Pure Dead Magic

Pure Dead #1

by Debi Gliori

All is not well at StregaSchloss, home of the bizarre but lovable Strega-Borgia clan. Mum's attempts to improve her witchcraft skills are failing miserably. Dad has stormed out in a fit of pique. Titus is virtually umbilically attached to his computer. Pandora is seriously bored. And Baby Damp is getting her fat little fingers into everything around.

Enter wonder-nanny Mrs McLachlan - she'll soon sort out the Strega-Borgia children, and their parents too, but will she cope with the presence of mythical beasts in the basement, to say nothing of the unexpected arrival of four hit-men, including one in a rabbit suit?

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Magic, Humor

209 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Debi Gliori (born 1959) is a Scottish author and illustrator of children's books.
She grew up as an only child in Glasgow, and when young began drawing and writing stories. She started writing children's books in 1976, and attended art school in Edinburgh from 1979 to 1984. She then received a travelling scholarship award to go to Milan, and worked as a freelance from 1984 onwards.
She is the author/illustrator of many books for children including Mr Bear, the winner of a Children's Book Award. She is best known for her black comedy Pure Dead series for older children, which display strong elements of family lives amid dark and fantasy-based plots.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason I'm in the mood to reread this series that I read aloud to my kids, oh, about fifteen years ago. At the time, we LOVED it. Both boys squealed with glee every time I was forced to haltingly pronounce the town's name - Auchenlochtermuchty. In a few of the later volumes, my husband was even called upon to read some of the dialogue in his best Mike-Myers-as-Shrek-Scottish-Accent. I would say a good time was had by all.

I didn't enjoy it quite as much this time around, but there are still delights to be had for those who enjoy crude humor, and silly characters indulging in bizarre behavior. Gliori borrows liberally from popular culture, and in particular, the Addams Family.



She puts Granny in a freezer (in a desperate attempt to stave off old age), renames the butler Latch, replaces Uncle Fester with pets - a dragon, a yeti, a griffin, and a moat-dwelling crocodile, adds a remarkably tech-savvy nanny, AND a smelly-diapered baby named Damp.

The plot involves the baby being accidentally miniaturized, and zapped off to surf the worldwide web. Meanwhile, Dad has been kidnapped by an evil relation who has one of the best villain names EVER - Don di S'Embowelli Borgia - in an attempt to steal son Pugsly's Titus's fortune. Even though Dad agrees to cooperate, an elite group of "terminators" (including one killer who insists on dressing in a bunny suit), is dispatched to assassinate the boy. Seriously disgusting hijinks ensue, and heads will roll. Literally. This is my way of saying that this book is not for ALL children.

BUT, it was indeed for MY children. And me. It loses a star this time around, as I was more able to notice plot-holes, and general silliness when I didn't have to concentrate on pronunciation, but it was still a blast. I'm looking forward to another visit to Auchenlochtermuchty. (Yes, yes . . . even though my boys are grown, I can still hear those little squeals. Sniff, sniff.)

[Dorcas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an unexpected mix of cyber, goth, and a Mary Poppin's nanny set on the fringes of an Italian mafia family. There's a moat with a hungry crocodile, lumbering pet guardians that munch on stray visitors, unwanted nannies and intruders, and three children desperate to keep the family together. Technology and magic work together in this book with sometimes interesting, sometimes awkward results. In the end, however, I find myself interested in learning more, just to see what other wacky stuff may happen.

[Patricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got through a little over half of it and could no longer continue. Too many lame tongue-in-cheek jokes. The plot isn't easily followed, the whole thing seems really scattered. The characters are silly (and not in the good way.) I would not waste a child's time with this book when there are so many well-written stories out there.

[Sensitivemuse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chaotic is one word to really describe this book. Although it was fun to read what they all go through I think this book would have made a very interesting movie (should it ever go that way). Think of The Addams Family and their kookiness, mixed with a bit of style of Lemony Snicket and add in a bit of Mary Poppins and you get Pure Dead Magic. I enjoyed reading this book! it was a fun light read and there were particular parts of the book that actually got me laughing out loud. It is quirky and kooky and you could say even rather strange at first to read but once you get engaged into the storyline then the reading experience is quite fun.

The plot was certainly engaging, and by reading the first page it actually takes you into the book head first so be prepared. I liked it, yet on the other hand, I found it a little too engaging. It just seems like there's just way too much going on and you have a hard time figuring out what's happening, and it also feels like you need to take a real big deep breath right after each chapter. Sometimes it helps if there's a small part in the book where everything just take a breather, and the action takes a break while we as readers sort things out with the storyline. The characters are likable and fun, no need for development, or any heavy duty stuff here. Like mentioned before, it's a light read to take a break from the heavy duty ones.

Overall, a fast, light read, with a lot of room left at the end for several more books ahead. I'll be picking them up whenever I need the urge to laugh or when I need to take a break from the heavier deeper books. Sometimes it's good to read childrens novels just to take a break from the serious books and to enjoy the quirky kooky funny ones as well.

[Carin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My friend K loaned this to me a year ago, promising it was cute and fun, which it was. A little bit derivative, but not in a way most kids would pick up on. To me, it was basically like a Lemony Snicket book, but with computers. Three kids, the youngest still crawling and not talking with a funny name (Damp), get into some trouble, have parents who aren't much help, a funny nanny, and a lot of odd monsters as pets/guard dogs. They all (including the mother) think their father has left when in fact he's been kidnapped by his brother, a mafia don. The end result of the mobsters sent to kill the family was quite amusing, the nanny is excellent but unfortunately not used enough (in my opinion) and it's nice for once to have a fantasy book for middle readers where the protagonist children aren't orphans. The addition of computers might make this book a little more palatable for boys, although it's also aging the book quickly - a CD-rom drive figures significantly.

There is always room on the shelf for a brief, amusing, middle grade book with a good lesson (don't fight with your siblings, don't try to feed every prospective nanny to the crocodile), decent action, and a happy family.

[Kat Hooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Titus and his sister Pandora have another new nanny. It’s hard to keep nannies around the Strega-Borgia mansion, but despite the siblings’ best efforts to scare off the latest applicant, Mrs. McLachlan is undaunted. She’ll be taking care of the kids and their scary pets because their dad, Signor Luciano Strega-Borgia, has abandoned the family and their mom, Signora Baci Strega-Borgia, has started witch school.

The Strega-Borgia kids soon turn their attention to more difficult issues when their baby sister Damp is accidentally shrunken and uploaded into the World Wide Web. Soon after, a group of assassins hired by the mafia shows up at their house. Can Titus and Pandora get Damp back and defeat the killers, too?

Pure Dead Magic is the first in a series of children’s fantasy novels by Debi Gliori. It’s dark, zany, and over the top. Inside you’ll find a tarantula who wears lipstick, a dragon with diarrhea, an assassin who wears a bunny suit, a crocodile who eats nannies, a grandmother in the freezer, and a smelly baby whose diaper always needs changing. It’s all rather dark and silly in the vein of the Home Alone movies.

Pure Dead Magic is fun, but if you insist on your plots making sense or your villains being smart, don’t bother. The nonsensical plot was fine with me until the villain ordered his captive to spend hours unattended fixing a room full of computers with Internet access. I would have preferred a little more care with the plotting.

Debi Gliori’s writing style is often clever, but self-consciously so. Its constant attempts to be funny will probably weary some readers, but it worked pretty well in the audio version I listened to by Recorded Books (please note that there is more than one audio version). The way that Ron Keith’s uppercrust accent acted as a foil for the perpetual silliness actually added to the whimsy. If you’re going to read Pure Dead Magic, audio is definitely the way to go. It’s a quick fun read for kids who like a silly plot with a streak of black humor.

[Swankivy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is quite frankly one of the worst kids' books I've read in a long time--many apologies, Debi. Let's start with characters' names: If you're a parent and you've already named your children Titus and Pandora, what are the chances you'll name your second daughter "Damp"? Not bloody likely, but I figure the author thought it'd be cute.

We've got monsters living in the dungeons and a croc in the moat who likes to eat nannies--at one point the dragon shits all over the place (conveniently having its waste land on a gangster who's up to no good), and the crocodile later consumes the "goo" left behind.

Things happen just because the author wanted to be cute (e.g., Pandora shrinking things in her room, then "throwing herself onto her bed" only to remember that she shrunk it, thus crushing it into matchsticks, oh how funny; how about when Dad is kidnapped and e-mails the family from dad@mafia.org?). Everything is too convenient in a way that is supposed to be slapstick funny but in truth just ends up trying too hard in my opinion.

The whole kidnapping plot is an excuse to have three witchy kids and a secret-witch nanny trying to cope as hijinks ensue, the hijinks being the point of the book. When a talking spider with pink lipstick offers to find the lost baby on the Internet because "she knows about webs," I kind of wanted to vomit. I read the book because the front said it was like Harry Potter meets Lemony Snicket in a high tech setting, but this book missed the magic of Harry Potter and the wit of Lemony Snicket by a long shot, leaving the "high tech setting," which involved a computer that could somehow e-mail rats as file attachments.

By the way, the title only means anything if you live in Scotland, apparently it's a local joke.

On the up side, I can see I have a good chance of getting published when I try, if this book made it.

[Julie Decker · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Strega-Borgia children--Titus, Pandora, and Damp--are left banging around their castle home without their parents; with Mom off at a witchcraft university and Dad having been kidnapped, they are to be cared for by a nanny, and they aren't allowed to reveal their magic. The nanny has some secrets of her own. A number of unfortunate incidents befall the children, including accidental shrinking of the baby and losing her on the Internet, a criminal infiltrating their castle with typically criminal aspirations but a not-so-typical mode of dress, and, of course, their father having to send them e-mails from dad@mafia.org when he is kidnapped. The kids have to take magic into their own hands to put their weird little lives right again.

This book simply tried too hard to be wacky and funny. There were multiple scenes that were clearly set up for a pun or a punch line, such as a spider that can go on the Internet (because of her Web experience, you know). The whimsical magic is mostly there as a framework for more jokes and an incredibly high "hijinks ensue" experience, which took the place of a plot. It was more like the plot was there to make room for the hijinks to ensue. You can go far with humor if your humor is funny, but I never laughed while reading the book. The "everyday weirdness" vibe I think the author was going for--like a modern-day Addams family--fell flat throughout, and though its comp titles were Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events, the magical world in this was miles away from Harry's and the attempts at being dark and witty like Lemony stretched all the way to ridiculous and unfunny with some gross-out humor. (I don't actually find "moat monster poops, then eats it" to be humor.)

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to write a review on a kid's book because the writing has to be so much more simplistic than an adult or even a teen novel. However, I will try my best to be fair and address everything necessary.
Characters:
I found the characterization to be pretty great. Each character had not only a specific voice, but distinct characteristics as well. Since there were quite a few characters for such a small book, I consider this to be a great feat. Each character was easy to distinguish and they were all really enjoyable. I especially liked that the animals and pets had voices and personalities as well.
Setting:
The story mostly takes place in Scotland and Italy. These two places, while exotic and described with some detail, were not as fleshed out as I had hoped. The Strega-Schloss manor was described well when this did occur, but not enough. Since most kids won't stick around for a lot of detail, this is understandable, but as a mature reader, I would have liked to see more. (mature reader, ha)
Plot:
Well-developed and juvenile. The story was humorous at points which was cute, but it was sometimes overdone. Again, this is entirely based on intended audience versus me reading it. Obviously, most of the kids reading it would love all the crude and sometimes gross humor, but I found it juvenile. As for originality, it was interesting. Magic meets mafia. For such a small book, the story went along at an acceptable pace. It followed the basic structure of the story and I can't complain.
For the moment, I think this is all I have to discuss. It was an enjoyable quick read and I will be reading the others in the series.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild, crazy and over the top wacky!

Debi Gliori must be a blast to know, if I base my opinion on this series anyway!

What a cast of characters, it's a good thing there is a guide at the beginning of the book. I loved getting to know the Strega-Borgia clan; 10 year old Pandora, her 12 year old computer genius brother Titus and the baby, Damp; along with their parents Signor Luciano and Signora Baci Strega-Borgia.

Oh, but don't forget the list of creatures that also call Castle Strega-Schloss home: My favorite - teenage dragon Ffup; Mythical Dungeon Beasts Sab and Knot; a rather large lipstick wielding tarantula Tarentella; an illiterate rat Multitudina, the mother to multitudes. There is even a many-great Grandmother Strega-Nonna who is wrapped in tinfoil, stored in the freezer, awaiting a cure for old age.

And that's just the start of it.

If you dare to pass the gate that reads, "Warning! Trespassers will be (a) served for breakfast,(via Tock, the guard crocodile) (b) turned into frogs, (courtesy of Signora Strega-Borgia, a witch in training)(c) forced to eat Brussels sprouts. (complements of Marie Bain, a most horrendous cook)", you will surely find yourself pulled into a rollicking adventure where the villains are truly over the top and nasty and where magic often goes awry.

I believe the cover blurb says these books are a bit like mixing Harry Potter with The Series of Unfortunate Events. Place it all in Scotland and you've about got it.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the opening pages of this book, I thought it was a rich-kids-get-rid-of-the-nanny story. I couldn't have been more wrong. Sure, it features unruly kids (and their pet rats and spiders!), an ancient house, a hapless mother, a butler, and a nanny, but it also features a dragon, a yeti, a gargoyle, a talking spider with a penchant for lipstick, various wizardly gadgets and people with magical abilities (or lack of!).

It's also got some hilarious family scenes, and a great chase to rescue their missing father that literally runs through the World Wide Web. And it's set in modern-day Scotland.

Seriously, what is not to love about this book? It's so tongue-in-cheek.

[Sally Allerton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this series of books with my children some years ago (they are all adults now) and we all absolutely loved them. We enjoyed them so much that after buying the first book in paperback I brought it again in hardback to be kept as a beautiful set. If I was reading them on my own as an adult maybe I wouldn't have given five stars, but I would definitely recommend them to be read out loud to be enjoyed with children. They are funny, sad, exciting and just a little bit naughty.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a strange mix. I love the idea of magic coexisting with modern technology and this book was full of that, and full of jokes and puns. It was over the top and mad, but I did enjoy it. At times it was hard to follow due to the amount of characters and plots, but this would all have been appealing to child me, and I am clearly no longer the target age for this series.

A chaotic but enjoyable read.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a strange mix. I love the idea of magic coexisting with modern technology and this book was full of that, and full of jokes and puns. It was over the top and mad, but I did enjoy it. At times it was hard to follow due to the amount of characters and plots, but this would all have been appealing to child me, and I am clearly no longer the target age for this series.

A chaotic but enjoyable read.

[Dest · Rating 2 out of 5]

A librarian at the Wallingford branch recommended this to me, so I had high hopes, but it wasn't great. There's a strange mix of computers and magic, which seems like a good idea in theory, but on the page it just doesn't make sense.

[La La · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loved these books in grade school.They were funny, intriguing and full of the bodily functions humor little boys love so much! They were our 'child read to mom' bedtime stories. Dragons with diarrhea, how could you go wrong?!!

[Samm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes me want to reread all the books I loved when I was little so that I can catch all the sarcastic jokes included for parents that may be reading them.

[meg]

read this out of weird nostalgia and found that unlike the Diana and Eva middle grade books I've been devouring lately this one really does not hold up for the modern adult audience. Lots of talk about CD-ROMs and toilet humor. However it was very revealing of my past and current taste to realize this book I loved at 8 is essentially just a rich dysfunctional family in a centuries old castle with some magic thrown in. Really highlights my consistency

[Viju · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wacky funny read for a lazy afternoon adventure

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Debi Gliori's novel Pure Dead Magic first caught my attention as a library page for two simple reasons: the unique title and the rather enticing plaid background of the cover (which also features a neat illustration by Glin Dibley). Before embarking on Pure Dead Magic, a work of longer fiction, Gliori had written and illustrated picture books for children. I have seen this book, the first in a trilogy, shelved both with children's and young adult books. I'm more inclined to call it a children's book although I also have no problem imagining teens who would enjoy it. That said, let's talk about what happens between the covers of this book.

Twelve-year-old Titus Strega-Borgia and his ten-year-old sister Pandora do not live in what most people would term a normal household. Things are strange at StregaSchloss, the family's house near the Scottish Highlands, even before their father Luciano mysteriously disappears. Dealing with an unwieldy household while completing her degree in advanced witchcraft, Baci Strega-Borgia is overextended. Enter Mrs. Flora McLachlan who tries to bring some order to the household along with fries that are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, and the occasional lullaby for Damp, the youngest of the Strega-Borgia children.

But order doesn't reign for very long at StregaSchloss before things get out of hand. Thirteen baby rats go missing, followed soon after by Damp. Then the gangster in the rabbit suit shows up and everything gets even messier.

If any of the plot brought to mind the Addams family, it's not a coincidence. I have no proof for this, but feel strongly that the Strega-Borgia's might be distant cousins of Morticia and Gomez. Gliori pulls off a blend of humor and the macabre, with the odd man-eating monster thrown in, admirably and much in the style so common to the Addams family movie.

Needless to say this novel does require a willing suspension of disbelief, but once you get into the story it's really fun. Gliori's prose is straightforward and broken up into manageable chapters (usually four or so pages at a time) which make it a good pick for a reluctant reader who might not want to read a long chapter in one sitting.

The characters are also excellent. In addition to the family and staff, several mythical beasts and one hungry crocodile also add a lot of dimension to the book. Pure Dead Magic is one of those books that, if you can tolerate some fantastical elements, has something for everyone: a variety of characters, excitement, suspense, and humor. A well-rounded book for anyone looking for a story that will leave them smiling.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, the first in a series, was a cute and quick read. Set in the Strega-Borgia family castle in Argyll, Scotland, complete with a moat and a dungeon, this dark comedic little romp begins when Signor Luciano has already deserted the family (unbeknownst to them, kidnapped) and Signora Baci(a student witch) tries to balance her studies and childcare duties by hiring another nanny to look after the children. Titus, the oldest, is a computer whiz, and Pandora enjoys caring for her pet rat Multitudina and her rat babies. They both tolerate their baby sister, Damp, who follows them around, but they don't care for nannies. Some other creepy "pets" round out the family: Ffup, a dragon; Sab, a gryphon; Knot, a yeti; Tock, a crocodile who lives in the moat; and Tarantella, Pandora's pet spider who lives in the attic.

The nanny interviews are disastrous until lovely Mrs. McLaughlin (a secret witch) shows up and takes charge. She soon fits right in with the other servants Marie Bain, the cook, and Latch, the grumpy butler.

One eventful day, Multitudina and her babies disappear, leaving Pandora in despair. She tears apart her room and Titus' room searching for them, much to Titus' disgust. It turns out the rats had gotten inside Titus' CD Rom computer drive and were accidentally emailed elsewhere. Later on, a similar circumstance befalls baby Damp, and Titus and Pandora are distraught with guilt/remorse for losing her.

Meanwhile,we find out that Signor Luciano has been kidnapped by his evil half-brother, Don Lucifer, in the hopes that he will sign over the deed to Castle Strega-Borgia and the family fortune to him. Don Lucifer sends his top hit man, Pronto,and a few gun-toting associates over to the castle to assassinate the rest of the family.

I won't ruin the rest of the story by giving away any more plot details, but hilarity ensues when the gangsters try to sneak into the castle. Obviously, since this is the first book in a series, a lot of emphasis was placed on introducing the characters and their quirky personalities, so there wasn't a whole lot of time left for plot development. However, I did enjoy this book, and I think 5th grade students would find it funny and entertaining. I am curious to learn more about this family, so I can't wait read the rest of books in the series.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pure Dead Magic by Debi Gliori
3 stars

Many years ago, a librarian friend of mine recommended a couple of books written by Debi Gliori--2 more in the Pure Dead series). She knew I enjoyed children's books and thought these reminded her of "A Series of Unfortunate Events". At the time, I didn't realize these were actually in a series so I just read them, enjoyed them and forgot about them. In transferring my books over to GoodReads, I was reminded and decided to pick up the first one to see if I would still enjoy them. In this first adventure, Signor Luciano and Signora Baci Storega-Borgia, have had a little tiff and Luciano leaves the house to cool off. Before he knows it, he's lost his way in the countryside and then he's kidnapped by some men in a big black car. Meanwhile, back at home, Signora Baci and the children are interviewing nannies and have finally found one they think will do. But then the 13 baby rats are lost, Grandma is defrosting and Damp, the baby, stuffs bacon rinds into the open disc drawer of the CD-ROM on her brother's computer. To add to the confusion, Mafia gangsters are now attempting to enter their home. Pandemonium ensues. To me, they are only like the Snicket books in that there are 3 children and one is an extremely intelligent baby. I think these books are even darker than those and bring in many more fantastical elements, such as mythical dungeon beasts, magic and a frozen great-great-great.......grandmother who is being kept in a cryogenics slumber until a cure for old age is found. They feel like children's books written by Gregory Maguire mixed in with the Addams Family. Overall, still a fun read and I think I'll probably reread the next two and then finish out the series (there are now 6 books). Since I read this one in a day, I think they would be kind of a "brain cleaner".

[Jillyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The father of Titus, Pandora, and Damp Strega-Borgia has left home, and when he leaves, everything seems to go downhill. The children chase away nanny after nanny, each of which faces a rather unpleasant end. Finally, the job is given to Flora McLachlan, who is hiding quite a secret of her own.

In a dark, strange, technological world, all is not as it seems. Their seemingly estranged father is in trouble, and e-mails Titus. By an unfortunate mistake, their baby sister Damp is sucked away, and nobody knows where. Together Titus, Pandora, and Flora, along with their butler, Latch, and a giant tarantula named Tarantella must work to find Signor Strego-Borgia and their little sister in order to get their life back to (their version) of normal.

All in all, I found this to be a very strange book. The review quote on the front cover boasts "Harry Potter meets Lemony Snicket in a high-tech setting." (Booklist) So I went into this doubting its plot line, being a huge fan of both Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket's works. But, I have to admit, this book's surreal, sinister, twisted setting indeed put me in mind of the Series of Unfortunate Events. If that series, The Addams Family, and Artemis Fowl were to be blended, this would be it.

That being said, I think it was simply alright, because I believe I'm too old for it. Whereas it's a fast, interesting story, I would recommend it for elementary and middle school students, or anyone who still finds "poo" humor funny. I know I would've loved it, had I read it when I was younger.

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

For more reviews, check out my blog Craft-Cycle

Definitely a weird book.

The blurb on the cover told me it would be, "Harry Potter meets Lemony Snicket in a high-tech setting." This was mostly true, but the only comparison to Harry Potter this book can claim is that it has some magical elements: mythical creatures, magic wands, spells. But even the magic is very different. It's more of a mash-up of witchcraft and computers. This made it a little difficult to wrap your head around a times. The back cover calls it, "Mary Poppins meets the Addams Family in a nonstop farce", which I think is more accurate.

The technology element was a bit confusing as well and took some getting used to. It is less technology-based and more just fantastical computer abilities (i.e. being able to travel by email).

It feels like a pretty dense book given all of the details in it. The plot is kind of complex and very confusing at times. I did really enjoy the descriptions. The author definitely has a gift for setting the scene: "The sight of all those teeth, askew like tombstones in a disused graveyard..." The metaphors and similes were amazingly creative.

A dark book, a bit creepy. Overall, I liked it though.

[Isla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just re-read this book after hosting an event with Debi Gliori for NIGHT SHIFT, a beautiful and important illustrated guide to the horrors of depression. I read the Pure Dead series when I was younger and ADORED them, and I absolutely loved revisiting the world. I will absolutely be rereading the entire series. The humour and world is fantastic - I love the mix of magic, reality and utter lunacy. As expected, while re-reading I picked up a few jokes I wouldn't have got as a child, and those extra layers of humour were much appreciated. I look forward to reading more about the Strega-Borgias and Mrs McLachlan!

[Asia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had Deep Trouble, Deep Water and Deep Fear for years, but I never knew they were part of a larger series. So, when I found out, I had to start from the beginning, the real beginning.

Excellent intro to the Strega-Borgia family, and, despite being aimed at younger readers, I still enjoyed the tale with all its nonesense and "how does that even work". After all, isn't that the point of childrens fantasy books?

[Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is still a supremely enjoyable mess of 90s computers, mafiosos, Scottish Mary Poppins, creature features, good old-fashioned puns, and maybe just a touch too many poo jokes. It's a tragedy it's out of print in the US, although I do understand that modern kids might be flummoxed by the prominent role of magical modems.

[Charlotte Bird · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad for a kids book. kept me entertained while i wait for Breaking Dawn

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading another person's review, I realized I had read this book in Middle School. Now I want to find it and re-read it!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious book, but definitely middle school humor.