Imagine your parents are so mean that you kill them. Imagine your ex-wife that you thought was dead is alive. Imagine that you’re an old fashioned family in a semi-modern world. Now, throw in an abandoned infant, and a no-nonsense nanny and you have The Willoughbys by Lois Lowery. This book, written by and award-winning author, is an astonishing read.
This fiction book is written about five different stories that somehow find their way together. It’s funny, horrific, and exciting all at once. Although Lois Lowery refers to her book as “old fashioned” I think it’s the exact opposite. It’s true that this book is set a while back, but it’s certainly not old news! Even though some people may judge this book by it’s size I say that “good things come in small packages!”
Melanoff, the very successful tycoon of the candy Lickety Twist, finds a baby on his porch (left by the Willoughbys) one day. The baby helps him with his grief over his ‘deceased’ wife and son. I say, deceased, in quotations because they aren’t really dead… but Melanoff doesn’t know.
Tim, A, B, and Jane are the truly ruthless children of this book. Their story begins when they find a baby on their front porch. They take it and put it on commander Melanoff’s porch. Later on, when their evil parents won’t read them a bedtime story, they get an idea… they will kill their own parents.
I liked almost all of this book. The writing style was good, the plot was thrilling, and the characters were hysterical! However, I was not I love with all of it. There were a few places in the book that worked, but didn’t need to be there. Also, a couple of the chapters seemed like they were just fillers. Overall though, this book was pretty good. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good, funny, and witty short read.
In conclusion, I think that The Willoughbys is a book that everyone should read. This is a good book for basically anyone. It will have to going to a different world that will just beg you to search deeper inside it.