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Binny #3
Binny Bewitched
From the winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2018. The third book in the heartwarming series about Binny and her family.
Binny Cornwallis has lost something. Something that wasn't really hers in the first place. With her best enemy Gareth and her beloved dog Max she turns detective to track it down, but the Cornwallis family are anything but helpful. Little brother James and his friend Dill are having an adventure of their own and big sister Clem is acting very strangely. And on top of all this, Binny suspects their next-door neighbour may be a witch ...
'Hilary McKay's books are so good you want to climb inside the covers and live there.' - The Telegraph
Binny Cornwallis has lost something. Something that wasn't really hers in the first place. With her best enemy Gareth and her beloved dog Max she turns detective to track it down, but the Cornwallis family are anything but helpful. Little brother James and his friend Dill are having an adventure of their own and big sister Clem is acting very strangely. And on top of all this, Binny suspects their next-door neighbour may be a witch ...
'Hilary McKay's books are so good you want to climb inside the covers and live there.' - The Telegraph
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 2, 2016
3 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Hilary McKay
133 books387 followersHilary McKay was born in Boston, Lincolnshire and is the eldest of four girls. From a very early age she read voraciously and grew up in a household of readers. Hilary says of herself as a child "I anaesthetised myself against the big bad world with large doses of literature. The local library was as familiar to me as my own home."
After reading Botany and Zoology at St. Andrew's University Hilary then went on to work as a biochemist in an Analysis Department. Hilary enjoyed the work but at the same time had a burning desire to write. After the birth of her two children, Hilary wanted to devote more time to bringing up her children and writing so decided to leave her job.
One of the best things about being a writer, says Hilary, is receiving letters from children. She wishes that she had written to authors as a child, but it never occurred to her to contact them
Hilary now lives in a small village in Derbyshire with her family. When not writing Hilary loves walking, reading, and having friends to stay.
After reading Botany and Zoology at St. Andrew's University Hilary then went on to work as a biochemist in an Analysis Department. Hilary enjoyed the work but at the same time had a burning desire to write. After the birth of her two children, Hilary wanted to devote more time to bringing up her children and writing so decided to leave her job.
One of the best things about being a writer, says Hilary, is receiving letters from children. She wishes that she had written to authors as a child, but it never occurred to her to contact them
Hilary now lives in a small village in Derbyshire with her family. When not writing Hilary loves walking, reading, and having friends to stay.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
August 1, 2017
I'd forgotten this was out until I saw it on the new releases shelf at the library. Wow. It's everything I've come to expect from Hilary McKay: brilliant characterization deftly done, entertaining and heartbreaking story, and the kind of prose you can't quite believe works because it just flows so readily. Binny continues to be an engaging protagonist, finding her way in the world, smart and uncertain all at once. I loved how natural her behavior was, from her initial action in taking what to her seems like a godsend of free money, then losing it and agonizing over the loss.
But what I loved even more was how much McKay reveals in not saying things. James discovering what "treasure" his friend Dill buries in the sand. Clem's silence about her flute. And, especially, the handyman Pete's role in their lives--and the lovely, lovely ending. Wonderfully done, and highly recommended.
But what I loved even more was how much McKay reveals in not saying things. James discovering what "treasure" his friend Dill buries in the sand. Clem's silence about her flute. And, especially, the handyman Pete's role in their lives--and the lovely, lovely ending. Wonderfully done, and highly recommended.
August 8, 2017
This one took me a little bit to get into, but of course it ended up being sweet and wonderful and a good way to close my four day weekend in which I only did one or two things besides read. (And one of those was playing Gardenscapes.)
June 19, 2016
Is this among Hilary McKay's best books? Does it really rate five stars? I'm not sure. Perhaps yes, perhaps not. I'll probably know better when I reread it. All I know now is that I wish it had been at least five times longer, and I'm feeling sad because I have a gut feeling there won't be another book about Binny.
July 27, 2017
How I love Hilary McKay. Her unique sense of humor and writing style always make me wish for more. This book in the Binny series wasn't as much of a laugh riot as the others, but it was still sweet and funny. Binny's misadventures, and James and his wacky approach to life and friendship continue to amuse.
August 28, 2017
Lovely! It felt a little more adult than the first two, perhaps because the constant money struggles felt so relatable, but I really really enjoy how Hilary McKay can just make you disappear into the child's POV, so even though you know distantly what's going on with the grown-ups, what's actually important is obviously taking care of a pigeon or not getting murdered by your seven year old friend because you buried his spider-man figurine. Genius.
July 15, 2017
The third in a series of "Binny" books. I love McKay's writing. More please!
July 20, 2017
This was my introduction to Binny and her family, and I was bewitched from the start. This is the third Binny book by Hilary McKay, and I hope Ms. McKay has many more tales to tell about this enchanting character!
Twelve-year-old Binny is walking home from school one day, wishing she had money to buy her mother a birthday present. As she passes the bank, she spies a pile of money left in the ATM. It appears her wish has been granted! Magic or miracle, Binny is glad to accept the gift.
She soon decides that the witch who lives next door, Miss Piper, knows about the money. Guilt begins to gnaw at her, and Binny realizes that she has to return it to the bank. But when she looks for the money, she discovers she’s lost it.
Although I haven’t read the other two Binny books, I suspect that this is not the only time that Binny’s wild imagination and impetuous nature has gotten her into hilarious situations. Binny is the kind of kid who makes you smile—or laugh out loud—as you root for her. And yet, you know that if you were her parent, you would simply shake your head and sigh, “Oh Binny!” before pulling her into your arms.
I received an advance reader copy of Binny Bewitched in exchange for my unbiased review of the book. But I’m on the lookout for other Hilary McKay books now—starting with the first two Binny books! I’m so glad to have been introduced to this fantastic author!
Twelve-year-old Binny is walking home from school one day, wishing she had money to buy her mother a birthday present. As she passes the bank, she spies a pile of money left in the ATM. It appears her wish has been granted! Magic or miracle, Binny is glad to accept the gift.
She soon decides that the witch who lives next door, Miss Piper, knows about the money. Guilt begins to gnaw at her, and Binny realizes that she has to return it to the bank. But when she looks for the money, she discovers she’s lost it.
Although I haven’t read the other two Binny books, I suspect that this is not the only time that Binny’s wild imagination and impetuous nature has gotten her into hilarious situations. Binny is the kind of kid who makes you smile—or laugh out loud—as you root for her. And yet, you know that if you were her parent, you would simply shake your head and sigh, “Oh Binny!” before pulling her into your arms.
I received an advance reader copy of Binny Bewitched in exchange for my unbiased review of the book. But I’m on the lookout for other Hilary McKay books now—starting with the first two Binny books! I’m so glad to have been introduced to this fantastic author!
August 27, 2017
I think the magic is gone. I thought this was brief, unsurprising, and thinly developed; I thought it began to blend the Cornwallises with the Cassons, because the behaviors overlapped and the families blurred together; I thought the dialogue was too glib and ready and the typical McKay adult undercurrents really dark, to the point where they leaped off the page in stark contrast to the rest of the story.
Which is really depressing.
Which is really depressing.
Read
January 5, 2018An adventuresome romp, funny, full of wit and charm, Hilary McKay’s Binny series will keep 8 to 12 year-olds reading long beyond “lights-out.”
Binny Bewitched is no different, as Binny finds money and has to come to grips with using the money for her own means or finding the owner. With a detective spirit, and an unlikely partner, she sets out on the investigation.
--Le Coeur de l'Artiste
Binny Bewitched is no different, as Binny finds money and has to come to grips with using the money for her own means or finding the owner. With a detective spirit, and an unlikely partner, she sets out on the investigation.
--Le Coeur de l'Artiste
June 25, 2017
It's the Little Bits, Between the Lines, That I Like the Most
I am a newcomer to the Binny books, but have been as charmed and delighted by them as have been any of the author's most ardent fans. The entire Cornwallis family will capture your hearts and imaginations, and every young reader should give at least one of the books a good, thorough try.
This time around, (this is the third Binny book), Binny has, in a momentary impulse, pocketed and then misplaced some money she saw sticking out of an ATM machine. Overcome by guilt she is desperate to return the money, but she hid it and can't find it and comes to fear that someone in her family or close circle has filched the filthy lucre. Because this is Binny she also suspects that the slippery woman in the holiday cottage next door is a witch, and a witch who knows her secret. So, we get a mystery and a bit of Tell-Tale Heart. Beneath that rather antic premise, though, we learn a good deal about how Binny's family has had to manage and make do in the proud but impoverished condition in which they found themselves after Binny's Dad's death. There are dozens of little exchanges and brief set pieces that drive this point home repeatedly.
And that, friends, is what I wish to mention. While there is a clear story arc here, with rising tension and a resolution and a satisfying denouement and all of the rest, the appeal, to me, of the Binny books resides in the odd little bits that are scattered about the book. A brief exchange between Binny and her sister Clem; a surprisingly perceptive comment by little James; a few comments from a teacher who sympathizes with Binny's inability to afford a school break excursion on which all the other students are going; a teasing line from Gareth; some quiet moments of conversation over a cup of tea. These snippets and glances add up to a very satisfying sense of the strength and integrity and affection that binds the Cornwallis family and their dearest friends.
So, not to put too sharp an edge on it, but these are amusing and entertaining and instructive, but also affirming and restorative tales that glow with insight and good humor. A very nice find indeed.
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
I am a newcomer to the Binny books, but have been as charmed and delighted by them as have been any of the author's most ardent fans. The entire Cornwallis family will capture your hearts and imaginations, and every young reader should give at least one of the books a good, thorough try.
This time around, (this is the third Binny book), Binny has, in a momentary impulse, pocketed and then misplaced some money she saw sticking out of an ATM machine. Overcome by guilt she is desperate to return the money, but she hid it and can't find it and comes to fear that someone in her family or close circle has filched the filthy lucre. Because this is Binny she also suspects that the slippery woman in the holiday cottage next door is a witch, and a witch who knows her secret. So, we get a mystery and a bit of Tell-Tale Heart. Beneath that rather antic premise, though, we learn a good deal about how Binny's family has had to manage and make do in the proud but impoverished condition in which they found themselves after Binny's Dad's death. There are dozens of little exchanges and brief set pieces that drive this point home repeatedly.
And that, friends, is what I wish to mention. While there is a clear story arc here, with rising tension and a resolution and a satisfying denouement and all of the rest, the appeal, to me, of the Binny books resides in the odd little bits that are scattered about the book. A brief exchange between Binny and her sister Clem; a surprisingly perceptive comment by little James; a few comments from a teacher who sympathizes with Binny's inability to afford a school break excursion on which all the other students are going; a teasing line from Gareth; some quiet moments of conversation over a cup of tea. These snippets and glances add up to a very satisfying sense of the strength and integrity and affection that binds the Cornwallis family and their dearest friends.
So, not to put too sharp an edge on it, but these are amusing and entertaining and instructive, but also affirming and restorative tales that glow with insight and good humor. A very nice find indeed.
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
July 20, 2017
Binny’s family has been concerned with money since her father died. They live in a house that is far too small for all of them, her sister has sold all of her possessions to pay for flute lessons, and her mother works extra shifts all of the time. So when Binny sees a large amount of money left behind in an ATM, she grabs it and takes it. Does that make her a thief or just lucky? Binny soon discovers though that she can’t spend the money without others asking lots of questions. So she hides it, then hides it again and again until she can’t remember where she hid it! Meanwhile, Binny’s neighbor seems to be putting curses on all of them, like Clem’s flute breaking and James losing his best friend over buried treasure. As Binny realizes she has to be honest about the money, she has to find it first and figure out just who may have taken it.
This is the third Binny book and it’s just as charming and fantastic as the first two. McKay has a gorgeous way of writing, showing her characters and families complete with messy homes, money problems, and everyday woes. She always gives her characters lots of heart and big imaginations so that even normal days turn into adventures and bad decisions turn into mysteries.
As always, McKay’s families are ones that you want to spend even more time with. Readers will want to climb behind the couch with James, explore Clem’s bare but lovely room, share the birthday cake, and explore the beaches. The love in this family overflows the pages, even when they are distracted with their own problems. In fact, a hallmark of McKay’s books are that the children do the figuring out and realizations, not the adults. It’s a refreshing look at the power of children when they are given plenty of freedom.
Another winner from McKay! If you haven’t met Binny yet, make sure to start with the first since they are all such a treat. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
This is the third Binny book and it’s just as charming and fantastic as the first two. McKay has a gorgeous way of writing, showing her characters and families complete with messy homes, money problems, and everyday woes. She always gives her characters lots of heart and big imaginations so that even normal days turn into adventures and bad decisions turn into mysteries.
As always, McKay’s families are ones that you want to spend even more time with. Readers will want to climb behind the couch with James, explore Clem’s bare but lovely room, share the birthday cake, and explore the beaches. The love in this family overflows the pages, even when they are distracted with their own problems. In fact, a hallmark of McKay’s books are that the children do the figuring out and realizations, not the adults. It’s a refreshing look at the power of children when they are given plenty of freedom.
Another winner from McKay! If you haven’t met Binny yet, make sure to start with the first since they are all such a treat. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
November 3, 2017
One reviewer mentions wanting to climb inside Hilary McKay's books, so enchanting and comforting are her story-worlds. The gentle chaos of Binny's life features the endearing six-year-old James, the flute-playing, responsible eldest sister Clemmy, and Binny herself, beginning to develop her writing gift and earnestly navigating her preteen years--all part of the recently fatherless family still getting its feet under it. In this third installment, there is Pete, the builder who never quite seems to finish the projects he was hired to do, but is always around; Miss Piper, the witch (? Binny isn't sure, but there is definitely something frightening about her) next door; and the wad of cash Binny finds near an ATM one day that becomes another character in the story. Money is always scarce, it's their mother's birthday coming soon, and Binny is half horrified with herself for taking the money. Then it's lost, and Binny's whole existence becomes about finding the money. 4th grade and up.
July 12, 2017
More of a 3.5, actually.
McKay's writing is lovely, as usual, but I felt this book needed a little more time and space than it was given. Nonetheless, it's always a pleasure to spend time with the Cornwallis family. They feel just as vivid in this book as they have in all the others. Plus, Binny's friendship with Gareth is my favorite part of the Binny books, so I was glad to see him get a bit more page time in this installment.
My biggest complaint was
McKay's writing is lovely, as usual, but I felt this book needed a little more time and space than it was given. Nonetheless, it's always a pleasure to spend time with the Cornwallis family. They feel just as vivid in this book as they have in all the others. Plus, Binny's friendship with Gareth is my favorite part of the Binny books, so I was glad to see him get a bit more page time in this installment.
My biggest complaint was
February 5, 2018
In a moment of weakness, Binny scoops up a tempting wad of twenty pound notes left behind in an ATM. But the glorious thoughts of school trips she can take and gifts she can give soon lose out to the reality that she can't possibly use the money without dire consequences. She resolves to take it back, but she's tried to stash her ill-gotten gains in so many places that she can't remember where it last was. Meanwhile, her witchy neighbor, Miss Piper, (who has asked for "first refusal" of their cottage should they ever decide to sell and is therefore on Binny's enemy list), has started making cunning clothespin figures of Binny and her family. Does she know about the money?
I love every character in cash-strapped Cornwallis family, but it's Binny, the aspiring writer, who tugs at my heart the most. And I have to wonder whether Miss Piper, who not only makes the figures of the family but puts them in a dollhouse, isn't Hilary McKay come to literary life.
I love every character in cash-strapped Cornwallis family, but it's Binny, the aspiring writer, who tugs at my heart the most. And I have to wonder whether Miss Piper, who not only makes the figures of the family but puts them in a dollhouse, isn't Hilary McKay come to literary life.
April 20, 2021
I just loved this finale to the Binny trilogy. Her Bohemian, haphazard family lives in a tiny, shabby house in a little town in Cornwall. An old lady moves in next door and casually offers to buy their house so she can enlarge her own. Instantly she becomes an enemy and Binny sees her dollmaking and portraits as a form of witch craft. There's also Pete who has been repairing their house and never seems to be finished, for some strange reason. Oh, there's plenty of magic afoot of different kinds.
February 20, 2017
I have loved every word I have read by Hilary McKay, and the Binny books are not exception. I was able to read a galley of this one, and once again, the complexities of the world are seen through the eyes of small children, and life with loss and sadness is leavened with beauty, hope, and hilarity, That may sound like a lot for a small story, but it is not, as she wields her words with joyous precision.
January 14, 2018
I like Binny and her seaweed hair. I like how she fits with her family and I appreciate how she is not always comfortable with herself and others. At one point Clem asks her why she has to be an enemy to everyone. She is opinionated and stubborn, but she is also dedicated and fierce. She makes mistakes - lots of them - but she owns them and deals with the difficulties she creates honestly and with the support she allows.
May 3, 2019
A really charming family story. I love the character of Binny and I love following her adventures! (8+)
*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. If you use it in any marketing material, online or anywhere on a published book without asking permission from me first, I will ask you to remove that use immediately. Thank you!*
*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. If you use it in any marketing material, online or anywhere on a published book without asking permission from me first, I will ask you to remove that use immediately. Thank you!*
December 1, 2018
I adored this book, its bracing combination of family, friendship, moral dilemma and hilarity. This was my entry book to Binny and her world and I couldn't be happier to know her, her family, friends, and the seaside town she calls home.
July 26, 2017
A bit circuitous.
August 17, 2017
Delightful. I'm going to go do kung fu in the window while I wait for the first two books in the series to arrive at the public library.
January 21, 2018
Sweet, but slight.
January 29, 2021
My girl and I read this together and loved it. Cute characters, good message, some conversation starting topics and fun British lingo.
October 19, 2016
Binny Bewitched returns to the Cornwallis household and sees the family in disarray. Binny herself has misplaced something that wasn't hers to start off with. James and his new best friend are engrossed in their own adventures, whilst Clem is acting particularly oddly. Coupled with that, the builder keeps coming round to do one last job on the house, whilst their next door neighbour is, pretty definitely, a witch....
Sometimes it's hard to rate McKay's work as you rate it within a certain context of wonder that is formed from your experience of her other books. This, the third in the Binny series, feels like an ending to that series and there will never be a part of me that chooses for McKay's stories to end. She's such a gifted, genuine, lovely storyteller that I get greedy and hungry and desperate for them to continue. I love what she does. Binny Bewitched then gets five stars, because it is perfect, and yet it's not because I feel like this is it, but then it is perfect because it is here and it reads like soup and quilts and snow on a school morning.
What makes Binny Bewitched so wonderful is the way it hangs on a cusp of growth. There aren't many writers who can transition well from one age group to another within the same text; from boyhood to manhood, from girlhood to womanhood. It's a complicated moment and it's one that, I wonder now, I haven't described particularly well. Maybe it's better to pull it back to the idea of moments; moments when you look at somebody and see a friend, but then, one day, you look at them and see something different. Something new and sharp and wonderful. Something else. Or when you're walking down the road, and you see something that you've seen a thousand days, but then, suddenly, it means something totally different. Shifts. Changes.
Adèle Geras does this well. and Susie Day is, I suspect, another author who gets it. Who understands that moment when the world makes sense and then suddenly reforms to make another sort of sense. A different sort of sense. And that's what Binny Bewitched captures, so wonderfully, that difference between the self you are and the self you will be. Binny is a wonderful character. She's stubborn, tempestuous, funny, brave, passionate, confused, perfect. She's everything, and this book is lovely and I hope this isn't the end for this series but if it is, what a way to go out. And why we haven't given McKay the Freedom of Children's Literature yet, I do not know.
Sometimes it's hard to rate McKay's work as you rate it within a certain context of wonder that is formed from your experience of her other books. This, the third in the Binny series, feels like an ending to that series and there will never be a part of me that chooses for McKay's stories to end. She's such a gifted, genuine, lovely storyteller that I get greedy and hungry and desperate for them to continue. I love what she does. Binny Bewitched then gets five stars, because it is perfect, and yet it's not because I feel like this is it, but then it is perfect because it is here and it reads like soup and quilts and snow on a school morning.
What makes Binny Bewitched so wonderful is the way it hangs on a cusp of growth. There aren't many writers who can transition well from one age group to another within the same text; from boyhood to manhood, from girlhood to womanhood. It's a complicated moment and it's one that, I wonder now, I haven't described particularly well. Maybe it's better to pull it back to the idea of moments; moments when you look at somebody and see a friend, but then, one day, you look at them and see something different. Something new and sharp and wonderful. Something else. Or when you're walking down the road, and you see something that you've seen a thousand days, but then, suddenly, it means something totally different. Shifts. Changes.
Adèle Geras does this well. and Susie Day is, I suspect, another author who gets it. Who understands that moment when the world makes sense and then suddenly reforms to make another sort of sense. A different sort of sense. And that's what Binny Bewitched captures, so wonderfully, that difference between the self you are and the self you will be. Binny is a wonderful character. She's stubborn, tempestuous, funny, brave, passionate, confused, perfect. She's everything, and this book is lovely and I hope this isn't the end for this series but if it is, what a way to go out. And why we haven't given McKay the Freedom of Children's Literature yet, I do not know.
October 31, 2016
Binny has certainly cast a spell on me, from the moment I met her in her first adventures. This time she has a need for money to buy a special gift for her Mum, when a windfall appears unexpectedly. Having taken the cash she realises that it's more a problem than a solution. The new neighbour seems to have supernatural powers and omniscience and Pete the builder has lots of good ideas. All of the familiar characters are here to savour and envelop the reader in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Please don't think this is stale or formulaic though; far from it.
What accomplished writing, so easy to read, and yet so skilfully handling those little problems that grow out of proportion to fill our lives. Beautiful language and everyday at the same time. This is truly reading for pleasure.
What accomplished writing, so easy to read, and yet so skilfully handling those little problems that grow out of proportion to fill our lives. Beautiful language and everyday at the same time. This is truly reading for pleasure.
Want to read
January 6, 2017Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
Want to read
February 19, 2017I received a copy of this book from Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 2, 2017
I really liked it.
October 4, 2017
My niece and I were disappointed in this one. Especially since the first two were so much fun
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews