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Tuesday McGillycuddy #2
A Week without Tuesday
Something is broken in the land of story. Real and imaginary worlds are colliding-putting everything and everyone in grave peril. Tuesday and Baxterr, at the request of the Librarian, and with the help of Vivienne Small, venture to find the Gardener-the one person who can stop this catastrophe. On their way, they'll meet friends and foes, and discover strengths they didn't know they had. Will they be able to save the land of story?
400 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2015
33 people are currently reading
620 people want to read
About the author
Angelica Banks
6 books88 followersAngelica Banks is not one writer but two. Danielle Wood and Heather Rose are both award-winning authors and they have been friends for years. When they decided to write a book together they chose a pen name to make things easy.
Heather Rose
Before embarking on the Tuesday McGillycuddy series, Heather Rose was already the author of three novels for adults: White Heart, The Butterfly Man and The River Wife. Heather started working life as a writer before becoming an advertising copywriter in Melbourne. She has won numerous international creative awards. Her husband Rowan is a songwriter and composer and her three children (now rather grown-up) all love books, reading, art, movies, theatre and music. Heather has a fat cat called Chaplin, two elegant rats called Miko and Komiko, and she lives by the sea in Tasmania.
Danielle Wood
Before Danielle Wood invited Heather Rose to collaborate on the Tuesday McGillycuddy series, she was also an author of an adult novel, The Alphabet of Light and Dark (2002 Australian/Vogel Literary Award), a collection of short fiction: Rosie Little’s Cautionary Tales for Girls. She also wrote the biography Housewife Superstar: the very best of Marjorie Bligh and is editor of Marjorie Bligh’s HOME: Hints on Managing Everything and co-editor of Deep South: Stories from Tasmania. She has recently published a new collection of stories – Mothers’ Grimm. Danielle started working life as a journalist but now teaches writing at the University of Tasmania. She lives with her husband, John, three wild and wonderful children, one smart kelpie called Scout, several pedigree guinea pigs, two rats and many thousands of bees.d
Heather Rose
Before embarking on the Tuesday McGillycuddy series, Heather Rose was already the author of three novels for adults: White Heart, The Butterfly Man and The River Wife. Heather started working life as a writer before becoming an advertising copywriter in Melbourne. She has won numerous international creative awards. Her husband Rowan is a songwriter and composer and her three children (now rather grown-up) all love books, reading, art, movies, theatre and music. Heather has a fat cat called Chaplin, two elegant rats called Miko and Komiko, and she lives by the sea in Tasmania.
Danielle Wood
Before Danielle Wood invited Heather Rose to collaborate on the Tuesday McGillycuddy series, she was also an author of an adult novel, The Alphabet of Light and Dark (2002 Australian/Vogel Literary Award), a collection of short fiction: Rosie Little’s Cautionary Tales for Girls. She also wrote the biography Housewife Superstar: the very best of Marjorie Bligh and is editor of Marjorie Bligh’s HOME: Hints on Managing Everything and co-editor of Deep South: Stories from Tasmania. She has recently published a new collection of stories – Mothers’ Grimm. Danielle started working life as a journalist but now teaches writing at the University of Tasmania. She lives with her husband, John, three wild and wonderful children, one smart kelpie called Scout, several pedigree guinea pigs, two rats and many thousands of bees.d
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
June 17, 2015
I loved Finding Serendipity, the first book featuring Tuesday McGillycuddy. But I adored A Week Without Tuesday. It is fun, imaginative, and with an excellent story and characters. Vivienne Small, a character created by Tuesday’s mother, the famous author Serendipity Smith, needs help in her world. In the real world, newspaper headlines scream ‘EXCLUSIVE! SEVEN WRITERS ABDUCTED.’ These writers are turning up in places a long way from where they are meant to be and are invariably injured and have no memory of how they got to these places. So Denis McGillycuddy in an effort to protect his wife and daughter from being the next writers whisked off and hurt, decrees Serendipity or Tuesday must write. The plan sounds good in theory. But it doesn’t stop Tuesday being whisked off into the world of story, which is in chaos with worlds colliding.
This is a story of love and sacrifice with memorable characters. I also loved the inclusion of characters and references to other books and all the helpful titbits about writing. Parents can enjoy reading this book with their kids, while teachers and students will benefit from some of the hints given about using imagination, being a writer and developing story. I loved the humour in this book and the vercaka are suitably scary as they attack and prey on people’s secret fears. This is a book that could be read more than once and discover more things in it, missed first time through. This feat of imagination deserves a place in every home, school and library. It is a gem. I do think you would need to read the first book in the series first to gain the full benefit from this captivating book.
This is a story of love and sacrifice with memorable characters. I also loved the inclusion of characters and references to other books and all the helpful titbits about writing. Parents can enjoy reading this book with their kids, while teachers and students will benefit from some of the hints given about using imagination, being a writer and developing story. I loved the humour in this book and the vercaka are suitably scary as they attack and prey on people’s secret fears. This is a book that could be read more than once and discover more things in it, missed first time through. This feat of imagination deserves a place in every home, school and library. It is a gem. I do think you would need to read the first book in the series first to gain the full benefit from this captivating book.
June 15, 2015
This is the best series. So well written and so compelling. Just amazing.
This book just makes me happy. Tuesday is delightful and Baxterr is amazing. Vivienne Small is a great character as well; very strong and independent and I love that it almost seems like she has secrets from her writer ( particularly the fern grotto).
When Tuesday is with the Gardener and she is seeing all the fictional worlds. I was trying to guess what she was seeing... I got Charlotte's Web, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Enchanted Wood/The Magic Faraway Tree. There are probably a few more that I missed but it made me think about the books I love and what their worlds would look like from the outside.
I'm torn. I would love to see more of Tuesday's adventures but I don't want the series to suffer for it either.
This book just makes me happy. Tuesday is delightful and Baxterr is amazing. Vivienne Small is a great character as well; very strong and independent and I love that it almost seems like she has secrets from her writer ( particularly the fern grotto).
When Tuesday is with the Gardener and she is seeing all the fictional worlds. I was trying to guess what she was seeing... I got Charlotte's Web, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Enchanted Wood/The Magic Faraway Tree. There are probably a few more that I missed but it made me think about the books I love and what their worlds would look like from the outside.
I'm torn. I would love to see more of Tuesday's adventures but I don't want the series to suffer for it either.
February 8, 2016
Huge thank you to Raincoast for this ARC!
I adored Finding Serendipity. I realize books about girls and their dogs aren't getting the greatest wrap right now, but I'm a complete and utter sucker for them. This is only the second instalment of the Tuesday McGillycuddy series, and I hope it's not the last because I love these characters and this world so so much.
Tuesday is just such a delightful heroine, full of crazy and curiosities. This time around she is writing her novel, and all of a sudden the novel world and the real world begin to collide. With the help from Vivienne Small and the Librarian, they state that only the Gardener can fix this calamity from happening. Once again this book is full of charm and humour. I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit on the train ride home as I was reading this because Tuesday and Baxterr are just such a delight.
This series is just full of creativity and imagination. It's one of those middle grade series that has the ability to hook itself to the reader and keep them guessing. This particular instalment is quite the adventure, and I was so excited to see more of Tuesday's parents in this novel. In fact, I don't think there is a character I didn't like in this novel!
If you haven't read Finding Serendipity, do yourself a favour and read that. Then go straight out afterwards and read this book too. This is such a gem of a series that has these magical powers to delight and entertain readers. If you love middle grade, or have a middle grader in your life who loves grand adventures with cheeky characters, then you need to get them hooked to this series.
Can I have book three yet? There has to be more! Please let there be more. <3
I adored Finding Serendipity. I realize books about girls and their dogs aren't getting the greatest wrap right now, but I'm a complete and utter sucker for them. This is only the second instalment of the Tuesday McGillycuddy series, and I hope it's not the last because I love these characters and this world so so much.
Tuesday is just such a delightful heroine, full of crazy and curiosities. This time around she is writing her novel, and all of a sudden the novel world and the real world begin to collide. With the help from Vivienne Small and the Librarian, they state that only the Gardener can fix this calamity from happening. Once again this book is full of charm and humour. I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit on the train ride home as I was reading this because Tuesday and Baxterr are just such a delight.
This series is just full of creativity and imagination. It's one of those middle grade series that has the ability to hook itself to the reader and keep them guessing. This particular instalment is quite the adventure, and I was so excited to see more of Tuesday's parents in this novel. In fact, I don't think there is a character I didn't like in this novel!
If you haven't read Finding Serendipity, do yourself a favour and read that. Then go straight out afterwards and read this book too. This is such a gem of a series that has these magical powers to delight and entertain readers. If you love middle grade, or have a middle grader in your life who loves grand adventures with cheeky characters, then you need to get them hooked to this series.
Can I have book three yet? There has to be more! Please let there be more. <3
February 19, 2020
This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
MY THOUGHTS
After reading Finding Serendipity, I immediately put this book on hold at my library because I enjoyed it so much. I am happy to say that I enjoyed this even more than the first book and that this is my first 5 star read of 2020!
Just as Tuesday is becoming a writer, writing is taken away from her. Famous writers across the world are disappearing and then appearing in remote places far from home. So, Tuesday's father has forbidden her and her mother from writing, in fear of the same happening to them, but you cannot avoid writing and the place stories come from. Vivienne Small, the main character of Serendipity's books, is noticing that something is wrong with her world and calls for Tuesday and Baxterr. There is something wrong with the land of stories and if Tuesday doesn't fix it, that means no more stories can be written.
I absolutely loved the premise of the first book, Finding Serendipity. I loved how it was a book about books, but it focused on the craft of writing, and it was an imaginative take on how authors create their stories. But the adventure in the last book didn't fully capture my attention. I loved it, but I still felt the need to take breaks. I did not want a break from this book! I read it beginning to end in one afternoon because the adventure was so compelling!
This book really expanded the universe of writing from book one. We only really got to see the library and Vivienne's world before, but now we see how all of the writers' worlds are spaced together, and the danger that occurs when they get too close! It made for a very thrilling story! We also learn more about the Librarian, as well as who helps run the land of stories. It was just so imaginative, seeing how the land of stories functioned. I still have a few questions in regards to the worlds: Do screenwriters and playwrights create worlds here too? What about fanfiction? If someone writes fanfiction, do they create their own world or does it combine with the original world? I can't help but be curious about this world!
As thrilling as this book was, it was also quite amusing! The world is not as fun as the first book (although, there were also dangers in book one!), and there were very deadly situations, but it was all written in a rather amusing way. This book is written with that classic middle-grade charm that makes reading fun, even if you are anxious about the characters surviving a situation. Like the last book, this book also followed multiple characters, occasionally showing the real world while events happened in the land of stories. In the last book, I didn't feel as tense because we found out early on that the mother was okay. This book has tense moments on both sides, so the switches between worlds added tension and made me really want to keep reading!
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I loved this book and I already put the next book on hold at my library! I honestly wish this land of stories would exist, because how fun would it be to be literally taken to another world, a world you have created (of course this sounds more fun when you're not writing a dangerous book)! But I'll just have to not-so-literary be taken to another world when writing.
MY THOUGHTS
After reading Finding Serendipity, I immediately put this book on hold at my library because I enjoyed it so much. I am happy to say that I enjoyed this even more than the first book and that this is my first 5 star read of 2020!
Just as Tuesday is becoming a writer, writing is taken away from her. Famous writers across the world are disappearing and then appearing in remote places far from home. So, Tuesday's father has forbidden her and her mother from writing, in fear of the same happening to them, but you cannot avoid writing and the place stories come from. Vivienne Small, the main character of Serendipity's books, is noticing that something is wrong with her world and calls for Tuesday and Baxterr. There is something wrong with the land of stories and if Tuesday doesn't fix it, that means no more stories can be written.
I absolutely loved the premise of the first book, Finding Serendipity. I loved how it was a book about books, but it focused on the craft of writing, and it was an imaginative take on how authors create their stories. But the adventure in the last book didn't fully capture my attention. I loved it, but I still felt the need to take breaks. I did not want a break from this book! I read it beginning to end in one afternoon because the adventure was so compelling!
This book really expanded the universe of writing from book one. We only really got to see the library and Vivienne's world before, but now we see how all of the writers' worlds are spaced together, and the danger that occurs when they get too close! It made for a very thrilling story! We also learn more about the Librarian, as well as who helps run the land of stories. It was just so imaginative, seeing how the land of stories functioned. I still have a few questions in regards to the worlds: Do screenwriters and playwrights create worlds here too? What about fanfiction? If someone writes fanfiction, do they create their own world or does it combine with the original world? I can't help but be curious about this world!
As thrilling as this book was, it was also quite amusing! The world is not as fun as the first book (although, there were also dangers in book one!), and there were very deadly situations, but it was all written in a rather amusing way. This book is written with that classic middle-grade charm that makes reading fun, even if you are anxious about the characters surviving a situation. Like the last book, this book also followed multiple characters, occasionally showing the real world while events happened in the land of stories. In the last book, I didn't feel as tense because we found out early on that the mother was okay. This book has tense moments on both sides, so the switches between worlds added tension and made me really want to keep reading!
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I loved this book and I already put the next book on hold at my library! I honestly wish this land of stories would exist, because how fun would it be to be literally taken to another world, a world you have created (of course this sounds more fun when you're not writing a dangerous book)! But I'll just have to not-so-literary be taken to another world when writing.
May 22, 2017
This is proving to be a surprisingly good series. It's aimed at gradeschool or middle school readers, I suppose, but it's not silly or simplistic. In many ways, it works as an extended metaphor for the writing process, but it also makes for a good yarn in its own right. Endearing characters and charming story. This book deals gently with some fairly serious circumstances. Looking forward to the next installment.
Read
November 4, 2021Personally, I hate reading and would do anything to not read until I started reading the book A Week without Tuesday about a girl named Tuesday who loved writing books. She is faced with a challenge that doesn’t allow her to write and goes on a mission to a place only writers could ever go. Along the way she brings her dog Baxter and meets one of her friends named Vivienne Small they are faced with many new challenges that will both help and hurt their mission. When Tuesday and her dog leave home, she doesn’t know how long the mission will take and ends up going missing. Not knowing this, Tuesday is told terrible news about her family, and is torn between going back home or staying. Tuesday doesn’t know whether to stay or go knowing that the risk would possibly be losing every single book ever written. Overall the story was very descriptive, full of fun adventures with both great and terrible surprises, the author shows the characters’ personalities, describing every setting with amazing details. That is why I definitely recommend reading this book.
January 6, 2024
Such a beautifully written story! I love this series and I do hope that others may find and enjoy it also.
November 14, 2020
4.5 or 5 stars. Amazing sequel to the amazing book Finding Serendipity
December 18, 2019
My 8 yr old asked to re-read the 1st book in this series, which we received in a BYL Family Reading Crate, but instead I checked this out from the library.
I enjoyed this 2nd book in the series but not enough to continue on. It was full of adventure and interesting relationships but I have too many read aloud ideas to keep going on this series. I wouldn't be surprised if my daughter goes on by herself though. 😊
I enjoyed this 2nd book in the series but not enough to continue on. It was full of adventure and interesting relationships but I have too many read aloud ideas to keep going on this series. I wouldn't be surprised if my daughter goes on by herself though. 😊
January 27, 2016
What a delightful sequel to Finding Serendipity! I'm impressed, yet again, by the creativity and thoughtfulness that went into the execution of this story. It's fun and it's smart and it's so easy to like and read. I flew through the pages, happy to be reunited with Tuesday, Serendipity, Vivienne, Baxterr and a lot of other familiar faces, and pleased to be granted an entirely new story to fall in love with. It did take a while for things to really build up to an exciting point, but once it clicked into place for me (which was a couple of chapters in), it became a really fun sequel. I certainly wouldn't mind reading a third novel in this series!
January 24, 2023
I *loved* the world building in this book. I’ve read the first one 6 times and finding out it had more had my hopes very high, and it was beautiful. I enjoyed every word, and every chapter. It’s light hearted, sweet, and gentle like the first one, and someone an ever more magical adventure. So glad I got this even though it’s been 6 years since I got the first one, it’s still wonderful even though I’ve gotten older.
December 26, 2015
Another delightful adventure! I love the world that Banks came up with and the illustrations really bring it to life. There's a fair amount of danger and death for a middle grade, but the plot is real and interesting with nods to Charlotte's Web and Narnia that parents will enjoy too.
April 2, 2016
Such a cute book! I really like this series.
February 22, 2016
this was very interesting and at some points i found it hard to understand
butt cewl
butt cewl
August 26, 2017
I loved the first book in this trilogy, with the charmingly imaginative Tuesday McGillycuddy and her adorable family (including her unusual "doggo," Baxterr). The first book brings the creative process of writing to life in such a delightful way. In this volume, there is more danger: stories can take an author away until they are written, sacrifices might have to be made, real people could be injured or lost. There is an emphasis on the power of family love, and friendship, and a bit is said about spending one's entire life devoted to books and reading.
As an adult reading a book targeted to middle grade children, I might be over-analyzing what might have been intended to just be part of the adventure story within the story, but I feel a bit of ambivalence about this one.
Despite my reservations with this book (and I have a few about the next one too - I have a suspicion about where this story is headed), I highly recommend this series, and am sure it will inspire many children to pick up a pen (or perhaps ask for an old timey typewriter!) and imagine.
As an adult reading a book targeted to middle grade children, I might be over-analyzing what might have been intended to just be part of the adventure story within the story, but I feel a bit of ambivalence about this one.
Despite my reservations with this book (and I have a few about the next one too - I have a suspicion about where this story is headed), I highly recommend this series, and am sure it will inspire many children to pick up a pen (or perhaps ask for an old timey typewriter!) and imagine.
January 19, 2021
I’m completely speechless. This book is filled with all the stuff I love, writing, adventure and mystery. This is the next Tuesday McGillycuddy adventure, I was overjoyed to hear there was another book.
The world of Vivienne Small is filled with wonder and magic, but it is under threat. The dreaded vercaka have overrun the City of Clocks and a Winged dog, that had been attacked by the vercaka, falls from the sky carrying a puzzling note. The worlds of writers are colliding and writers are getting thrown out of the world of stories in all sorts of places like Peru, America, the Sahara desert, anywhere really. And some writers end up getting injured!
When Tuesday McGillycuddy and her faithful dog, Baxterr, are unexpectedly taken to the world of story, they must try to find out the cause of this chaos and make it right. With the help of their friend Vivienne Small, they might just be able to pull it off. Won’t they?
I clung to every word of this magnificent book, it was just perfect. It just jumped to my top ten favourite books! The characters were so imaginative and resourceful, this book had all the right plots and problems. It reached “The End” too soon. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Keep Reading, Adventures Await!
The world of Vivienne Small is filled with wonder and magic, but it is under threat. The dreaded vercaka have overrun the City of Clocks and a Winged dog, that had been attacked by the vercaka, falls from the sky carrying a puzzling note. The worlds of writers are colliding and writers are getting thrown out of the world of stories in all sorts of places like Peru, America, the Sahara desert, anywhere really. And some writers end up getting injured!
When Tuesday McGillycuddy and her faithful dog, Baxterr, are unexpectedly taken to the world of story, they must try to find out the cause of this chaos and make it right. With the help of their friend Vivienne Small, they might just be able to pull it off. Won’t they?
I clung to every word of this magnificent book, it was just perfect. It just jumped to my top ten favourite books! The characters were so imaginative and resourceful, this book had all the right plots and problems. It reached “The End” too soon. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Keep Reading, Adventures Await!
April 30, 2018
A delightful read. I felt like the pages slipped by as I tumbled through the story. I am still enjoying the concept and premise behind this story and I like that we learn more about how the world of story "works" in this novel. Still, I think I enjoyed the first installment of the series a little more.
I'd like to read the next one, although I don't know when I'll be able to get my hands on a copy.
I'd like to read the next one, although I don't know when I'll be able to get my hands on a copy.
December 28, 2019
I read Finding Serendipity years ago and recently re-read it to my creative 6 yo who absolutely loved it. This was my first time reading the sequel and, while I found it a bit uneven, the little one loved this one even more. A good adventure worthy of the first book with plenty of the characters you already know and love from the first book.
Now I just have to successfully hide from here that there is a third book for a few years until she can read that sob fest to herself and we'll be fine! ;-)
Now I just have to successfully hide from here that there is a third book for a few years until she can read that sob fest to herself and we'll be fine! ;-)
September 8, 2020
This was super cute, as per usual.
It was a bit of a wild ride there, and it's clearly opened to a third book. I will say like Vivienne Small, Tuesday is going to have all sorts of adventures.
I will say that I'm starting to really not like the librarian, I would have hoped that she would have been replaced and not the Gardener. But other then that I liked all the characters i was supposed to like and hated the ones I was supposed to not like. So all in all a good book.
It has a good message too. That no end is written in stone, there's still time to change it.
It was a bit of a wild ride there, and it's clearly opened to a third book. I will say like Vivienne Small, Tuesday is going to have all sorts of adventures.
I will say that I'm starting to really not like the librarian, I would have hoped that she would have been replaced and not the Gardener. But other then that I liked all the characters i was supposed to like and hated the ones I was supposed to not like. So all in all a good book.
It has a good message too. That no end is written in stone, there's still time to change it.
July 23, 2018
This is the first proper chapter book I have read to my daughter. We both just loved it. There were at lot of tears with the injured flying dog in the opening chapters. There were laughs and hugging in scary bits. At the end of each chapter, “Please just one more chapter,” which led us to a few late nights.
A great book to enjoy on your own or with someone you love.
A great book to enjoy on your own or with someone you love.
June 24, 2017
This one like it's predecessor did not move beyond "cute" for me. It is cute, it has more meat than the first one, but I think the focus still stays on "cute" rather than plot. It did, however, have a much better editor who paid better attention to the illustrations.
April 22, 2019
As delightful as the first book. Tuesday goes There to help Vivienne and more wonderful adventures ensue. Each book is its own world and they must be manually managed. When they aren’t they collide together & Tuesday must help. We’re eager to start the 3rd.
July 13, 2021
Really enjoyed this book. It felt a little laggy towards this back end a little bit. It's just such an amazing world the two ladies that are the author, Angelica Banks, has created. I am looking forward to reading the next book with Payton!
August 15, 2021
Such a great story, with some unexpected twists. I know it is a book for children, but it contained some lovely heartfelt and surprising moments. It reminded me of how I felt reading books as a child.
March 25, 2023
This was so cute, and I had so much fun returning to this world and these characters! The only thing I didn’t like is we never found out why Denis got sick in the first place or if it might happen again and I don’t get the impression that we’ll learn that in the sequel either :/
December 19, 2023
This series is just so much more than I thought it would be. Though I feel like this one was particularly more depressing! It was lovely to read to my kids but we feel like we need a comedy break now.
October 29, 2024
Such a philosophical and creative, fantastical story (my favorites). I loved the first book. My only disappointment with this second book was the death and dying and suffering. Just seemed excessive for KidLit. Otherwise, I enjoyed it.
October 22, 2017
An endearing sequel full of fun and adventure for middle grade readers.
March 19, 2019
It was a very simple, heartwarming story. Very easy, very simple. Tuesday is a moral character. Some people in the world should really learn from her.
May 20, 2019
Another great installment in the series. So much fun!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews