The Big House

When their parents are sent “up the river” for embezzlement, Ray and Ivy are left to live in the lap of luxury with Marietta Noland and her ancient husband, Lionel. But life at the big house is not all it's cracked up to be. First there is the shrouded portrait, then there is the spider in the decaying wedding cake. And what about the vicious instrument Marietta uses to decapitate her egg? When "the rain in Spain" begins to fall (in other words, Ray wets his bed), things go from bad to worse and Ivy knows it is time to take matters into her own hands. What follows is a hilarious lark as Ray and Ivy case the joint, get the skinny, and show Marietta she has met her match.

I love this book but might hesitate using for a book group as it discusses bed wetting and I don't know if I'd be comfortable discussing that. But it is an honest story of two kids and how they make a happy ending out of what seems to be a very crappy life.

Susan says: This is a peculiar book. Ivy and Ray are in the courtroom the day their parents are sent to jail for embezzlement. And with both parents in jail for 25 years, they are sent to live with the people their parents were embezzling from, which is sort of odd to anyone who would know better. But Ivy and Ray are too young to know better, and instead they try to explore the big house where they now live, and cope with the situation as best they can. This book reminds me of Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher, with its criminal lingo and criminal parents. Even though Ivy and Ray think their parents are innocent, and they are set free after a fake trial by Ivy, there is a lot that older children will understand that the young children don't. show more Just because Marietta (the woman they embezzled from) is also guilty doesn't undo their parents guilt. So there is a lot that only older kids would get in this book, yet the main characters are too young to potentially be of interest to older readers. So it's a mysterious audience, but this is a mysterious book, so it all evens out. show less

lighthearted mystery of kids who've been adopted by great aunt who sent parents to jail