A review by decafplease
The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood

5.0

I know that there are people of the opinion that this is rather Lemony Snicket-ish. But since I couldn't even suffer through the first chapter of one of his books, all I can is that this is a book that is quintessentially funny, darkly. I don't really come across this sort of humour a lot in children's books. It has irony, caricatures, dark humor, and a few characters that are downright pitiful and ridiculous. And to top it off is our lovely, admirable governess Penelope, who has some admittedly impossible ideals but a huge heart, dealing with three children that have been raised by wolves! Throughout the book the children are notoriously fond of chasing squirrels. So Penelope devises a squirrel disensitisation program: "I will have the children read Hamlet as soon as it is practical. There are some useful precautions against eavesdropping to be gleaned from that. In the meantime, we shall deal with the squirrels." I think her resolution typifies the very ambivalence of her character. I know that she carries some impossibly high hopes for those children, but we come to see that she does everything out of good intention for the children. And really, she's just doing her best being in an extraordinary situation. Oh, another thing, I love the commentaries provided by the narrator, who says things like "Oh, there's also that famous fictional contemporary of hers, Sherlock Holmes, who is also brilliant at deduction, but she doesn't know that, yet." Fully anticipating the second book now. Meanwhile, I'll read this again when I have time!