to help world famous detective, Hugo Fromage, solve the case of the missing magician.
A light play on the Orient Express that I quite enjoyed and I think kids will too. Definitely better than the first book.
A light play on the Orient Express that I quite enjoyed and I think kids will too. Definitely better than the first book.
msarno's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t usually read the second in a series before I’ve read the first but I scanned the first page of this one and laughed out loud so I had to read the rest. Jaundice and Kale are wonderfully and hilariously bland and I love how they grow to like a teeny tiny bit of adventure in their lives. This was such a fun read.
More...