September 30, 2025 by HarperCollins
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Thirty years ago, Detective James Alvarez and Captain Taylor of the Center Grove fire department found an eight year old girl sitting in a chair in the remains of a completely burnt house, rocking in a chair, lighting matches next to a can of gasoline. She would say only that “Mr. Grieves did it.” Fast forward to the present day, and we meet Victoria Gray, who is studying for an interview with the prestigious Wheaton Preparatory Academy for Exceptional Individuals. She feels compelled to be perfect because her mother is the famous child anthropologist, Anna Gray, author of the BE GOOD book on child rearing. This recommends very strict controls over children, but since her mother has disappeared, her father, David, seems to have trouble following through with her instructions, even though he quotes them frequently. Victoria’s younger brother, Ozzy, frequently sets the kitchen on fire, and was even badly injured when he followed Victoria out of the house in the middle of the night and was hit by a truck. Since the father is so frazzled, he decides to hire a nanny. Many candidates show up, but when Mr. Grieves, a quirky man in a bowler hat, comes to the house, he basically tells David that he IS the new nanny, and starts to take over the house. His philosophy is diametrically opposed to the BE GOOD philosophy, and he wants to help the children “be free”. In order to do this, he destroys the house in the name of “childproofing”, having extracted permission from David to do whatever needs to be done. Since the principal of the children’s school also uses BE GOOD principals, he kidnaps the principal. Mr. Grieves tells Victoria that her mother is in the hands of an evil character named The Governess, and they embark on a journey to save her mother, even though the school interview still weighs heavily on Victoria’s mind. This even leads to Victoria becoming part of a group called The Librarians who are also working against The Governess, dying her hair, getting a sleeve of temporary tattoos, and being fitted with a leather jacket! When their father is kidnapped and taken to the Bermuda Triangle, it’s imperative that the children figure out what is going on.
Strengths: This is a pell mell, ridiculous novel that immediately asks us to suspend disbelief and go into Victoria’s nutty world. The father is completely incompetent, the scenario implausible, and the adventure filled with odd things like the family’s household furnishings being stolen, Rabiesitters, the Double-Eyed Slow Loris Blinking Technique of Kubla Kahn, and Victoria hiring The Governess to exterminate Mr. Grieves. This might make an interesting read aloud to a particularly goofy second grader.
Weaknesses: Mr. Lieberman is a screenwriter, and the more books I read by screenwriters, the more I wonder if they READ middle grade novels before writing their own.
What I really think: This might have been popular twenty years ago, during the height of Lemony Snicket’s popularity, but it’s a bit too quirky for my readers today. This might work better with younger children who enjoyed the kooky vibe of Dr. Fell’s Playground of Doom or Eagle’s The Pear Affair. I would definitely read this before purchasing to see if it is something that would work for your library.
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