Man, I love Hilary McKay. Her books make me giggle. They make my husband giggle. It's her unusual, frisky way of putting things that always gets me. The youngest child in the family, James, is described as "portable", and the other family members take advantage of the fact when he's being a pest. Here's a sentence that I couldn't stop laughing about, when 11-year old Binny has had just about enough of James.

Binny picked up James, turned him upside down, and lowered him gently into the trash can.

One word in that sentence makes all the difference. That's how a lot of her humor sneaks up on you.
Even though he's not the title character, 6-year-old James gets all the best lines, going through life on his own, oddball plane, making comments about Binny getting into "one of her states" and greeting his all-female family members with "Hello, don't kiss me."
There's an interesting family dynamic with the Cornwallis clan, and the story of their settling into the first house they've lived in since the father died is a sweet one, with just a little mystery to add suspense.
Binny is shockingly harsh and disrespectful to her Aunt Violet at the beginning, and there's no tidy resolution or chance for apology, since Aunty Violet dies before Binny knows the whole story about Max and a few very tough realities are touched on in the book, but McKay manages it with grace, compassion and humor.
I can't recommend this author enough. May she write many more books with quirky characters, sweet relationships, and a treatment of the English language reminiscent of P.G. Wodehouse. ( )

Splendid! Wanted to spend more time with lovely Binny and her little family. The seaside location was perfectly portrayed and I felt I was actually there. Satisfying feelgood book. ( )

Binny's life has gone to hell. Her father died, and the family was broke, and they lost the house, and the business, and then her great aunt gave away her beloved dog...and I love the book because Binny is dealing with a lot of grief in a very realistic way. And this, too, is something we need to learn. Sometimes everything just goes wrong. Sometimes you can blame some things on specific people, but a lot of the time it's just a tragedy of errors.



Library copy. ( )

A lively book featuring an eleven-year old girl with plenty of spunk. There are several flash-forward chapters which are somewhat confusing at first, but it all comes together in the end. There's a younger brother and an older sister along with a widowed mother, who struggles to keep the family afloat. The story is told with good humor. Look for more adventures in this series. ( )

Belinda, Binny for short, moves with her mother, sister and brother to a house near the seaside that was left to them by Aunt Violet. Aunt VIolet had got rid of Binny's dog when Binny's father had dies and the family had to move out of their house. Binny has never forgiven her and believes she is haunting the new house. ( )