The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring

Lewis Barnavelt #3

by John Bellairs, Richard Egielski (Illustrator)

Rose Rita Pottinger is dreading summer. With her best friend, Lewis Barnavelt, away at Boy Scout camp, vacation threatens to be altogether boring. But when Mrs. Zimmermann, Lewis's next door neighbor and a genuine witch, receives a strange deathbed letter from an eccentric uncle, unexpected things start to happen.

Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmermann set off on a trip to discover the meaning of the letter. A ransacked farmhouse, a missing ring, shadowy figures appearing in the night, and mysterious magic symbols are just the beginning as they are gradually drawn into a terrifying world of occult mysteries, where Mrs. Zimmermann's failing powers can't help them.

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Mystery, Childrens

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

John Bellairs (1938–1991) was an American novelist. He is best known for the children's classic The House with a Clock in its Walls (1973) and the fantasy novel The Face in the Frost (1969). Bellairs held a bachelor's degree from Notre Dame University and a master's in English from the University of Chicago. He later lived and wrote in Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! this was a bold choice for John. This series is about Lewis Barnavelt and his uncle. Mrs. Zimmerman is a main player and Rose Rita was introduced as a somewhat secondary character. In this book in the series, Rose Rita takes center stage. She plays the protagonist. Lewis goes off to summer camp and we don't hear from him, but about 5-10 pages of the whole book. Rose Rita heads off with Mrs. Zimmerman to the UP (upper peninsula) of MI. This is all about Rose.

I know this was written for middle grade readers, but this was a scary story I thought. A 13 year old is up in the middle of nowhere away from her family alone with only Mrs. Zimmerman and a witch is cursing Mrs. Zimmerman leaving Rose Rita all alone to figure everything out on her own. She has to figure everything out. Rose Rita is gutsy and really steps up here. She faces down a devil and an evil witch. This has the creep factor.

I love John Bellairs and his books and this is the creepiest and scariest thing I have read. It was sort of intense as well. I mean John Puts Rose Rita through the paces and I kept wondering how she was going to get out of this. This packs a punch in the middle grade books. Anyone who likes suspenseful and horrifying stories will enjoy this book, I think. It was really well done and kudos for John to give a female protagonist the story in the middle of this story about boys. This was the 70s and so this is pretty cool. It's a lovely twist John gives his readers. No one saw this coming. It's a great surprise.

[mark monday · Rating 3 out of 5]

if there's one typical thing that the resolutely atypical magical series by John Bellairs subscribes to, it is the cliché that outsiders band together. but of course it is more than a cliché, it is a reality, and it is something that helps the less-than-perfect kids of the world survive childhood with at least some of their self-esteem intact. the kids in this series are outsiders, but not the beautiful kind - they are the fat kids, the awkwardly aggressive tomboys, and the adults who are those children grown. in this third novel of the series, sidekick rose rita gets her own adventure, and it is just as grey-toned and real and disturbingly ambiguous as the adventures of her friend lewis.

in junior high i had michelle by my side, a tough black girl rejected by both blacks and girls, bigger and stronger than any guy, full of sarcasm, playing basketball and dreaming of being a marine. in high school i had marcy, just as tough and even more sarcastic, also a basketball player, happy to lose her temper and eager to show off her strength. every kid who sees himself as an outsider should have a resourceful tomboy as their best friend. michelle and marcy were my rose rita and it was gratifying to see rose off on her own and to see her as someone who didn't exist simply to protect lewis, constantly by his side.

and yet i felt a sadness in lewis missing out on such an important and dangerous escapade. i bet the mystery could have been solved faster if there were two minds working on it, right? plus rose would have had lewis to share her adventure! i wonder what adventures michelle had. wouldn't marcy's life be even better with me by her side? there is something so wistful yet ineffable about contemplating journeys that move people away from each other.

[Elena Rodríguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seguimos con la tercera parte de Lewis Barnavelt y sus aventuras. El primer libro de esta saga es “El reloj de la casa en la pared”, una obra que me gustó mucho en su momento.

En este caso nos encontramos con Rose Rita y la señora Zimmerman las cuales tiene que ir a buscar un anillo mágico en una granja. Ha sido una lectura ligera y me hace pasar un buen rato y más si sigues con un poco de bloqueo lector.

Los he leído en inglés y la verdad es que son fáciles de comprender. No contiene muchas páginas por lo que en poco tiempo te lo acabas. Además tiene reflexiones muy bonitas a lo largo del libro.

“There isn’t any one way of doing things that’s the best. I was happy as a wife, and I’m happy as a widow. So try different things. See what you like the best. There are people of course, who can do only one thing in one kind of situation. But I think they’re pretty sad people, and I’d hate to think you were one of them”.

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2016, I fell in love with “The House With A Clock In Its Walls”. Lewis and Jonathan were the same on film but Florence Zimmermann deceased from being elderly to middle-aged. Jonathan’s sister was under 50, if Lewis was 10. Jonathan and Florence should not be much older. John Bellairs composed with an eye to atmosphere and an artifact as the focal point; caring little for other details. The plots sound spectacular. The ingredients for thrills are present, with the wrong subjects emphasized. The mysteriousness we love is second-fiddle. For the second time, a series I love receives three stars.

“The Figure In The Shadows” preceded “The Letter, The Witch, And A Ring” by a year. This 1976 novel and others place Rose Rita in the protagonist’s seat. She has not studied magic like Lewis but is a brave, intelligent girl. It is easy to applaud John for strong female leaders but great ingredients should yield a compelling axis, like an awesome secret. For the third time, a main character is immobilized. Again, the adults are unreachable and an unknowledgeable child fumbles for a resolution. Too much emphasis was squandered on Rose Rita’s avoidance of being called home, out of her Dad’s dislike of Florence. The action was certainly higher. This is a car trip: to a farmhouse Florence inherited and a tour of small towns.

It would be far more exciting to watch Florence and Jonathan display magic and solve riddles, with the help of the kids. Suspense was high but deflates, at the realization that the whole story entails Florence trapped by a spell; by a non-magical perpetrator who had no reason to target them. Talent, not luck coinciding with the closing of a book, should reign. May the fourth mystery be as tantalizing as it sounds.

[Miloš Lazarević · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ova knjiga mi je slučajno pala šaka. Mislim da bi deci od 12-13 godina bila ne samo zabavna, već i poučna. Pored osrednje avanture, postavlja pitanja važna za taj uzrast, kao što su pitanje identiteta, tela, izbora i slično. Dopada mi se što je sve suptilno provučeno kroz priču o Solomonovom prstenu koji je, na kraju, povezan s prethodno pomenutim pitanjima. Bez kiča, preteranog objašnjavanja i skribomanije, verujem da će deci biti jasno.

[Jo_Scho_Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is book no 3 in the Lewis Barnavelt series it doesn’t actually feature much of him, instead it’s all about his best pal and proverbial tomboy, Rose Rita Pottinger. She’s not really looking forward to the summer; Lewis is off to camp and she’s stuck at home alone worrying about why she’s not interested in dresses and boys like the other girls. Thankfully Mrs Zimmerman, Lewis’ friend and neighbour and occasional dabbler in good witchcraft suggests a girls’ adventure - Mrs Zimmerman’s cousin Oley has left her his farm - and a magic ring. But when Rose Rita and Mrs Z arrive at the farm they find the place ransacked and the ring gone. Is it really magic? Someone obviously thinks so. And when Mrs Zimmerman mysteriously disappears it’s up to Rose Rita to bravely try and find her.

I originally read this WAY back when I was a kid. I cannot emphasise how much I loved it, in fact I would say that it might be my favourite childhood book. It scared the crap out of me! It was actually B my first John Bellairs book and I fell instantly in love with Rose Rita. She was so cool! Fearless, determined and fair, what a shame this was the only story where she took centre stage, she deserved so much more. As you will see if you step inside this magical and truly magnificent book.

Anyway here we are a million years later and now I’ve just finished reading it with my 12yo son. He’s read the first two Lewis Barnavelt books but I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about it being solely Rose Rita’s story. I needn’t have worried, he loved it. Night after night we’ve finished on a cliffhanger with both of us desperate to read more. (Even if I have already read it about twenty times I still didn’t want to put it down).

I mean I bet there aren’t many books that were first published nearly fifty years ago that still appeal to older kids in the 2020s, but that’s the strength of John Bellair’s writing skills. He was clearly way ahead of his time. I’m delighted that with the film adaptation of The House with a Clock in its Walls his books have had a resurgence (I gasped with joy when I saw them sitting on the Waterstones shelf a few years ago) because they really do deserve to be read and remembered.

The man is a legend. Me and my son say so!

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rare Bellairs with a female protagonist. Lewis is away at summer camp, and his best friend Rose Rita goes to Michigan with Mrs Zimmerman to dispose of some property Mrs Z's cousin Oley left her. Gertie is an angry, unhappy old woman who still carries a grudge against Mrs Z from a fight over a boy when they were girls. She steals Oley's magic ring to use for revenge and Rose Rita is left on her own to save both herself and her friend. Bellairs deals sensitively with issues of gender discrimination and the emotional difficulties of junior high.

[✦BookishlyRichie✦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had always thought The Ghost in the Mirror was the only Bellairs book that featured Rose Rita as the protagonist, but all along there was this one. There's the Lewis Barnavelt series, the Johnny Dixon series, the Anthony Monday series, and now I think there should be a Rose Rita series considering there's two books with her as the MC. After reading this one, I still think The Ghost in the Mirror is my favorite of the two, though this one did have some really cool suspenseful and scary parts in it. It also would make a perfect summer read. :)

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this so many times; it is probably my favorite children's book. I love the characters and the memories the book evokes in me. My friend Krissi and I would check this book out from the library and read the whole thing aloud, taking turns lying in a cedar chest! Mrs. Zimmerman is great, but it's the courage of the girl that amazes me. She reminded me of myself--in terms of her straight hair and glasses, but she had much more courage than I ever did or probably ever will.

[Liss Carmody · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a continuation of the series begun in The House With a Clock in Its Walls, this is, I think, the most successful yet. The switch in focus from Lewis to Rose Rita is, I think, a wise one, if only because Rose Rita presents a more compelling, layered internal life than Lewis did. Some of this is perhaps due to her age; on the cusp of adolescence, she struggles with the constraints and expectations that places upon her, her place in the world, and her relationship and interactions with Lewis. Here too, her gender presents more obstacles than Lewis' does: while he struggles with what it means to not be an athlete in a world that expects athleticism and roughness from boys, Rose Rita struggles with what it means to be girl who does not want to act as girls are expected to act. Lewis has the desire to act like other boys but lacks the skill; Rose Rita, in contrast, is perfectly capable of acting like other girls but has differing ambitions and interests. I appreciated how subtly Bellairs presents an alternative portrayal of femininity in the person of Mrs. Zimmermann - this is not at all heavy-handed, but small details add up to a picture of a character who has not often led her life according to the expectations society places upon women. Even the character herself is light-touched about this, however: when she and Rose Rita have a few serious chats about Rose Rita's fears about growing up and concern that she will not be able to direct her life in a direction she would like, Mrs. Zimmermann has no smooth assurances or trite wisdom to offer her. Rather, she conveys an understanding that the future is full of many possibilities and that Rose Rita's best option is to remain open to change, and make the best choices she can, when they present themselves. It's exactly the sort of unpreachy good sense that I think best infiltrates children's literature.

As far as the ghost story/mystery, it is suitably mysterious, although not all that difficult to work out to a seasoned reader. Mostly it serves as an exciting backdrop to allow Rose Rita to flex her abilities and test her skills in various ways, which is largely what you want in a good coming-of-age novel. It's quite satisfying, and the continued presence of enormous quantities of chocolate chip cookies is not taken amiss, either.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second Bellairs book I have read, and so far it is my favorite. Immediately at the start we are involved in a road trip, at the end of which comes a mystery in an old farm house. The familiar fears and concerns of 12-year-olds do not strike one as childish in this case, for we are dealing with spells, witches, and evil storekeepers, and none of us can ever claim mastery over those things. We follow the clever deductions of a spunky Rose Rita, who temporarily loses the guidance of her travelling companion, the purple-loving Mrs. Zimmermann, but who finds a loyal friend in a nearby farming family.

"Be careful what you wish for," "Be specific," and "Be happy with what you have and who you are," are all lessons one can take away from this story of a teen growing up. But I don't think I'm alone when I lavish praise on the serious note Bellairs introduces in the final pages of this teen read. He is not being frivolous by comparing a magic ring to a nuclear bomb--the analogy is apt here and truly takes the mind for a short spin on issues which will require deep thought from adults who are now kids reading the story today.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

i cozied up with a john bellairs mystery many a night as a youngster and even just last year!

[Christie K.Rowling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A veces me apetece leer algo así y cuando lo hago los difruto como una enana.

En un primer momento pensé que me iba a gustar menos que sus predecesores. Primero porque en este libro practicamente no sale Lewis y segundo lugar porque la historia se tornaba aburrida en un inicio.

Sin embargo, ir de la mano de Rose Rita ha sido todo un acierto y aunque Lewis se haya tenido que ir a un campamento, está historia no pierde su dinamismo.

Cuando la señora Zimmerman (que como diría Rose, es una bruja) recibe una carta de su primo Oley, quien le ha dejado en herencia su granja de Míchigan y un anillo mágico, ambas deciden embarcarse en un viaje para visitar el lugar. Sin embargo, cuando llegan a la granja el anillo ha desaparecido y comienzan a pasar cosas bastante siniestras. Rose Rita demostrara su valentía e incluso se enfrentara a si misma, conoceremos nuevos personajes y notaremos el crecimiento de los ya conocimos.

Un libro middle grade muy recomendable, divertido, entrañable, que rompe estereotipos y da un empujón feminista a los cuentos infantiles.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erik Adams' Halloween write-up of John Bellairs' "The House With The Clock In Its Walls" (http://avc.lu/XqSk8A) reminded me that it's been decades since I revisited Bellairs' work. And as soon as I looked for them on a library shelf, I realized there were a dozen or more of them I never read, that were mostly written in the ’90s. So I'm going back and revisiting them. "The Letter, The Witch, And The Ring" stands up really well as a spooky story that lets the kid protagonist do all the dangerous work without straining credulity or making the adults look dumb or out of touch, and it's a creditable mystery as well. I've missed these books and the way they create an atmosphere of dread and growing inevitability while maintaining a sense of humor and creating quirky, unusual characters.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best of the trilogy, amazingly enough. Bellairs finally gets everything right - good character development and plenty of scary stuff, not just a tiny bit as in the first two books. Rose Rita is very believable and though (like Lewis Barnavelt) she has insecurities, she's considerably more confident than he is. There's a bit of eye-roll-inducing girl-power talk but it's fairly contained.

The illustrations, this time by Richard Egielski, still don't cut it. I guess they were aiming for what would be appealing to their target audience instead of what fits the book best.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my childhood favorites.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was absolutely delighted to find that Bellairs gave us a book entirely devoted to Rose Rita. Whiny little Lewis isn't even around! Woot woot!

While Lewis heads to camp, Mrs. Zimmerman invites Rose Rita to join her on a summer trip. (Yay! I love Mrs. Zimmerman!) Things are going well until Mrs. Zimmerman starts having some close calls and eventually ends up in the hospital. Things get even worse when Mrs. Z completely disappears. Rose Rita is more than worried. She tries to contact Jonathan but can't get through. She doesn't want to contact her parents because her dad already thinks Mrs. Z is a "screwball." It's up to Rose Rita to save the day.

The baddie in this book is pretty sinister. All the bad guys in this series are, but I have to say I found this one the most disturbing. It's a bitter old lady who likes to put death curses on little kids and turn people into chickens so she can slaughter them. Her dialogue is pretty yucky too.

I'll at least read the next book but it looks like this is last book fully written by Bellairs and I'm not usually a fan of continuing series that aren't by the original author. It's always in the back of my head that it's a little bit fake.

[Kat Hooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Will review at Fantasy Literature.

[Natalie Panaia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather dark and curious story for young adults that I read in the early 80s with a scene that haunted me since. So glad to have rediscovered it! The third in a trilogy involving a few of the characters, though I have yet to read the first two books.

Some of the dialogue may come off as dated with silly slang expressions that have fallen by the wayside decades ago, but I don't believe that detracts from this intriguing, just-before-coming-of-age tale of kids on summer break and magical mysteries.

[Tiffany Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Letter the Witch and the Ring
Plot: Rosa Rita is all in her feelings because Lewis is going away to summer camp. So when Mrs. Zimmerman gets a questionable letter from her Uncle whose passed that offers her his property and a ring that may (or may not) be magic, she invites Rosa Rita along for a getaway. But almost as soon as they get their strange events begin to unfold. The farm house is trashed when they arrive, there’s a picture taken of Mrs Zimmerman a long time ago with her uncle that has her face cut off that turns up in a out of the way shop, then there’s the shadowy figure Rosa Rita spies one night standing over Mrs Zimmerman’s bed. After a drive that causes an accident where Rosa Rita has to take the wheel after Mrs Zimmerman starts having chest pains and the shadow appears again (in the car) and crashes Mrs. Zimmerman winds up in the hospital. Upon the realization that dark magic is at play, (from something pinned to her dress) they plan to leave and head home to consult the Book of Shadows. But before they do Mrs. Zimmerman disappears!

My Thoughts: This was the scariest one yet. Not because of the mystery itself. But I started to get that chilled feeling right along the part where they’re driving and Mrs. Zimmerman starts to have chest pains. Rosa Rita has to take over, despite the car basically giving out and on a dark road. Then something appears in the car and she drives off the road. That just sounds like a nightmare or a bad dream I’d have (had).
*It just struck me out of character from the first chapter that from up until this book Rosa Rita is this tough *** girl that can hold her own and take on bullies, yet she’s all upset that for some months she’ll be away from Lewis and sees this as some great betrayal. I HATE IT when book characters do this and act like it’s the end of the world that they’re love interest is gonna be gone for a little while. Are you really that co-dependent that you can’t stand to apart from them for some months? And for this character its unbelievable.
*Also, about Rosa Rita herself, does anyone else kinda get the feeling that this girl will end up a trans person. She emphasizes SO hard with the fact that she just does not want to be a girl. She doesn’t want to date (boys). She’d rather be a boy. She doesn’t want to wear dresses. She doesn’t want to go to dances. She wants to go to the BOYS camp Lewis goes too. To be honest Rosa Rita even looks boyish. OH, SO THAT’S WHAT SHE WANTED FROM THE DEMON. (light bulb). Well, today she won’t even need a ring...
*One of the first things that appealed to me about this book was the idea of taking a road trip. Even just reading about one you know you're in for an adventure. So I knew this would be good even before the mystery.
*And then we have Gert Bigger. While I was just a little bit disappointed that for a mystery book there was only ONE person that could have been behind everything. Because we were only given ONE person in the town with a grudge. WHICH… (sighing) That’s just not that much of a mystery. BUT I didn’t see some of the twists which made it better. I didn’t see it coming that she could shapeshift and that she was the dog. I didn’t see it coming that she had the book right there in plain sight in her room. I kinda knew Rosa Rita *would* get caught, but when it happens and the (cat) is now Gert Bigger standing there it caught me off guard like dang. GOOD DRAMATIC MOMENT! So it definitely had a lot of chill factor. Sneaking off in the middle of the night and breaking into (what seems to be) a deserted house also gives a good creepy feeling!
*It was also scary to have someone just disappear into thin air leaving you alone in a place and not knowing what to do, how to find them, or how to get home.

Rating: 8 I definitely enjoyed this one the best because it was just dark enough on the creepy meter to satisfy my dark side!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked the three books in this series out from the library when I was a kid over and over again, so was tickled when I found The Letter, The Witch, And The Ring at a yard sale a while back. This is the third book in author John Bellairs trilogy that features Rose Rita and her friend Lewis. In this book, Lewis goes off to camp for the summer, leaving Rose Rita looking forward to a very boring summer until their friend and local witch, Mrs. Zimmerman, receives a mysterious letter from her recently deceased cousin, Olney. Olney tells Mrs. Zimmerman that he has left his farm to her and there is a magic ring locked in his desk drawer up at the farm. Mrs. Zimmerman and Rose Rita get in her new car and go on an adventure in search of this magic ring. Filled with mystery, magic, an aging farmhouse and shadowy figures in the night, this still, after all these years, is a very fun read!

[Henry Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I re-read this as a young grown-up and got my 8 years older friend to read it as well. She asked if I knew about more books like it. Even other Bellairs novels, some of them excellent (The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull, The House With a Clock In Its Walls), do not have the combination that this one does. Rose Rita is forced to grow up under circumstances no one would envy; but the reader is treated to a thrilling yet pleasantly bucolic adventure. Of all Bellairs' books, this one seemed like it would make the best movie. I would give it five stars if the writing had a bit more flair, but that may just be my snootiness. As a teen I loved this book because it created a familiar but strange world, and cast a dark shadow over it. The premise of dark magic on the dusty backroads of Michigan with crusty Yankee ladies is a winner. Hail Bellairs!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this series as a kid and really enjoyed it. This 3rd book in the series features Lewis's best friend Rose Rita having her own adventure with Mrs. Zimmerman while Lewis is off at Boy Scout camp. This book has the typical dark magic thing going on with an evil witch and the Ring of Solomon, but the story also takes on Rose Rita's coming of age issues. A tomboy with a fierce passion for sports, Rose Rita is having problems now that she's turning 13 and expected to start wearing makeup and dating. Bellairs handles this topic very well for the setting in the 1950s.

It looks as if this series continued with another author. I don't know what John Bellairs didn't continue with these characters himself. Lewis, Rose Rita, Mrs. Zimmerman and Uncle Jonathan have an ageless charm to them. I'm not surprised Hollywood finally made a movie from the book.

Recommended.

[Cupof Tea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that this story, although it is part of the Anthony Monday series, is told from the perspective of Rose Rita, his best friend, who is abandoned for the summer because he gets to go to Boy Scout camp and she can't go with him. So much of her character development centres around her wishing she was a boy because she loves baseball and camping and swimming and hates dresses and makeup and all the things being a girl in the 50s entailed. She even has to step up and save Mrs. Zimmerman by driving a stick shift for miles at night. I am an adult who can drive and I am impressed by this 12-year-old's gumption!

The antagonist was quite predictable and plot simply wrapped up neatly at the end. Simplicity can be nice sometimes though.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of big changes here that make the series better. Lewis is shoved out of his own series in order to feature his friend-who-is-a-girl, Rose Rita Pottinger. Other than sections of introspection where I'm really not sure Bellairs captured how a girl on the cusp of puberty would feel, it's a nice shift (having not been one of those myself, I wouldn't know whether it's accurate or not, but it felt a bit forced to me).

The other thing this story adds to the series is actual character development for an adult! Uncle Jonathan's neighbor, Mrs. Zimmermann, gets a lot more backstory and her own antagonist, and has to deal with the loss of power she experienced at the end of the previous book.

[D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third of John Bellairs YA thrillers see him change his format up a bit. Two of the secondary characters from earlier books, Mrs. Zimmerman and Rose Rita, come to the forefront, and give us a delightfully spooky (but not TOO spooky) mystery.

This was written in 1976, but it has a very contemporary feminist "feel" -- Mrs. Zimmerman and Rose Rita spend some of their time discussing just what it means to be a "girl" and what roles a girl should play in the world. In the meantime, there are mysterious happenings and danger lurking around them as they investigate a ring discovered by Mrs. Zimmerman's late cousin.

Highly recommended!

[Janakap · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Bellairs was the pre-cursor to J.K. Rowling. As a child, I would get absolutely lost in the spooky wizard filled worlds of Lewis Barnavelt and Rose Rita Pottinger. As an adult, I am the proud owner of a collection of John Bellairs books, with the original artwork by none other than Edward Gorey. I love to re-read these books when I need a brain break from the noise and haste that is adult life.

[Tara Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that Mrs. Zimmerman was probably my favorite character in the entire Lewis Barnavelt "arc" of John Bellairs' stories. Stories with her as a central focus tend to be kooky and fun, and definitely entertaining.

[Liz Kittencat · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 en realidad, aunque puede que reconsidere la puntuación. De todos modos, algo cambió en la estructura de la historia y en la forma de narrar, desde el anterior y empobreció la historia. Es una pena, porque Rose Rita es mi favorita. Igual tiene momentos creepy, pero no bastan y no sé, perdió. De todas formas seguiré leyendo los siguientes.

*Reseña pendiente*

[Tabitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The library didn't have any of the Witchtober books I wanted to read, so I went for this-- and it was quite charming! Just the right amount of fun mixed with eerie spookiness which John Bellairs is so good at conjuring.
Wish Rosa Rita's discomfort with becoming a teenager was explored a bit further, but I imagine it's addressed more in the following book.