Bruce Coville (My Teacher Is an Alien) once again proves his talent for entertaining middle-grade readers with this hilarious account of Angus Cairns, a short-fused yet well-intentioned brownie who must leave Scotland for the U.S. due to an age-old family curse.
With just a hint of archaic language to show his ancient roots, Angus makes readers privy to his innermost thoughts through his journal entries. He begins in late September, as Sarah McGonagall, to whom he's bound, is dying. The next "youngest female of age" is 11-year-old Alexandra ("Alex") Carhart, who lives in Connecticut. Coville intersperses letters--from the vet for the Carharts' cat, from Alex's teacher, and from the teacher of Alex's younger sister, Destiny--all of which portend trouble for poor Angus. The brownie believes that Bubbles the cat would be better served by a name such as Lucifer or Bloodclaw Reddifang, and Alex detests Angus's efforts at cleaning up her slovenly room. Gradually, human and brownie come to a truce. That is, until the curse Angus carries with him begins to manifest itself among the males in Alex's household. As Angus puts it, "I wanted to do as I ought, and keep their house trim and fair. Instead I have brought shame and ruin upon them."
Can Angus relieve the household of the curse? Can he accomplish what he was sent to do? Readers will madly turn pages to see how things turn out, as Coville entertains with witty turns of phrase and clever twists of plot. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness